TUESDAY
Shilo’s Picks: 8:00 Mulaney, 8:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 9:00 New Girl, 9:30 The Mindy Project
Craig’s Picks: 8:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine, 8:30 Mulaney, 9:00 New Girl, 9:30 The Mindy Project
Actual Schedule: 8:00 Utopia, 9:00 New Girl, 9:30 The Mindy Project
SHILO: When we were making our predictions, the biggest wildcard for FOX was Utopia. The reality series aired in an unusual format in its home country and there were a number of ways that FOX could’ve opted to use it, but I wouldn’t have guessed they would break up their comedy bloc for it, especially when it’ll be facing the Voice results show. If they’re hoping the show brings in one of the sub-demos they’re targeting (18-34, W18-34) and boosts the two flailing comedies (New Girl dropped about 60% from season premiere to season finale in both total viewers and 18-49), it’s not a horrible move. It’s not great, since it points to them not being confident in Utopia and not being willing to jumpstart the 9:00 comedies, but the comedy bloc wasn’t working and they needed to do something to change it up.
CRAIG: I knew the comedy lineup didn’t really work that well, but this pairing is still surprising. I’ll be totally honest, though: With the amount of Tuesday night competition, and the seemingly random schedule, Utopia has its work cut out for it. But what do I care – Tuesdays at 8 will belong to The Flash as far as my television is concerned.
WEDNESDAY
Shilo’s Picks: 8:00 Utopia
Craig’s Picks: 8:00 Backstrom, 9:00 Red Band Society
Actual Schedule: 8:00 Hell’s Kitchen, 9:00 Red Band Society
SHILO: Look at you, predicting that Red Band Society would pop up on Wednesdays. My thoughts on FOX Wednesdays are in the same ballpark as my thoughts on their Tuesdays – it’s not horrible, but I don’t know how much potential it has as a whole. Hell’s Kitchen had been keeping the lights on Thursdays this past season, so it likely won’t shrink too much in the move to Wednesdays, assuming it and Survivor have mutually exclusive audiences. It won’t knock anybody out with its numbers, but it should give Red Band Society a decent launch pad and if SVU and Criminal Minds being showing their age next season, the show could feasibly be second in its time slot to Modern Family. While I still worry that a show about sick children, no matter how comedic, is a tough sell, Red Band looks like one of the more uplifting dramas in what could be a very dark fall and could benefit from being up against two fairly bleak crime dramas.
CRAIG: I have no question about the quality of Red Band Society, but I think it might be better served if it was paired with another drama. I don’t expect FOX to be dramas 24/7 now that the X Factor hours are back, but putting Hell’s Kitchen there almost feels like they’ll be okay with being a comfortable #3 or #4 in the slot.
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