Doc Martin remake

Football clears the way for Fox’s new shows

This is the new reality for TV networks:
If you want a new (or returning) show to get noticed, you’d better have a football game to precede it. That’s what Fox will do for its two new shows (on Jan. 4 and 25) and its best returning one (“Animal Control,”shown here, Dec. 28).
In recent years, pro football games have thoroughly topped other shows in the Nielsen ratings. Fox has adjusted by introducing a scripted series just as the game ends, in all time zones — 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT, for instance.
This time, the network will focus on two bright shows and one darker one: Read more…

At mid-season, Fox remembers scripted shows

When the second half of the TV season starts in January, Fox will rediscover the notion of scripted shows.
This fall, it only had two of them (animation excluded). Soon it will have five (incliuding a “Doc Martin” reboot, shown here) … plus a three-Sunday mini-series … plus restocking its cartoons.
The two scripted non-cartoons this fall are “Murder in a Small Town” (with only a 10-episode season) and “Doc,” which will rest for a month, then return Jan. 6. It will be joined by: Read more…