Fox Mid-Season 2016 Schedule; Fox Orders Live-Action/Animated Hybrid Comedy

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Fox Mid-Season 2016 Schedule; Fox Orders Live-Action/Animated Hybrid Comedy

Fox is announcing premiere dates for new series Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life (Jan. 3), Bordertown (Jan. 3), Second Chance (Jan. 13) and Lucifer (Jan. 25); and returning series New Girl (Jan. 5), American Idol (Jan. 6 and Jan. 7) and Hell's Kitchen (Jan. 15). In addition, Brooklyn Nine-Nine will move to Tuesdays at 9:00PM ET/PT on Jan. 5, joining Grandfathered at 8:30PM ET/PT and The Grinder at 9:30PM ET/PT, each in new time periods following New Girl at 8. As previously announced, the special Superhuman airs Jan. 4; The X-Files returns Jan. 24 and Jan. 25; and three-hour LIVE musical event Grease: Live will air Jan. 31.

Two new comedies join the Sunday night lineup on Sunday, Jan. 3. New ensemble comedy Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life will premiere at 8:30PM ET/PT, following an all-new The Simpsons. Then, following an all-new Family Guy, new animated comedy Bordertown will debut at 9:30PM ET/PT and stars the voices of Hank Azaria, Alex Borstein, Judah Friedlander, Nicholas Gonzalez and Missi Pyle. Tuesday nights of comedy continue Jan. 5 with an all-new lineup, including: the Season Five premiere of New Girl at 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT; the time period premiere of Grandfathered, which moves to 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT; all new episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine - on a new night and time - at 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT; and the time period premiere of The Grinder at 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT.

American Idol will begin its 15th - and farewell - season with a special two-night, four-hour premiere event Wednesday, Jan. 6 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Thursday, Jan. 7 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). New drama Second Chance (fka Lookinglass) debuts Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 9:00 PM ET/PT, following the time-period premiere of Idol from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT. Masterchef Junior continues on Fridays returning with a special two-hour episode on Friday, Jan. 8 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT. Hell's Kitchen, starring fiery chef Gordon Ramsay, cooks up its 15th season beginning Friday, Jan. 15 at 9:00PM ET/PT), following an all-new episode of Masterchef Junior in its regular time period from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT.

Lucifer, the new drama starring Tom Ellis (Merlin), premieres Monday, Jan. 25 at 9:00PM ET/PT, after the time period premiere of The X-Files at 8:00PM ET/PT. As previously announced, Superhuman, a new two-hour special hosted by actor Kal Penn that tests the extraordinary skills of 12 contestants, premieres Monday, Jan. 4 from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT. The next mind-bending chapter of The X-Files debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, Jan. 24 from 10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT, following the NFC Championship Game, and continuing with its time period premiere on Monday, Jan. 25 from 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT. Grease: Live, a three-hour production of the massively popular crossover musical Grease, will air LIVE Sunday, Jan. 31 from 7:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed.

And finally, Sleepy Hollow, which has its fall finale on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 9:00PM ET/PT, moves to Fridays and returns with all-new episodes on Feb. 5 at 8:00PM ET/PT following the conclusion of Masterchef Junior. After The X-Files concludes its six-episode run, Gotham makes its spring return on Monday, Feb. 29 at 8:00PM ET/PT. Later that week, on Wednesday, March 2 at 8:00PM ET/PT, Morris Chestnut-starrer Rosewood returns. Empire begins Part Two of its second season Wednesday, March 30 at 9:00 PM ET/PT. The return dates for Bones and The Last Man On Earth are to be announced.

Sticking to Fox, they have ordered Son of Zorn, a new live-action/animated hybrid comedy from executive producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Last Man On Earth, The Lego Movie). Upon arriving home on Earth for the first time in 10 years, Zorn (the voice of Jason Sudeikis, The Last Man On Earth, Saturday Night Live), a fully animated, legendary warrior, finds that reconnecting with his live-action son, Alan (Johnny Pemberton, 21 Jump Street), and ex-wife, Edie (Cheryl Hines, Curb Your Enthusiasm), while suffering through a mundane office job and the banality of suburban life, is harder than waging actual war in his distant, mystical homeland of Zephyria. Tim Meadows (Saturday Night Live) also stars. The series is scheduled to debut during the 2016-2017 season.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, November 12

The Conners - "Tempest in a Stew Pot" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie and Becky pitch their business plan to Darlene in hopes of getting the Lunch Box back, but Darlene’s decision leads to hostility among the three. Meanwhile, Dan bans Odessa from the house, causing a rift with Harris; and Mark makes extensive Thanksgiving plans that may inevitably fall apart.

Bless This Mess - "The Visit" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Donna springs a last-minute trip to Nebraska on Mike and Rio, which she claims is to relax, but Mike and Rio soon find out she has other plans in mind when she steps into competitive mode to get them to participate in the harvest. Meanwhile, Constance’s son Brandon is driving her crazy working at the store, so she pawns him off on Rudy.

mixed-ish - "Puttin' on the Ritz" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The kids are excited to learn more about their grandad after Harrison invites the crew to family day at his country club. Although Paul thinks it’s a bad idea, he is eventually overruled. Meanwhile, Alicia attempts to fit in at the country club but ends up fighting with Denise about keeping it real.

black-ish - "Daughters for Dummies" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Dre realizes that his relationship with Diane has been distant, he plans some daddy-daughter bonding sessions, but the plans backfire when he realizes the interest is one-sided. Meanwhile, Bow covers for Junior at his ChoreBoar gig.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 11)

Tuesday, November 12

Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Catch Patrick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (People of Earth) - Da'Vine appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen visits The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Frozen 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/Getting On/The Norm Show) - Laurie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jenny Slate (Married/Parks and Recreation/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rob Schneider (Real Rob/Rob) and Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) - Rob and Esther are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin visits The Real, so check your local listings.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
Nicole Byer (Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim talks about Dark Waters on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Kristin Davis (Sex and the City/Bad Teacher) - Kristin talks about Holiday in the Wild on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.