With Hollywood writers on strike and actors poised to follow, the Fox broadcast network released its new prime-time TV schedule, featuring a slate of reality shows and cartoons.
Fox’s new season kicks off Sept. 19 with the premieres of two unscripted shows, Name That Tune and I Can See Your Voice, the network said Tuesday in a statement.
Like its competitors, Fox has had to put live-action programs on hold since writers walked off the job in early May. There’s a good chance they’ll be joined by actors on Wednesday when an extension for additional labor talks expires at midnight.
That means for now the network is having to fill its prime-time schedule with unscripted shows and animated programs. In its statement, Fox said shows like the first responder drama 9-1-1:Lone Star and the comedy Animal Control will premiere later in the 2023-24 season.
On Sept. 24, with the new NFL season underway, Fox plans to follow a football doubleheader with Krapopolis, a special two-episode premiere of a series about a dysfunctional family of humans, gods and monsters trying to run one of the world’s first cities.
In addition to the new cartoon and returning reality shows like The Masked Singer, the network is also introducing a new game show, Snake Oil, produced by Will Arnett and David Spade, who’s also hosting. It will premiere on Sept. 27.
Programmers and studios including Fox Corp., Walt Disney Co. and Netflix Inc. have been negotiating new contract terms with major Hollywood labor groups. In addition to usual discussions about pay, these talks have been complicated by the industry’s transition to streaming and its affect on royalties and staffing.
Members of the Writers Guild of America walked out on May 2. The studios’ negotiating group, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, reached a new labor agreement with the Directors Guild of America last month.
The studios’ contract with the actors SAG-Aftra union was scheduled to expire at the end of June, but their agreement was extended to July 12 to allow for additional talks.
The last time the writers went on strike in 2008 it led to a surge in reality TV programing.
Variety reported on Tuesday that a group of senior media executives are working on a plan to seek help from federal mediators to avert an actors strike.