Most Surprising (Possible) Renewal: Aside from Ghosted, which has seemingly been banished to the same televisual hinterlands that swallowed fellow FOX also-rans Us & Them and Murder Police, I’d be most shocked to see The Exorcist again. I know that it has a streaming deal and international brand recognition, but ratings dropped pretty heavily during its second season, the show hasn’t generated much in the way of mainstream buzz, and FOX is going through a transitional phase in preparation for the upcoming Disney merger. As good as the show might be, they don’t need a low-rated anthology they already took a flier on last year.
Show That Likely Won’t Be Renewed But Should Be: The Last Man on Earth. What’s frustrating about the position the show’s in is that it seems to be solely due to the spring malaise it’s been in since returning from hiatus. Its delayed numbers are similar to likely renewals LA to Vegas and The Mick, it’s still capable of drawing positive critical buzz, and creator/star Will Forte has indicated that the season finale features a massive cliffhanger. In a time where the streaming afterlife has replaced syndication, ending a veteran show that you own without any type of closure just feels wrong.
Possible Scheduling Disaster: FOX is going to be such a traffic jam next year that their scheduling margin of error has significantly shrunk. It’s going to be very easy for them to trip over themselves, but one thing that could potentially be bad is if they leave The Gifted for midseason. After failing to generate much buzz, the show was a somewhat underwhelming ratings performer that ended its first season in the middle of January, meaning that it could be off the air for a solid year if it’s not scheduled in the fall. I don’t think it’s the type of show that could withstand that type of delay and I would be surprised if FOX sandbagged its X-Men property like that.
Possible Biggest Surprise: Another thing that would surprise me is if 9-1-1 isn’t on Mondays. I could maybe see the show staying at 9:00 in order to appease the affiliates and signal that the network hasn’t developed something that’s a particularly great fit for it, but with the show’s longer second season premiering in the fall, Monday is the only day that makes sense. It’s incompatible with Sundays, This Is Us would take a bite out of it on Tuesdays, Empire/Star isn’t breaking up on Wednesdays, football is on Thursdays, and the show is too successful for Fridays.
Safest Bet: Empire and Star will be airing together this fall. FOX is developing another musical drama in Mixtape, but it doesn’t seem like something that would entice Empire‘s audience. It would take something undeniable for FOX to break up Empire/Star right now, especially since their schedule will already be in flux, so the best Mixtape could hope for right now is a fill-in position on Wednesdays beginning in January.
Project I’m Rooting For: Mixtape. It’s a concept that, if executed well and creatively sustained, could bring something fresh and interesting to broadcast television. It would also keep FOX’s brand from morphing into the same CBS-chasing nonsense that other broadcast networks have fallen into over recent years. And in these trying times, America needs Madeleine Stowe back on television, which is the greatest reason for FOX to pick it up.
Come back tomorrow for our predictions and thoughts about ABC!
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“As far as midseason, I think they either put out a third season of music competition The Four, which moved to Thursday this summer following a successful midseason run on Wednesdays, or return to a two drama lineup.”
The Four run on Thursdays for its first season too. The X-Files and 9-1-1 were on Wednesdays this winter on FOX.