UPDATE: Back in May when the networks released their fall schedules, such as they were, most seemed to be at least slightly optimistic that the nascent writers’ strike would end long before filming would need to begin on the scripted fall shows. ABC was the only network that took a more pessimistic approach, filling their schedule with game shows and reruns. And now, two months to the DAY, the other networks seem to be realizing that the strikes aren’t ending anytime soon, and making adjustments to a fall schedule that is set to launch in September.
As you’ll see below, Fox’s schedule has delayed all scripted series, opting for game shows and animated series instead. Please find their fall schedule and premiere dates below.
There is no such thing as a traditional Upfront season anymore. Last year, very briefly, it felt like the Upfronts — the events when the networks announce their upcoming fall schedules and new series — were back following the pandemic and the steady decline of network television in general. But now with a writers’ strike that could very well stretch through the summer, and potential strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild on the horizon, the networks are having to play the upcoming fall season entirely by ear. With some networks, this looks like loading up on reality content; with others, it looks like they are moving forward with their scripted material and hoping for the best.
It’s hard to know which direction Fox is taking, as they are not revealing a schedule at all — which, I suppose, is one way to strike-proof yourself. Fox has added two new live-action dramas, two new animated series (one of which they have been promising for years now), two new games shows (which feel oddly familiar) and one reality series that has been brought back from the dead. There’s always hope — especially when a network is desperate for material.
