With "American Idol" already ushering in its annual spring renaissance, FOX has juggled its schedule to allow for three midseason premieres. Through March and April, FOX will launch "The Wedding Bells," "The Winner" and "Drive," while giving new time periods to "’Til Death," "The War at Home" and "Standoff." Among the new shows, the first out of the box is "The Winner," a comedy from Ricky Blitt ("Family Guy"). The Rob Corddry vehicle will get a two episode dose on Sunday, March 4 and FOX will burn through the rest of the episode order by showing "The Winner" at 8:30 and 9:30 on three consecutive Sundays. Sunday will also welcome "The War at Home" back into the fold. The second-year comedy began on Sunday, but had a temporary move to Thursday nights. As of March 4, "The War at Home" will make its home at 7:30 on Sundays. David E. Kelley’s romantic dramedy "The Wedding Bells," will get a special premiere on Wednesday, March 7 after "American Idol" before moving to its regular Friday night 9 p.m. ET time slot. "Wedding Bells" will be joined by freshman drama "Standoff," as the negotiators series goes to Friday nights at 8 p.m. The third new series, Tim Minear’s "Drive," is held off to April. Focusing on an underground car race across America, "Drive" will premiere in a two-night, three-hour event on Sunday, April 15 (8-10 p.m.) and Monday, April 16 (8-9 p.m.). Subsequent episodes will stay in the Monday 8 p.m. slot leading into "24." Also shifting in the spring is "’Til Death." The Thursday night survivor will go to Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m., taking advantage of the post-"American Idol" boosts. "’Til Death" will face its final Thursday slaughter on Feb. 15 before airing post-"Idol" on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 post-"Idol," going to its regular time period on Wednesday, March 14. What of Thursday? The competitive night has already lost "Happy Hour" and "The O.C." will have its series finale in late February. Leading contenders include a new installment of "Hell’s Kitchen," as well as the second year comedy "The Loop," which has filmed 10 episodes without a schedule slot.
Zap2It
I am really looking forward to The Wedding Bells and The Winner, but I am bummed that they moved Standoff to the Fox’s death night.
