Fox, which struggled last fall but zoomed to the top of the ratings behind "American Idol" beginning in January, is looking to carry some of that momentum into the 2005-2006 season.
The folks at Fox are hoping to laugh all the way to the ratings bank. They have 11 half-hour comedies on their fall schedule (12 if you count the animation repeats Sundays at 6 p.m.) while ABC, CBS and NBC have 16 combined.
Once again, Fox has a split schedule. The fall slate features seven new shows; in January Fox will revamp three nights with one new series and the return of "Idol" and "24."
Somewhat surprisingly, the Emmy-winning, low-rated "Arrested Development" was renewed. But it's moving to Mondays and is only on the schedule through December.
Here are Fox's new series:
The War at Home (Sundays, 7:30 p.m.) is a sitcom about a married couple (Michael Rappaport and Anita Barone) battling to control their three teenagers. And the show "goes inside the heads" of the characters by having them talk directly to viewers from a "confessional space."
Kitchen Confidential (Mondays, 7:30 p.m.), based on the best-selling autobiography of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, is a sitcom about a celebrity chef (Bradley Cooper, "Alias") whose early success led to a life of debauchery. He gets a second chance, but it comes with big pressure and a cast of offbeat characters.
Prison Break (Mondays, 8 p.m.) is a drama about a guy who, convinced his brother is innocent of the crime that put him on death row, intentionally gets caught robbing a bank so he and his brother can escape together.
Bones (Tuesdays, 7 p.m.) is a "darkly amusing drama . . . inspired by real-life forensic anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs." Emily Deschanel stars as Reichs' alter-ego, who has "an uncanny ability to read clues left behind in a victim's bones" and is teamed with an FBI agent (David Boreanaz of "Angel").
Head Cases (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.) is a "comedic drama" that stars Chris O'Donnell ("Scent of a Woman") as a superstar lawyer whose life takes a sudden downturn when his wife kicks him out, he has a nervous breakdown and he loses his job. He joins forces with a low-rent lawyer and fellow mental patient (Adam Goldberg).
Reunion (Thursdays, 8 p.m.), which Fox describes as "part character drama and part mystery," tells the stories of a group of six friends from the ages of 18 to 38 — all in one season, with each episode set a year after the previous one.
The Gate (Fridays, 8 p.m.) is about a troubled cop (Johnny Messner, "The O.C.") who investigates "bizarre crimes committed by San Francisco's most aberrant criminals."
In addition to "Nanny 911" and "Trading Spouses," which will return at some point this season, Fox announced two new midseason entries:
The Loop (Wednesdays, 8:30 p.m., beginning in January) is about a group of Chicago roommates at different points in their lives.
Free Birds is a "partially improvised comedy" about a former Big Man On Campus (Josh Dean) who has to move back to his small hometown and back in with his parents.
Among the shows Fox canceled are "Life On a Stick," "The Simple Life," "Point Pleasant," "Jonny Zero," "Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show," "Quintuplets," "Rebel Billionaire," "Renovate My Family," "The Swan" and "Tru Calling."
UPN'S NEW SCHEDULE makes a couple of fairly audacious moves. After six years on Thursdays, "WWE Smackdown!" is moving to Fridays to make way for the network's Great New Hope — a sitcom "inspired" by the childhood of comedian Chris Rock titled "Everybody Hates Chris." (Really.)
UPN is the latest network acting like a shark that smells blood in the water on Thursdays. CBS has toppled NBC from its longtime throne on that night, and ABC (which is moving "Alias" to Thursdays at 7 p.m.), the WB (which is moving "Smallville") and now UPN all obviously see NBC's "Joey" and "Will & Grace" as vulnerable.
UPN, which programs just 10 hours over five nights (and one of those hours is an "America's Next Top Model" repeat), is adding only three shows. Five programs, including wrestling, are moving to new time slots.
The network's new shows are:
Sex, Lies & Secrets (Tuesdays, 8 p.m.), is an ensemble drama/soap opera set in Silver Lake area of Los Angeles that revolves around a group of twentysomething friends who are "finding out who they are and what they want in life." From the producers of "Clubhouse" and "Celebrity Deathmatch." (Really.)
UPN also announced one midseason replacement series:
Everybody Hates Chris (Thursdays, 7 p.m.), which Chris Rock will narrate, is a "touching" autobiographical tale "of a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn during the early 1980s and bused to a predominantly white middle school two-hours away by his strict, hard-working parents," according to UPN.
Love, Inc. (Thursdays, 8:30 p.m.) is a sitcom about a full-service dating consultant (Shannen Doherty of "90210" and "Charmed") and her co-workers/pals (Holly Robinson Peete, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Vince Vieluf and Ion Overman). From former writer/producers of "Friends" and "Two and a Half Men."
South Beach is a one-hour drama about two best friends who abandon their lives and head for Florida, where they dive into the glamorous life and "seedy underbelly" of South Beach. Jennifer Lopez is an executive producer.
UPN axed "Kevin Hill," "Star Trek: Enterprise" and "Missy Elliott's Road to Stardom."
THERE WAS AN ERROR in CBS's schedule printed in Thursday's paper. The new sitcom "Out of Practice" will be seen Mondays at 8:30 p.m.; "CSI: Miami" returns Mondays at 9 p.m.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com