Fox ADDS THREE NEW COMEDIES AND TWO NEW DRAMAS FOR FALL

Here is Fox's fall announcement today on the fall schedule. Notes: Becki Newton (“Ugly Betty”) of Guilford returns in a comedy. Tired 'Glee' to Thursdays, Mindy Kaling gets a show; 'The Touch' makes The Cut, and I still won't watch 'The X Factor' given the fact we already have singing talent shows.

New York (Monday, May 14, 2012) – Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group; and Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company, today unveiled the FOX primetime schedule for the 2012-2013 television season to the national advertising community during its annual Programming Presentation at the Beacon Theatre.

“Television continues to be the most vibrant, emotionally rich platform in the world,” said Rice. “FOX has been the No. 1 network for eight seasons by delivering groundbreaking, engaging and culturally relevant shows that connect with our audience, not only on-air, but wherever they are in the digital or social space.”

“With first-year culture-driving hits like NEW GIRL and THE X FACTOR and strong returning tentpoles like AMERICAN IDOL and GLEE, we were laser focused on our development and it has really paid off,” said Reilly. “I have no doubt that our two genre-defying new dramas, our new FOX Sports Saturdays, and our three new distinctive, sharp and upscale comedies – all fronted by incredible talent – can propel FOX to even greater success.”

This fall, two new half-hour comedies – THE MINDY PROJECT and BEN AND KATE – will join RAISING HOPE and NEW GIRL on an all-new Tuesday night comedy block. Created by Emmy-nominated writer/producer and New York Times best-selling author Mindy Kaling (“The Office”) and starring Kaling, Chris Messina (“Damages”), Anna Camp (“The Good Wife”) and newcomer Ed Weeks, THE MINDY PROJECT features Kaling as a skilled OB/GYN navigating the tricky waters of both her personal and professional life, as she pursues her dreams of becoming the perfect woman, finding the perfect man and getting her perfect romantic comedy ending.

BEN AND KATE, the heartwarming new sibling comedy created by Dana Fox (“What Happens In Vegas”) and directed by Jake Kasdan (“Bad Teacher”), also debuts Tuesdays this fall. Starring newcomer Dakota Johnson and Nat Faxon (“Bad Teacher,” Academy Award-winning co-screenwriter of “The Descendants”), the comedy follows a pair of odd-couple siblings – one, an overly responsible single mom; the other, an exuberant kid-at-heart – and their friends as they push each other out of their comfort zones and into real life.

The compelling new drama THE MOB DOCTOR will debut this fall. Executive-produced by Josh Berman (BONES, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) and Rob Wright (“Crossing Jordan”), the engrossing character drama stars Jordana Spiro (“My Boys”) as a brilliant, life-saving surgeon caught in a complex web between her promising medical career and her family’s debt to Chicago’s Southside mob.

Edge-of-your-seat thriller THE FOLLOWING, created by Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “Scream” franchise) and starring Golden Globe Award-winning Kevin Bacon (“X-Men,” “Frost/Nixon”) and James Purefoy (“Rome”), premieres in midseason. The spellbinding and intense drama follows an ex-FBI agent (Bacon) called out of retirement to track down a devious and diabolical serial killer (Purefoy), the mastermind behind a nationwide string of murders.

THE GOODWIN GAMES, the inventive new comedy from the executive producers of “How I Met Your Mother,” Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and Chris Harris, is slated for midseason. Starring Scott Foley (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Felicity”), Becki Newton (“Ugly Betty”) and Jake Lacy (“Better With You”), the family comedy tells the story of three estranged siblings who return home after the loss of their beloved father (guest star Beau Bridges, “The Descendants”), and unexpectedly find themselves poised to inherit more than $20 million – if, and only if, they can adhere to their late father’s trivial wishes.

It was also announced that GLEE, the award-winning cultural phenomenon, will move this fall to Thursdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), following all-new installments of Simon Cowell’s THE X FACTOR (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). THE X FACTOR returns for Season Two with two new judges, who will join Cowell and L.A. Reid on the world’s largest search to award one global superstar or music group a $5 million record contract.

FOX series returning in 2012-2013 include: AMERICAN DAD (Season 8), AMERICAN IDOL (Season 12), BOB’S BURGERS (Season 3), BONES (Season 8), THE CLEVELAND SHOW (Season 4), COPS (Season 25), FAMILY GUY (Season 10), FRINGE (Season 5), GLEE (Season 4), HELL’S KITCHEN (Season 10), KITCHEN NIGHTMARES (Season 5), MASTERCHEF (Season 3), MOBBED (specials), NEW GIRL (Season 2), RAISING HOPE (Season 3), THE SIMPSONS (Season 24), SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (Season 9) and TOUCH (Season 2). AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS, NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE and TEEN CHOICE 2012 will also return to the FOX schedule.

Keep up with all the new series on the FOX 2012-2013 primetime schedule at FOX.com or by “liking” the series on Facebook and following the series on Twitter:

SERIES	FACEBOOK	TWITTER
BEN AND KATE	Facebook.com/BenandKate	@BenandKateFOX       (#benandkate)
THE FOLLOWING	Facebook.com/TheFollowing	@TheFollowingFOX     (#thefollowing)
THE GOODWIN GAMES	Facebook.com/TheGoodwinGames	@GoodwinGamesFOX (#thegoodwingames)
THE MINDY PROJECT	Facebook.com/TheMindyProject	@MindyProjectFOX      (#themindyproject)
THE MOB DOCTOR	Facebook.com/TheMobDoctor	@TheMobDoctorFOX   (#themobdoctor)

Following are the FOX 2012-2013 primetime schedule and synopses of the new series:

FOX 2012-2013 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE

(All Times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                          BONES    

9:00-10:00 PM                        THE MOB DOCTOR (new)

  THE FOLLOWING (new) joins in midseason.                                  

TUESDAY

8:00-8:30 PM                          RAISING HOPE

8:30-9:00 PM                          BEN AND KATE (new)

9:00-9:30 PM                          NEW GIRL

9:30-10:00 PM                        THE MINDY PROJECT (new)

  THE GOODWIN GAMES (new) joins in midseason. 

WEDNESDAY

8:00-10:00 PM                        THE X FACTOR (fall) / AMERICAN IDOL (midseason)                  

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                          THE X FACTOR Results (fall) / AMERICAN IDOL Results (midseason)

9:00-10:00 PM                        GLEE                   

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM                          TOUCH

9:00-10:00 PM                        FRINGE (fall)

  HELL’S KITCHEN returns in midseason.  

SATURDAY

7:00-10:30 PM                        FOX SPORTS SATURDAY (fall)

  COPS returns in midseason.

  ANIMATION DOMINATION HIGH-DEF (new) will join late-prime in 2013.

SUNDAY

7:00-7:30 PM                          NFL Game (fall) / ANIMATION DOMINATION (encores)

7:30-8:00 PM                          THE OT (fall) / THE CLEVELAND SHOW

8:00-8:30 PM                          THE SIMPSONS

8:30-9:00 PM                          BOB’S BURGERS

9:00-9:30 PM                          FAMILY GUY

9:30-10:00 PM                        AMERICAN DAD