FOX’s 2013-2014 Schedule: What We’d Like To See

Another day, another time for thoughts on what a network should do for their 2013-2014 schedule. (You can read our thoughts on The CW here and ABC here). KSiteTV’s Craig Byrne is again teaming up with Shilo Adams from TVOvermind and TVHackr to analyze and discuss what might work for FOX, a network with very few available slots, as it seems a lot of their schedule is eaten up by reality behemoths or already established programming. It’s also interesting, because FOX has a few pilots out there that sound pretty good. Here we go again with our thoughts and ideas. Keep in mind that this is written before anything has been announced as cancelled. FOX will be announcing their actual schedule next week.

SUNDAY

CRAIG: At least with the young male demographic, there’s no stopping FOX and their “Animation Domination” on Sundays, so why mess with a good thing? The only change I’d make would be to find room for Seth MacFarlane’s live-action Dads. To make space for it, I’d throw Bob’s Burgers an hour earlier, to 7:30, with Dads taking the sandwiched-between-The Simpsons-and-Family Guy spot. Marketing might have fits since the domination won’t be all animated, but I am pretty certain fans of MacFarlane’s humor would probably like as much of that as they can get. Something’s working there.

(If it hasn’t happened already, The Cleveland Show would be the eliminated project in this lineup).

SHILO: I’d move American Dad to 7:30. Although it does well behind Family Guy and has received a lot of stability from its syndication success, American Dad is a victim of The Cleveland Show’s cancellation and FOX’s male-centric development season. The show is a strong enough performer and is far enough ahead in production to where it will be on the air for years to come, making it the most logical candidate to fill the 7:30 slot. FOX’s Sunday lineup is subject to football overrun in the fall, as well, which could make its move from 9:30 not as painful. After that, The Simpsons can stay at 8. In 2011, FOX renewed The Simpsons for two more years, which would take it through its 25th season in 2013-2014. There’s been no word on whether this will be the final 22 episodes we spend in Springfield, but regardless, The Simpsons won’t be moving from their 8:00 home anytime soon. For all the talk about declining quality, it’s managed to be a solid performer for the network and helped turn Bob’s Burgers into a promising hit.

Speaking of that recent first-time Emmy nominee, I feel that Bob’s would be best served by staying in 8:30 slot for the next television season. The show was recently picked up by Adult Swim for syndication purposes, an avenue that’s helped several other FOX animated shows and could turn the critically acclaimed series into a commercial hit through the additional exposure. Like American Dad, Bob’s is also fairly ahead on production, but it’s young enough where it couldn’t be moved to 7:30 and expect to survive.

Ever since its resurrection from cancellation, Family Guy has been the centerpiece of the Sunday lineup and that’s been no different this season, so that stays at 9. After it, I’d use 9:30 to launch Dads, the live-action comedy from Seth MacFarlane about video game developer roommates whose fathers move in with them. While not every MacFarlane show has the same sense of humor or comedic rhythms, his shows tend to coexist well in a programming hour together and if FOX is serious about breaking up the animated bloc, this is the show to do it and the slot to do it in. Dads gets the most compatible lead-in it could get on the network’s most successful night and therefore, the best chance to survive and thrive.

MONDAY

CRAIG: People have gotten used to is Bones on Mondays at 8. Why mess with a good thing? I’m keeping it there.

For 9:00, I’m going to go against any “pilot progress” articles I’ve seen so far and slot Delirium for the fall. Based on a young adult novel, this project has some popular young stars like Emma Roberts, Daren Kagasoff, and Gregg Sulkin, and although the conceit of people not being able to experience love might seem like a very far-out-there concept, the mix of a cast like that could give FOX a big hit among young people.

I know this choice is a bit controversial as it is so far from what a lot of people see from FOX these days, but people forget that this is the network that did great young-skewing dramas like 21 Jump Street, Beverly Hills 90210, and The X-Files, which helped seal their spot as the king of all things 18-49 at a time when reality and American Idol weren’t the only ways to make that happen. I also acknowledge that I’ve read some reviews that the concept is silly/weird/dumb/whatever; I know from my own experience that I enjoyed the script, and parts took place in my home town, so I kind of loved it. If the show has no champions, though, maybe we won’t see it after all.

With that said, and there being only so many spots available for FOX, Delirium would have to be swapped out at midseason in favor of The Following Season 2. If it’s incredibly popular, then by all means, try it out elsewhere later.

SHILO: Throughout its run, Bones has been a quality utility player for FOX, plugging holes all over the schedule and keeping the network from completely capsizing. However, it’s found a nice home on Mondays, where it’s the only procedural on at the time and a consistent force on a night that FOX has been losing ground on. The network has other places and time slots to worry about than Bones, especially since the show is nearing the end of its run, and  should try to see if it has any more power to launch something new. To me, that something new should be Rake, a remake of an Australian comedic drama about a brilliant, self-destructive defense attorney. It’s another character-driven procedural that could pair nicely with Bones and fronted by a highly marketable leading man in Greg Kinnear, whose character description reminds me of another FOX antihero – Gregory House. Bones and House aired together successfully and this could be an attempt to recapture that magic with another take on the Sherlock Holmes archetype and counterprogramming on a night of reality competitions and multi-camera comedy.

Continue for more thoughts about FOX’s schedule!