Ramblings' Journal

Fox: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, all year long.

Fox one-upped the other networks recently by announcing an "all year round, seasonless" show introduction schedule. They stuck to their guns in their 04-05 Upfront presentation this morning.

Fox continues to crank out one reality show after another, starting in June with The Casino and The Simple Life 2: Roadtrip. The Fox reality wheel copies other formats as well, with Virgin's Richard Branson as The Billionaire (not unlike The Apprentice) and Oscar De La Hoya's The Next Great Champ (which mirror's NBC's upcoming Sylvester Stallone vehicle, The Contender).

Fox plays fast and loose with scheduling as well, with the biggest point being the move of 24 to Mondays beginning next January.

Fox has broken out their scheduling into three parts, June-October 04; November-January 04/05 and January-June 05.

FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY 2004-2005 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
(All times PM ET/PT)

JUNE TO OCTOBER 2004

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 NORTH SHORE (Premieres June 14)
9:00-10:00 THE CASINO (Premieres June 14)

TUESDAY
8:00-8:30 THE BERNIE MAC SHOW
8:30-9:00 METHOD & RED (Encores, starting June 22)
9:00-10:00 THE JURY (Premieres June 8 with back-to-back episodes)

WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 THAT '70s SHOW
8:30-9:00 QUINTUPLETS (Premieres June 16)
9:00-9:30 THE SIMPLE LIFE 2: ROAD TRIP (Premieres June 16)
9:30-10:00 METHOD & RED (Premieres June 16)

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 NORTH SHORE (Encores, starting June 17)
9:00-10:00 TRU CALLING

FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 TOTALLY OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR
8:30-9:00 WORLD'S CRAZIEST VIDEOS
9:00-10:00 THE JURY (Encores, starting June 11)

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 COPS
8:30-9:00 COPS
9:00-10:00 AMERICA'S MOST WANTED
11:00-Midnight MADtv

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 OLIVER BEENE (Starting June 6)
7:30-8:00 KING OF THE HILL
8:00-8:30 THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
9:00-9:30 MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
9:30-10:00 QUINTUPLETS (Encores, starting June 20)

NOVEMBER 2004 TO JANUARY 2005

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 NORTH SHORE
9:00-10:00 THE SWAN 2

TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 THE BILLIONAIRE: BRANSON'S QUEST FOR THE BEST
9:00-10:00 HOUSE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 THAT '70s SHOW
8:30-9:00 QUINTUPLETS
9:00-9:30 THE BERNIE MAC SHOW
9:30-10:00 METHOD & RED

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 THE O.C.
9:00-10:00 TRU CALLING

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 THE NEXT GREAT CHAMP
9:00-10:00 THE JURY

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 COPS
8:30-9:00 COPS
9:00-10:00 AMERICA'S MOST WANTED
11:00-Midnight MADtv

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 KING OF THE HILL
7:30-8:00 MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
8:00-8:30 THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
9:00-10:00 THE PARTNER

JANUARY TO JUNE 2005

MONDAY
8:00-9:00 ATHENS
9:00-10:00 24

TUESDAY
8:00--9:00 AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 HOUSE

WEDNESDAY
8:00-8:30 THAT '70s SHOW
8:30-9:00 RELATED BY FAMILY
9:00-9:30 AMERICAN IDOL

9:30-10:00 THE BERNIE MAC SHOW

THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 THE O.C.
9:00-10:00 TRU CALLING

FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 THE INSIDE
9:00-10:00 JONNY ZERO

SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 COPS
8:30-9:00 COPS
9:00-10:00 AMERICA'S MOST WANTED
11:00-Midnight MADtv

SUNDAY
7:00-7:30 KELSEY GRAMMER PRESENTS: THE SKETCH SHOW
7:30-8:00 KING OF THE HILL
8:00-8:30 THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
9:00-9:30 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
9:30-10:00 AMERICAN DAD

My guess? This year-round thing will fall apart as soon as Fox has a real bomb of a show (or a real unexpected monster hit for that matter), and they have to reshuffle the entire deck.

Notice that though 24 is moving to Monday, it won't show up until after Monday Night Football finishes its' run for the year. They're definitely shrewd, I have to hand that to 'em...

Posted by mhking at May 20, 2004 01:53 PM