And then there’s FOX, the schedule I’ve been anticipating the most. Who knew?!

I really hope FOX is going to be patient this year. I’ve been burned by them so many times but I really love several of their new shows on paper so I’m hoping they give them time to grow and find an audience. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. But I’ve looked at the new schedule below and I’m actually surprised how many of their current scripted shows I’m watching. I guess they’ve been slowly worming their way back into my TV heart after all, eh? Check it out next season’s schedule…

MONDAY   8 PM: Sarah Connor Chronicles   9 PM: Prison Break	(Winter) 8 PM: DOLLHOUSE 9 PM: 24
TUESDAY   8 PM: House   9 PM: FRINGE	(Winter) 8 PM: American Idol
WEDNESDAY   8 PM: Bones   9 PM: ‘Til Death   9:30 PM: DO NOT DISTURB	(Winter) 8 PM: House 9 PM: AI Results Show 9:30 PM: TBA COMEDY
THURSDAY   8 PM: Moment of Truth   9 PM: Kitchen Nightmares	(Winter) 8 PM: Hell’s Kitchen 9 PM: SECRET MILLIONAIRE
FRIDAY   8 PM: Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?   9 PM: Don’t Forget the Lyrics!	(Winter) 8 PM: Bones 9 PM: ‘Til Death 9:30 PM: DO NOT DISTURB
SATURDAY   8 PM: Cops   8:30 PM: Cops   9 PM: America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back   11 PM: Midnight MADtv   12 PM: Talkshow with Spike Feresten
SUNDAY   7 PM: The OT (NFL post-game)   8 PM: The Simpsons   8:30 PM: King of the Hill   9 PM: Family Guy   9:30 PM: American Dad	(Winter/Spring) 7 PM: Comedy Encores   8:30 PM: SIT DOWN, SHUT UP 9 PM: Family Guy 9:30 PM: THE CLEVELAND SHOW

Oh, whew! I read a rumor the other day that Fringe was going to be mid-season as well as Dollhouse and I was all annoyed that I was going to have to wait another eight months for the two new shows I’ve been looking forward to the most. So I’m very happy to see Fringe sitting pretty on Tuesday nights and STAYING there through mid-season. How rare! Tuesday is perfect for me because I really don’t have anything on that day and I suspect Fringe will take all of my attention.

As for Dollhouse not coming out until mid-season, well I guess hearing about that earlier in the week has given me time to be ok with it. I don’t think it’s a reflection of how FOX feels about the show at all. Looking at that schedule, they were just having a hard time getting everything to fit. I don’t love it being Mondays at 8 where I’ve already got way too many shows but it’s not like I’m not going to watch it! Come on, it’s Joss and Eliza. I’m there.

I do think it’s interesting that there’s not much else new on their plate. It seemed like FOX had a bunch of new things in the work and yet we’re not seeing any of ‘em. I know that, like ABC, most of their pilots are still percolating but, other than the one slot they are purposely holding for a new comedy, they haven’t even really made too much room for anything new come mid-season. A lot of their seasoned shows will be on the schedule at that point and I hope that’s a good sign that they’re going to give their new shows a chance to find an audience. Or maybe I’m just wearing my rose-colored glasses because I want to believe FOX isn’t going to screw me over this season? Only time will tell.

I will be interested to see what new comedy gets the open slot. They have one pilot in the works that I liked the sounds of so I’m kind of rooting for it to pull through. Anyway, the full FOX press release is up on the futon critic but here are the new show descriptions.

DOLLHOUSE - In this thrilling new drama, ECHO is an “Active,” a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Confined to a secret facility known as the “Dollhouse,” Echo and the other Actives including SIERRA and VICTOR carry out engagements assigned by ADELLE, one of the Dollhouse leaders. The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional “pro bono” good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler BOYD, returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased by TOPHER, the Dollhouse’s genius programmer. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she? As the series progresses, FBI Agent PAUL SMITH pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. DOLLHOUSE revolves around Echo’s blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.

