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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Wednesday, January 22
Shifting Gears - "Job" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Riley, desperate for work, reluctantly takes a job at Matt’s shop. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Stitch secretly stray from Matt’s vision on a high-stakes restomod project.
Abbott Elementary - "Strike" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
City buses have stopped running due to a strike, resulting in many students being absent from school. The teachers at Abbott try to find creative solutions and adapt to hybrid learning. Meanwhile, Gregory and O’Shon strike up a friendship.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 20)
Wednesday, January 22
- Lucy Liu (Joey/Pearl) - Watch Lucy on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts/White Famous), Betsy Sodaro (Ghosts/Duncanville/Disjointed/Animal Practice) and Punam Patel (Ghosts/Return of the Mac/Kevin from Work) - Utkarsh, Betsy and Punam are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
- Morris Chestnut (Out All Night) - Morris talks about Watson on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am, on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour, and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth/The League/Cavemen) - Andrew, Nick and Lin-Manuel Miranda are chatting with Drew about their Broadway show All In: Comedy About Love on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. They're also talking to Drew about parenting advice, how they were raised and how comedy brings people together.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
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