FOX’s 2019-2020 Schedule: Thoughts & Predictions

WEDNESDAY
CRAIG: 8:00 Empire; 9:00 Filthy Rich
SHILO: 8:00 Empire; 9:00 Filthy Rich

CRAIG: I wonder if Empire has lost more of its luster after the whole Jussie fiasco, but I’m sure it’ll be back, at the very least to wrap itself up. It’s also a sign of some diversity that is still lacking in prime-time TV, especially if they were to lose Star. As for its lead-out, I’ve got Filthy Rich, which Shilo describes below. It sounds fun and trashy and exactly like the kind of show I’d enjoy.

SHILO: Empire quasi-spinoff Star doesn’t deserve to be cancelled. Its Live + Same Day ratings have been impressively steady this season, it burns up social media whenever it’s airing, and it gives FOX one less slot to worry about. However, its renewal for this season was tight considering its lack of international success and how expensive a show it is to produce. That hasn’t gone away this season; in fact, it’s only been compiled by FOX’s push toward a schedule dominated by reality, sports, and live events, as well as a brand that’s much whiter and more conservative than something like Star. Luckily for FOX, they’re developing a whiter, more conservative primetime soap in Filthy Rich, about a conservative Mississippi family who owns and operates a Christian television network. It has star power in Kim Cattrall and Gerald McRaney and is said to be eyed as an Empire lead-out, which, unless it turns out unusually poorly, it will be come fall 2019.