FRINGE - A new drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. When an international flight lands at Boston’s Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT, is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP, our generation’s Einstein. There’s only one catch: he’s been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER in to help. When Olivia’s investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP, our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES, CHARLIE FRANCIS and ASTRID FARNSWORTH will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

DO NOT DISTURB - A hilarious workplace comedy set at one of New York City’s hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple’s “10 Best Places to Stay,” The Inn is just that the “in” place to be, with its chic decor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story. The hotel’s top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to NEAL at least in his opinion. Although The Inn’s charismatic owner R.J. takes all the credit, Neal is the egotistical, hyper-stylish, detail-oriented general manager who will do whatever it takes to keep the hotel and its employees up to his standards. RHONDA is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal’s demands in check. She’s brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department from her bullpen downstairs with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble. At the front desk handling check-in while wearing 6-inch Manolos is NICOLE, an aging model who is svelte, cynical and slightly starving. Fresh from Nebraska is JASON, the nave bellman who would prefer to work behind-the-scenes, but was hired to show off his chiseled face and perfect pecs at the front of the hotel. The downstairs staff includes MOLLY, a reservations clerk who dreams of pop-singer stardom as much as she craves to be part of the action upstairs; and LARRY, the head of housekeeping who spends more time on the phone cleaning up his messes at home than he does cleaning up after the guests upstairs.

SECRET MILLIONAIRE - A dramatic unscripted series that takes America’s wealthiest individuals away from their lavish lifestyles, sprawling mansions and private planes and places them undercover into some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. Shot under the guise of a documentary, the series reveals the dramatic personal return that millionaires will get when they leave their fortunes to invest in those less fortunate. Challenged with living on minimum wage, the millionaires will immerse themselves in situations beyond their comprehension. They will work side-by-side with community members and befriend those in need to decide who should ultimately receive their gifts of a lifetime. The millionaires will be touched by the people they meet. Some will inspire with their dedication to helping others, while others will relay stories of overcoming tremendous odds. On the final day, the Secret Millionaires meet with the chosen recipients and reveal their true identity and intention: to give them at least $100,000 oftentimes more of their own money and to change their lives forever. SECRET MILLIONAIRE will engage viewers in important social issues, extol the virtues of volunteerism and change the lives of disadvantaged people and the philanthropists who helped them in unexpected ways.

SIT DOWN, SHUT UP - An animated comedy that focuses on the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town (Go Baiters!) who never lose sight of the fact that the children must ALWAYS come second. We watch them grapple with their own egos, needs and personal agendas, their petty insecurities and prejudices, unrequited loves, and ruthless battles for power and that’s just at the staff meeting. SUE SEZNO, a woman who frequently says “no,” is the acting principal of the school (the actual principal is recovering from a series of unfortunate accidents that might be seen as escape attempts). Then there’s Vice Principal STUART PROZACKIAN who has a terrifically positive and upbeat attitude… possibly from the performance-enhancing medication he’s been secretly put on by the other teachers. There is one educator who feels the focus should be on academics, but despite the old adage, at this school, those who can teach, teach gym and that’s where LARRY SLIMP has been exiled to. Immensely frustrated, Larry nurses a crush on science teacher MIRACLE GROHE, a woman whose superficial grasp on science is balanced by her superficial grasp on spirituality. Rounding out the staff is the aging German teacher WILLARD DEUTSCHEBOG, a deeply defeated man whose yearbook quotation reads “If I believed in reincarnation, I’d kill myself tonight.” Uptight HELEN KLENCH is a librarian whose life’s work in research and archiving can now be surpassed by the average Google search from the average cell phone. Proud ANDREW SAPIEN is the flamboyant drama teacher. ENNIS HOFFTARD is a fellow teacher and a self-obsessed body builder who yearns to be thought of as a “cool dude” by his students. And finally there’s HAPPY, the plotting secretive custodian who’s assumed to be Hispanic despite the fact that his real name is Muhannad Sabeeh Fa’ach Nuaba. With a distinctive new look a combination of animation against a live-action backdrop SIT DOWN, SHUT UP is a series for the young and old at heart. It lampoons modern society while exposing the dreams, flaws and struggling humanity of our first and most formative authority figures: teachers.

THE CLEVELAND SHOW - Many years ago, CLEVELAND BROWN was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named DONNA. Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he’d be there when she called. Well, this man done her wrong. Donna’s husband skipped town with another woman, leaving Donna with a daughter and a baby. Now she’s come to Cleveland and offered him another chance at love. Unattached after the Loretta-Quagmire debacle and true to his word, Cleveland joyously accepts and he and CLEVELAND JR. move to Stoolbend, VA, to join their new family. Once in Stoolbend, Cleveland has a few surprises in store for him, including a flirtatious new stepdaughter, a 5-year-old stepson who loves the ladies, as well as a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck couple, a British family seemingly stuck in the Victorian era and a family of bears living at the end of the block. Family Guy was only the beginning. Get ready for The Cleveland Show!