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Fox’s Kevin Reilly And Mike Darnell On ‘American Idol’ & ‘Fringe’ Moves; No Back Orders For ‘Running Wilde’ & ‘Good Guys’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday November 19, 2010 @ 6:24pm PSTTags: American Idol Scheduling, American Idol Scheduling Move, Fox Midseason Schedule, Fringe, Glee, Kevin Reilly Fox, Mike Darnell, Raising Hope, Running Wilde, The Good Guys, TV
Nellie Andreeva

Fox’ Midseason Schedule

“We have been looking at Thursday for a long time,” Fox’s reality chief Mike Darnell said. “It is a tough nut to crack, and if you want to crack it, you have to make a big move there.” Idol has been the biggest show on television for 8 years, so why make this move now? It was CBS’ surprising decision in May to take another reality juggernaut, Survivor, off Thursdays that set the Idol shift idea in motion, Darnell said. With Idol itself going through a major transition with new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler and without Simon Cowell, Fox brass decided to wait and see how the show’s production was going and, happy with what they’d seen so far, they pulled the trigger on the scheduling change. “It felt like the right time to make the move,” Darnell said. “Now we can own Thursday.”

Seeing the door opening at 8 PM on Thursday with Survivor gone was a major but not the only factor for the Idol move, Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly said. “At the same time, we’re looking at what’s going on on Tuesday where we are winning the night with Glee, which, after airing after the Super Bowl, will probably end the season as the highest-rated scripted series.” Glee was originally slated to air behind Idol on Wednesdays in midseason. “Glee doesn’t need the protection, and we also have the making of comedy block with Raising Hope taking root on Tuesdays,” Reilly said.

As for the decision to bump Fringe to Fridays where no scripted Fox series has survived in a long time, “Fringe has a very particular, loyal audience,” Reilly said. With the show picking up almost half of its viewership via DVR, he doesn’t expect the sci-fi series to take a big ratings hit in moving to Fridays where it will be paired with solid reality performer Kitchen Nightmares. “If (Fringe) could stay near the current levels, we’ll get a big  trade-up on Friday and will solve our problem there.”

As for the show Fringe will be replacing on Friday, The Good Guys, and another low-rated series, freshman comedy Running Wilde, while they have not been officially canceled, Reilly confirmed that the network won’t be giving Wilde a back order or pick up more episodes of Guys.

Asked whether he had any concerns about Idol facing former judge Paula Abdul’s new dancing reality series on CBS for a few weeks in January, Darnell was blunt. “No. We love Paula, but it’s not a concern.”

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Fox Announces New Midseason Schedule: ‘Idol’ Moves To Thursday, Bumps ‘Fringe’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday November 19, 2010 @ 4:18pm PSTTags: American Idol Scheduling, American Idol Scheduling Move, Fox, Fox Midseason Schedule, NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, TV
Nellie Andreeva

Fox’s Kevin Reilly And Mike Darnell On ‘Idol’ & ‘Fringe’ Moves; No Back Orders For ‘Running Wilde’ & ‘Good Guys’

After mulling such a move for several years, Fox is finally doing it this season: reality veteran American Idol will change its airing pattern to Wednesday and Thursday night in what is clearly Fox’s most serious attempt to date to become a force on Thursday night. This is the second major assault at 8 PM  on Thursday this season after CBS’ successful move this fall to open a comedy block there anchored by The Big Bang Theory. Airing against Idol will certainly put pressure on the hit comedy but, just like fellow CBS series NCIS, which has been airing against Idol for years, it will get dinged up but probably not by much. It is the shows that don’t have strong following that tend to get steamrolled by Idol, so NBC has got to be very worried about its 8 PM comedies. (CBS’ freshman $#*! My Dad Says is vulnerable too but at least it has the cushion of a Big Bang lead-in.) And this certainly makes ABC’s decision what to put in the slot, which has been vacant since the cancellation of My Generation, a lot tougher as launching a new show against Idol is a daunting proposition.

The move will take pressure off Idol as it will eliminate ratings comparisons to last season and justify expected declines. Also probably factoring in the decision was the great showing from Glee in the Tuesday 8 PM slot where Idol traditionally aired. Originally, Fox was planning to move Glee behind Idol on Wednesdays in midseason. But with the musical dramedy doing so well as a self-starter at 8 PM on Tuesday night, the network has opted to keep it there. In fact, Fox’s Tuesday lineup remains almost intact, with new comedy Mixed Signals replacing low-rated Running Wilde at 9:30 PM. (The Tuesday lineup will take a month-long break in January when Fox will air new reality game show Million Dollar Money Drop following Glee reruns.) Hours after it landed a seven-episode midseason order, comedy Breaking In got more great news: It is getting the plum Wednesday 9:30 PM slot following the American Idol performance edition. Also great news for Fox’s utility player Bones, which has performed solidly wherever it has been dispatched. Now, it will have an American Idol lead-in on Thursday as it takes on Grey’s Anatomy and CSI at 9 PM. Not so good news for Bones‘ current Thursday companion Fringe, which is being bumped to Friday nights to make room for Idol on Thursday. The rest of the schedule is as previously announced, including new Shawn Ryan drama The Chicago Code airing on Mondays after House and Kitchen Nightmares running on Fridays. (Full schedule after the break) Read More »

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Paula Abdul’s CBS ‘Dance’ Reality Series To Launch In January And Possibly Face ‘Idol’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday October 28, 2010 @ 8:00am PDTTags: American Idol, American Idol Scheduling, Live to Dance, Paula Abdul, Paula Abdul Live to Dance, Reality TV, TV
Nellie Andreeva

CBS’ reality-competition series Live to Dance starring former American Idol judge Paul Abdul will premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 4 with a two-hour episode from 8-10 PM and move to its regular Wednesday 8-9 PM time period the following night, Jan. … Read More »

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