Fox has unveiled its 2011-2012 fall and mid-season schedules. In the fall, we will be offered two new comedies — New Girl with Zooey Deschanel, and I Hate My Teenage Daughter — on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The fall schedule also includes the long-delayed sci-fi series Terra Nova on Mondays. Fringe keeps its time slot throughout the season while Bones will share its Thursday spot with its own spin-off (The Finder) around mid-season. Another notable addition to the mid-season schedule is J.J. Abrams's Alcatraz.
The above announcement on Monday didn't include big surprises because of earlier rumors on the pilot pick-ups, and also because in just one day last week Fox mercilessly cancelled five TV series. In fact, all the scripted shows for which renewal wasn't secured until then — The Chicago Code, Human Target, Lie to Me, Breaking In, and Traffic Light — were cancelled. Whatever one might think of Fox's cancellations, it must be said it's done with style. No other network can boast having prompted (with their May announcements) passionate reactions all over the entertainment blogosphere with titles such as "Bloodbath," "Cancellation spree," or "Night of doom," to name just a few.
Speaking to TV Guide Magazine, the network's entertainment president Kevin Reilly shed some light on some of the choices. About The Chicago Code he said, "It comes down to the math of the schedule. We simply didn't have the real estate to fit everything." He then went on to say, "It's not like we're going to be brutal with everything. We demonstrated patience with Fringe and we'll be nurturing our comedies." Got that folks? "Patience with Fringe..."