Fox this fall: no wrestlers, lots of rescuers

There will be a new feel to the Fox network this fall – no wrestlers, but lots of rescuers, no “Family Guy” (for now), but lots of football.
That’s as Fox hopes to be what Rob Wade, its CEO, calls an “independent, right-sized network.” It’s the only one of the big-four not with a movie studio and a big streamer.
The network has been tryiing to produce animated shows, instead of just buying them from outsiders. This fall it will have two – the returning “Krapopolis” and the new “Universal Basic Guys.’ That leaves “Family Guy” off the fall schedule for the first time in about two decades . It will be back at mid-season, Michael Thorn, the programming chief, promised. “We’ll give it a great re-launch.”
Fox has also finished its five-year deal with the WWE. It will try to fill the no-wrestling gap on Fridays with college football.
It will also stuff action into Mondays. “9-1-1: Lonestar,” which didn’t appear in this strike-shortened season, will be at 8 p.m. Mondays, followed by “Rescue: HI-Surf” (shown here) hich Thorn calls an “absolute adrenaline rush.”
The latter show goes against trends in two ways:
— Other networks have used the Super Bowl to launch new hits, especially “The Equalizer” and “Tracker.” Fox, however, will use its post-Super Bowl spot for a mid-season episode of “Rescue: Hi-Surf.”
— Other networks have dumped Hawaiian shows (“NCIS: Hawaii” and “Magnum, P.I.”) because of higher costs. But Fox is going there; Thorn said producer John Wells (“ER”) has afound ways to have “high production values” without high costs.
Another show that sat out the post-strike season was “Accused.” Now it will be on Tuesdays, leading into another show that has stand-alone cases, “Murder in a Small Town.” The latter, Thorn said, is set in “an idyllic, seaside town.”
Those shows will let two other dramas – “The Cleaning Lady” and “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” – wait until mid-season. Also waiting will be the new drama “Doc” – Molly Parker as a doctor who has lost eight years of her memory, personal and medical – and three animated shows – “Family Guy,” “Grimsburg” and “The Great North.”
“Animal Control” will also wait, for a basic reason: As Fox’s only non-cartoon comedy, it has nothing to fill out the hour. The network has finally decided to pair it with “Dutch.” Thorn said Denis Leary plays a hard-core colonel, “tasked with running the least important American base in the world, in the Netherlands.” The line-up:
— MONDAYS: “9-1-1: Lonestar,” 8 p.m.; “Rescue: HI-Surf,” 9.
— TUESDAYS: “Accused,” 8 p.m.; “Murder in a Small Town,” 9.
— WEDNESDAYS: “The Masked Singer,” 8 p.m.; “The Floor,” 9.
— THURSDAYS: “Hell’s Kitchen,: 8 p.m.; “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” 9.
— FRIDAYS: Sports (college football, college basketball, pro football via UFL).
— SATURDAY: More sports.
— SUNDAY: Football overrun and post-game, 7 p.m.; cartoon reruns, 7:30; “The Simpsons,” 8; “Universal Basic Guys,” 8:30; “Bob’s Burgers,” 9; “Krapopolis,” 9:30.
— MID-SEASON (animated): “Family Guy,” “Grimsburg,” “The Great North.”
— MID-SEASON (scripted): “Animal Control,” “The Cleaning Lady,” “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” and a new show, “Doc.”
— MID-SEASON (unscripted): “Crime Scene Kitchen,” “MasterChef,” “Lego Masters,” “Name That Tune” and a new show, “Extraction.”