{alltv} Fox's hopes for fall rest on Cowell, Spielberg

Sunday, May 15, 2011

{alltv} Fox's hopes for fall rest on Cowell, Spielberg

Fox's biggest bets for fall are two projects already in the works: Simon Cowell's new singing contest, The X Factor, to inherit American Idol's time slots; and Terra Nova, an ambitious time-travel dinosaur adventure from Steven Spielberg that will likely follow House on Mondays.

In a schedule to be unveiled to advertisers today, the network — still first among young-adult viewers — has committed to six more series: A Bones spinoff, the J.J. Abrams drama Alcatraz and four new comedies, including the animated Allen Gregory, starring Jonah Hill as a precocious 7-year-old, and Napoleon Dynamite, featuring the 2004 film's original cast.

New Girl, a live-action comedy starring Zooey Deschanel as a quirky, recently dumped teacher who moves in with three guys, is expected to follow Glee on Tuesdays, paired with Raising Hope.I Hate My Teenage Daughter, a comedy about two women with "mean girl" daughters like those who picked on them in high school, is due after a 90-minute X Factor on Wednesdays, and Thursday's X Factor will be paired with Bones. The Friday-to-Sunday lineup remains mostly intact, with Gregory a new post-Simpsons entry for fall.

On the bench for midseason are Alcatraz, about the reappearance decades later of missing people from the infamous prison; Napoleon; and The Finder, a spinoff of Bones set in the Florida Keys starring Geoff Stults, based on a character introduced last month. Finder probably will replace Bones while star Emily Deschanel (Zooey's sister) is on maternity leave. Fox will consider Kiefer Sutherland's new drama, Touch, after a pilot is filmed this summer.

Goners include midseason comedies Breaking In and Traffic Light and dramas Human Target, Lie to Me and The Chicago Code.