Fox has revealed a fall schedule with just two nights of series that aren’t sports or reality TV and no new shows — once again saving the lion’s share of its scripted programming for midseason.
That means new freshman entries — including the long-awaited return of “Baywatch,” as well as crime thriller (“The Interrogator”) from British comic icon Stephen Fry — will have to wait until at least winter for launch. Even then, Fox will premiere just three new series next season (the third being the new dating format “Marriage Market,” hosted by Whitney Cummings).
In noting the network’s heavy reliance on existing properties, Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade noted that “90% of our slate is returning shows and we believe the new series we’re introducing for next season will be incredibly complimentary.”
With game shows and reality competition on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday — along with college football on Friday and Saturday — that doesn’t leave much room for other fare. On Tuesdays, Fox has 14 episodes of Season 2 of “Best Medicine,” its adaptation of “Doc Martin” led by Josh Charles. At 9 p.m., it’s the Season 3 return of “Doc,” which is also based on a hit international format (from Italy).
“Tuesday has become an area of strength for Fox,” said Dan Harrison, executive vice president of program planning and content strategy, “We’re pairing “Best Medicine’ and ‘Doc,’ giving viewers a night of medical marvels.”
The other night for scripted series is Sunday, where “Animation Domination” will come with a twist this year: The live-action “Animal Control,” starring Joel McHale and entering its fifth season, will air after “The Simpsons.” That’s partly because Fox doesn’t have any other half-hour laffers to pair it with anymore, now that “Going Dutch” is canceled.
Fox Television president Michael Thorn admitted that the network has put more of its priorities into building drama and unscripted stables. “We’ve really evolved those production models forward in a way that sets us up for success, and now we’re taking a step back, and we’re doing the same thing on live action comedy,” he said. “We believe in the genre. You’ll see more from us in the future.”
Wade added that the network has paused its comedy development until it can “really dig into that business model and work out how we can make it effective in the long term.”
Also on the fall docket are Fox-owned animated series “Universal Basic Guys” and “Grimsburg.” On the unscripted front, star-driven “Celebrity Name That Tune” and “Celebrity Weakest Link” are on Mondays, shiny-floor gamers “The Floor” and “99 To Beat” are on Tuesday while reality competish entries “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” are on Wednesday.
For midseason, there are new dramas “Baywatch” and “The Interrogator,” as well as Season 2 of “Memory of a Killer” and Season 3 of “Murder in a Small Town.” To fit more scripted hour-longs in midseason, Harrison said Fox will add a second drama night (actual night TBD).
As for “Baywatch,” it’s clear getting that revival off the ground is priority number one. “It’s iconic, it’s global, and it captures the very best of the California dream,” Thorn said. “It’s pure escapism with a cast that blends top television talent with major social influencers. It’s an honor to bring ‘Baywatch’ back. We’re feeling great about where we are, but also feeling pressure of already heightened, fanned expectations. It’s an exciting challenge for my teams and I.”
Meanwhile, with “The Interrogator” (which stars Jenna Elfman along with Fry), Thorn said, “We ordered this show because we see a strong signature Fox character, razor sharp intellect and deceptively charming. He’s a sexy rebel in his own right.”
Animated comedies “American Dad!,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy” and “Krapopolis” will also return in midseason. In unscripted, slated for midseason are “Crime Scene Kitchen,” “Don’t Forget The Lyrics,” “Extracted,” “Fear Factor: House of Fear,” “Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service,” “Lego Masters,” “The Masked Singer,” “MasterChef” and “Next Level Chef.”
Actually, that’s just some of the reality shows on deck. Also renewed for future use: “Beat Shazam,” “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Next Level Baker” (which was given a two-season pickup, and will return during the holiday season), with even more renewals still to be announced.
Wade said some of the hefty unscripted buying spree was for strike contingency. “Thankfully, it feels like the discussions between the unions have gone well, but there was a time in March, and before that January, February, where we were on short we could have been looking at another strike action for this year, and who knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “So we do buy surpluses of shows in the eventuality that there is a crisis or we need them.”
Meanwhile, as previously announced, Fox is also already looking ahead to the 2027-2028 TV season, having picked up a new version of “Highway to Heaven,” from Jason Katims, and the “Family Guy” spinoff “Stewie” from Seth MacFarlane.
Here is Fox’s Fall 2026 schedule:
MONDAY
8 p.m. “Celebrity Name That Tune”
9 p.m. “Celebrity Weakest Link”
TUESDAY
8 p.m. “Best Medicine”
9 p.m. “Doc”
WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. “The Floor”
9 p.m. “99 To Beat”
THURSDAY
8 p.m. “Hell’s Kitchen”
9 p.m. “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test”
FRIDAY
8 p.m. “Fox College Football Friday”
SATURDAY
7 p.m. “Fox Sports Saturday”
SUNDAY
7 p.m. NFL On Fox / The OT / Fox Animation Encores
8 p.m. “The Simpsons”
8:30 p.m. “Animal Control”
9 p.m. “Universal Basic Guys”
9:30 p.m. “Grimsburg”
MIDSEASON
Drama: “Baywatch,” “The Interrogator,” “Memory of a Killer,” “Murder in a Small Town.” Comedy: “American Dad!,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy,” “Krapopolis.” Unscripted: “Crime Scene Kitchen,” “Don’t Forget The Lyrics,” “Extracted,” “Fear Factor: House of Fear,” “Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service,” “Lego Masters,” “The Masked Singer,” “MasterChef,” “Next Level Chef.”
“Baywatch” is co-produced by Fox Entertainment and Fremantle with Matt Nix as showrunner and executive producer. McG, Michael Berk, Greg Bonann, Doug Schwartz, Dante Di Loreto and Mike Horowitz are executive producers. McG directed the series premiere.
“The Interrogator” is co-produced by Lionsgate Television and Fox Entertainment. The pilot script was written by Fry, with revisions from Matt Pyken, as well as William Harper. Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie are executive producers and showrunners. Fry executive produces with William Harper and Paul McGuigan, who also directs. Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman and Miriam Mintz, Matt Pyken, Neil Burger and Anonymous Content are executive producers.
“Marriage Market” is produced by Fox Entertainment Studios and distributed worldwide by Fox Entertainment Global. Alycia Rossiter and John Carr are exec producers, with Rossiter serving as showrunner.
“Highway to Heaven” is from Fox Entertainment Studios and executive produced by showrunner Jason Katims. Amblin Television’s Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, and Todd Cohen, along with Mark Itkin and Michael Landon Productions’ Cindy Landon, plus Wayne Lepoff, are exec producers.
“Stewie” is produced by 20th Television Animation; Seth MacFarlane voices Stewie and will executive produces for Fuzzy Door. The series was created by MacFarlane and Kirker Butler, who executive produces with Kara Vallow. Butler is showrunner.
Source: variety.com
