Fox Shakes Up 2009 Mid-season Lineup

Fox announced a mid-season shakeup to its schedule, establishing a Friday sci-fi block and giving a new drama series an American Idol lead-in. House will open Monday nights, followed by 24. As for Tuesdays, American Idol will premiere January 13 at 8 PM/ET and will include the usual two-hour, two-part roll-out. Fringe will still join American Idol as planned.

Wednesday was originally going to have House leading into the American Idol results show. Now American Idol has shifted to 8 PM/ET and will instead lead-in to the new drama Lie to Me, which stars Tim Roth as a “human lie detector.” Fox is very excited about this show, though it will likely to draw comparisons to CBS’ freshman breakout title The Mentalist. Instead of reality block of Hell’s Kitchen and Secret Millionaire on Thursdays, Fox will give Hell’s Kitchen a lead-in from Bones. This is a better time slot for the crime drama, which has performed strong this season. Fox had originally intended to shift Bones to Fridays in mid-season. Secret Millionaire will air in December.

Joss Whedon’s highly anticipated Dollhouse is going to air on low-rated Fridays. The series was originally scheduled to air with 24 on Mondays. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is moving to Friday and will serve as lead-in to Dollhouse creating the new Sci-Fi Friday block. Hole in the Wall is returning midseason to help launch Fox’s Sunday animated block in the 7 PM/ET hour. No dates yet for Fox’s new animated shows such The Cleveland Show.

Full mid-season schedule and premiere dates below.

Sunday

Sunday, January 11:
24 (Season Premiere, Part 1), 8:00-10:00 PM/ET

Beginning January 18:
Hole In The Wall, 7:00-7:30 PM/ET
Hole In The Wall, 7:30-8:00 PM/ET
The Simpsons, 8:00-8:30 PM/ET
King of the Hill, 8:30-9:00 PM/ET
Family Guy, 9:00-9:30 PM/ET
American Dad, 9:30-10:00 PM/ET

Monday

January 5:
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, 7:30 PM/ET

January 12:
24 (Season Premiere, Part 2), 8:00-10:00 PM/ET

Beginning January 19:
House, 8:00-9:00 PM/ET
24, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET

Tuesday

January 13:
American Idol (Season Premiere, Part 1), 8:00-10:00 PM/ET

Beginning January 20:
American Idol, 8:00-9:00 PM/ET
Fring, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET

Wednesday

January 14:
American Idol (Season Premiere, Part 2), 8:00-10:00 PM/ET

Beginning January 21:
American Idol, 8:00-9:00 PM/ET
Lie To Me, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET

Thursday

January 1:
FedEx Orange Bowl, 7:30 PM/ET

January 8:
FedEx BCS National Championship Game, 7:30 PM/ET

Beginning January 15:
Bones, 8:00-9:00 PM/ET
Kitchen Nightmares, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET

Beginning January 29:
Bones, 8:00-9:00 PM/ET
Hell’s Kitchen, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET

Friday

January 2:
AllState Sugar Bowl, 7:30 PM/ET

January. 9:
Fox Movie Special: Bruce Almighty, 8:00-10:00 PM/ET

Beginning January 16 (no change to lineup):
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, 8:00-9:00 PM/ET
Don’t Forget The Lyrics, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET

Beginning January 13:
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 8:00-9:00 PM/ET
Dollhouse (Series Premiere), 9:00-10:00 PM/ET

Saturday

Beginning January 3 (no change to lineup):
Cops, 8:00-8:30 PM/ET
Cops, 8:30-9:00 PM/ET
America’s Most Wanted, 9:00-10:00 PM/ET
MADtv, 11:00 PM-12:00 AM/ET
Talkshow With Spike Ferstein, 12:00-12:30 AM/ET