FOX has given musical drama Star a third season renewal, it was confirmed today. An episode count is yet to be announced, though it would seem likely that the show gets another 18 episodes given its proximity to Empire and solid season two performance.
Star has become a valuable asset for FOX, retaining nicely from its Empire lead-in while staying close to even compared to its ratings last season. That’s impressive in a television environment where stability is rare for serialized shows, not to mention the fact that the show didn’t air during the lower-rated spring months during its debut season. However, Deadline reports that its renewal was held up by the show’s expense and how international sales haven’t been what FOX had hoped for, which means that next season could see the show in a vulnerable place.
It would be a surprise to see Star either airing in the fall away from Empire or pushed to midseason so that Empire can launch a new show. Even with reduced schedule space resulting from Thursday Night Football and the impending Disney marger, FOX needs the show’s reliable ratings and the synergy of its Wednesday lineup in order to compete during the tough fall months. The network might have another musical drama in Mixtape currently in development, but that project likely won’t skew the same way that Empire does, meaning that it might not take the same advantage of Empire‘s ratings power that Star has.
The second season finale of Star airs Wednesday, May 23rd at 9:00 on FOX.
