Fox sets a strike-resistant schedule for fall

Depending on how you look at it, the Fox network is way behind its competition … or a tad ahead:
BEHIND: It has finally announced a schedule for this fall. The others set theirs two months ago.
AHEAD: That schedule is in full strike mode. It has four nights of reality shows (including “The Masked Singer,” shown here), two nights of sports and one of animated shows … none of them touched (for now) by the writers’ strike.
Until now, only one network had a schedule that completely reflects the ongoing strike. That was ABC, planning a full non-fiction slate, except for an hour of “Abbott Elementary” reruns. Now comes Fox, planning:
— One new reality show. “Snake Oil,” hosted by David Spade, is sort of like “Shark Tank,” except some of the pitches are real and some are make-believe. That will be at 9 p.m. Wednesdays.
— A surge of returning reality. The Tuesday ones – “Name That Tune” and “I Can See Your Voice” – start Sept. 19. The next week has debuts of shows on Mondays (“Kitchen Nightmares,” “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test”), Wednesdays (“The Masked Singer” and “Snake Oil”) and Thursdays (“Hell’s Kitchen” and “Lego Masters”).
— Two sports nights, with wrestling on Fridays and baseball or college football on some Saturdays.
— And Sunday cartoons. The new one – “Krapopolis,” from Dan Harmon of “Rick and Morty,” and “Community” – will start with two Sept. 24 episodes after football.
Cartoons are covered by the Writers Guild, but they’re written far in advance. That gives Fox, the only broadcast network with primetime cartoons, an advantage. It also has two more waiting – one old (“The Great North,” which wasn’t mentioned in the Fox announcement) and “Grimsburg.”
For now, all of the other scripted shows are waiting. They include “Accused,” “Alert,” “Animal Control,” “The Cleaning Lady,” two new shows (“Doc” and “Rescue: Hi-Surf”) and “9-1-1: Lone Star.” The original “9-1-1” drama is moving to ABC.
Even with all the reality shows this fall, Fox will still have a few waiting – “Next Level Chef,” “Farmer Wants a Wife,” the new “We Are Family” and several current summer shows.