MONDAY
SHILO: 8:00 9-1-1; 9:00 Gone Baby Gone
CRAIG: 8:00 The Gifted; 9:00 No Apologies
ACTUAL SCHEDULE: 8:00 The Resident; 9:00 9-1-1
SHILO: The pairing of 9-1-1 and The Resident makes sense, in that they’re broader dramas with episodic storytelling that helped make over the FOX drama brand. I get why FOX has brought The Resident back in the fall given the potential it exhibited during its recently completed first season; this is something with an engaged audience that could conceivably grow under the right circumstances. But I don’t know, I feel like the arrangement here isn’t great. It puts The Resident in a lower-viewed hour and uses 9-1-1, one of the most successful new shows of the 2017-18 season, on the 10:00 affiliate. Not wanting to premiere a new drama in the fall is certainly a Choice for FOX, but the network could’ve at least tried to give The Resident a boost while utilizing an asset like 9-1-1, which would probably thrive with the 7:00 affiliate lead-in. The Monday that FOX put forth next season just makes the network itself feel like an afterthought, which is disappointing.
CRAIG: I’m kind of surprised that 9-1-1 isn’t the 8PM show as a 9PM doctor show seems like a better fit for the later slot. I guess the thinking is that 9-1-1 is to be the news lead-in. Was it known all along that Connie Britton was leaving, by the way? Anyway, 9-1-1 should do well, but I feel like its possible spot as a lead-in to a good 9PM show is wasted. If that makes any sense. The affiliates with the news will be happy, though.
