Fox’s Unscripted-Heavy Fall Lineup Faces Reality of Writers Strike

Fox is ready to face reality with its fall lineup.

Following a delay due to the ongoing writers strike, Fox finally gave a glimpse of its upcoming fall lineup on Monday, announcing the premiere date for the long-awaited Krapopolis on Sept. 24 as well as the return of its Animation Domination comedy block in October.

Now, the network is rolling out the rest of its unscripted and animation-heavy lineup, with announcements for scripted fare still to come.

Programming kicks off Tuesday, Sept. 19 with all-new episodes of the Jane Krakowski-hosted series Celebrity Name That Tune at 8 p.m. The series is then followed by the Season 3 premiere of I Can See Your Voice at 9 p.m.

Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares returns after nearly a decade hiatus on Fox for a new season on Monday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m., with Season 2 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test at 9 p.m.

The Masked Singer debuts Season 10 on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m., with the new game show Snake Oil coming in at 9 p.m. The David Spade-hosted series features contestants getting pitched unusual products by entrepreneurs, with some turning out to be selling nothing but snake oil.

On Thursday, Sept. 28, Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen makes its Season 22 premiere at 8 p.m., followed by Lego Masters Season 4 at 9 p.m.

Fox’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown airs at 8 p.m. throughout the season. Meanwhile, Animation Domination comes back with new seasons of The Simpsons, Krapopolis, Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy on Oct. 1.

Fox didn’t specify programming for Saturday and noted that additional schedule details are still forthcoming.

Stay tuned…

The network previously delayed its usual fall schedule announcement in May because of the Writers Guild of America strike. At the time, Dan Harrison, evp of program planning and content strategy, told reporters, “Rather than announce a schedule today that we might not be able to meet this fall, we will hold back until we have a better handle on what programming will be available to us.”

Though the company held back times and dates for its live-action scripted shows, Fox previously announced that it would be bringing back 18 series and introducing six new ones.

Additional drama series premieres coming in the 2023-2024 season include 9-1-1: Lone Star, Accused, Alert: Missing Persons Unit, The Cleaning Lady, Doc and Rescue: HI-Surf.

For comedies, viewers can expect new seasons of Animal Control and Grimsburg. Meanwhile, upcoming unscripted premieres include Farmer Wants a Wife, Lego Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular, The Masked Singer, Next Level Chef and We Are Family.

Fox’s fall premiere schedule

Here is the premiere schedule for Fox’s fall shows (new programs are in all caps):

MONDAY
8-9 p.m. — Kitchen Nightmares (Sept. 25)
9-10 p.m. — Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Sept. 25)

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. — Name That Tune (Sept. 19)
9-10 p.m. — I Can See Your Voice (Sept. 19)

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. — The Masked Singer (Sept. 27)
9-10 p.m. — SNAKE OIL (Sept. 27)

THURSDAY
8-9 p.m. — Hell’s Kitchen (Sept. 28)
9-10 p.m. — Lego Masters (Sept. 28)

FRIDAY
8-10 p.m. — WWE’s Friday Night Smackdown (ongoing)

SUNDAY
8-8:30 p.m. — The Simpsons (Oct. 1)
8:30-9 p.m. — KRAPOPOLIS (Oct. 1, with series premiere Sept. 24)
9-9:30 p.m. — Bob’s Burgers (Oct. 1)
9:30-10 p.m. — Family Guy (Oct. 1)