As it wraps its current season, the Fox network has news about future ones.
For this summer, it has a new game show, “Nation’s Dumbest.” For this fall, it has finally renewed “Murder in a Small Town” (shown here). And for a year later, it’s working on a new version of “Highway to Heaven.” Details include:
— “Nation’s Dumbest” has celebrities reliving school days, including pop quizzes, report cards, recess and parent-teacher conferences.
Comedian Jack Whitehall is in charge and the student body includes actors Carmen Electra, Anthony Michael Hall, Jon Heder and Hilaria Baldwin; musicians JoJo Sewa, Elle King, Chase Hudson and Ice-T; stuntman Steve-O; former quarterback Matt Leinart; TV personality Drew Pinsky and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
That will be 8 p.m. Wednesdays, starting July 15.
— After waiting far way too long, Fox has finally OK’d a third season of “Murder in a Small Town.”
The 10-episode second season ended Dec. 2; while other shows were being renewed, it remained in limbo for five months.
A deceptively deep show, “Murder” centers on Rossif Sutherland (shown here) as a soft-spoken police chief. Kristin Kreuk plays the librarian, in a sometimes-bumpy romance. Now Peter Gallagher will arrive as a capable but unreliable figure.
— This seems to be the time to re-visit Michael Landon’s shows.
On July 9, Netflix will have the rebooted “Little House on the Prairie.” And a year-plus after that, Fox hopes to have “Highway to Heaven.”
Landon produced both shows and starred in them — first as a frontier family man, then as a solitary angel, helping individuals. He also wrote and directed many of the episodes.
In “Little House,” his role goes to Luke Bracey, a busy Australian actor. “Highway” hasn’t been cast, but it’s from writer-producer Jason Katims (“Parenthood,” “Friday Night Lights”) and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin productions. Both are also produced by Cindy Landon, Michael’s widow.