Going against convention by declining to unveil its fall schedule during its upfront presentation, Fox told advertisers in New York City on Monday that it is adding three dramas, two animated comedies and one unscripted series to its lineup.
“Fox Entertainment enters the upfront – a week literally built for broadcasters to align with advertisers – as the only company, no matter the platform, with advertising at its core. Advertisers have been our focus since the start of this company, and we’re proud that this too is proof of Fox’s differentiation,” said Charlie Collier, CEO of Fox Entertainment, taking a bit of a swipe at other entertainment companies’ focus on subscription-based streaming. “As you’ll see during our presentation, building barriers between our best content and our brand partners simply isn’t our business model.”
The new dramas are Susan Sarandon-starrer Monarch, missing-persons drama Alert and crime anthology series Accused, starring Michael Chiklis. The animated sitcoms are Dan Harmon’s Krapopolis and Grimsburg, executive produced by and starring Jon Hamm. And the unscripted series is another offering from culinary star Gordon Ramsay – Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars – with whom Fox has a long-term ongoing relationship
“It has always been incredibly important to me to support and foster the endeavors of the next generation of extraordinary culinary talent,” said Ramsay in a statement. “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars challenges me to do exactly that, all while raising the stakes with my own investment and a whole new level of mentorship and challenge, pushing those with the skills and drive to make it all the way to the top. The future of our food industry has never been more exciting, and I can’t wait for audiences to follow our search across the country as we unearth some of the most entrepreneurial talent out there.”
Monarch had been due to premiere last January but was pushed to this fall. The country-music-focused drama stars Sarandon as the powerful matriarch of a Nashville family, with country-music icon Trace Adkins as her husband and Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) as her ambitious daughter.
Crime anthology series Accused is based on an acclaimed BBC series. It’s produced by Sony Pictures Television and comes from Homeland and 24 executive producers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon and House creator David Shore. Missing-persons drama Alert is executive produced by Jamie Foxx and The Blacklist’s John Eisendrath.
Both new animated comedies come from Fox’s animation house, Bento Box Entertainment. Krapopolis features such voice talent as Ted Lasso and Sex Education’s Hanna Waddingham, The IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade and What We Do in the Shadows’ Matt Berry.
Besides the six new series, Fox is also returning series 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star, with the deal for season six of Ryan Murphy’s first responder drama, 9-1-1, coming in at the absolute last minute before the Fox upfront was due to begin. That was a similar situation for medical drama The Resident, which also finalized its deal right before the presentation. Rookie dramas The Cleaning Lady and ‘70s series reboot Fantasy Island also are returning for second seasons with Fantasy Island moving from summer to the regular season.
Other renewals include bubble comedies Welcome to Flatch and Call Me Kat, starring ongoing Jeopardy! guest host Mayim Bialik. Fox also renewed veteran animated series The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers as well as The Great North and Housebroken.
Joining Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars are unscripted series The Masked Singer, baking competition series Crime Scene Kitchen starring Joel McHale Hell’s Kitchen. It’s also picked up season two of Lego Masters and ordered spinoff special Lego Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular.
Another Ramsay series, Next Level Chef, will debut its second season immediately after Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. Fox also plans to launch a Ramsay-focused free advertising-supported television channel (FAST) on its streaming service Tubi, and it also as originals in production for Tubi.
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