Fox Fall Shuffle

The fall schedule always gets shuffled before the start of the new season, so it’s no surprise that Fox has already switched some programming around. Reality TV and game shows are taking a priority as Fox scrambles to reorganize in the face of a potential writers’ strike in October. According to the Los Angeles Times, studios are pushing up production schedules in anticipation of a walkout the likes of which they haven’t seen since 1988 because the current writers’ contract expires on Halloween, of all days. Of course, the answer isn’t to work on preventing the problem but creating lots of reality programming that will probably hurt the season more by taking the amount of quality TV on the air down a notch.

First, Thursday is going to become a game show night with "Don’t Forget the Lyrics!” that started in July, brings karaoke to new lows (think "American Idol” but worse and even more pointless), and is being considered as a good bet to run on Thursdays right along side "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” beginning Sept. 6. Then, just what TV needs, another reality show, "Kitchen Nightmares” (think "Hell’s Kitchen” but worse and even more pointless), begins on Sept. 19 at 9 p.m.

The good news is that two actual shows (you remember dramas and good old-fashioned fictional television, right?) will be back-to-back on Tuesdays. Since "Bones” is getting bumped from Wednesday nights and Fox was pairing it with "House” for rerun Friday nights anyway, the two are joining forces to make Tuesdays the best night on Fox besides Animation Domination Sundays with "The Simpsons,” "Family Guy” and "American Dad.” "Bones” will air at 8 p.m. and "House” still in its 9 p.m. timeslot where it is thriving happily. Naturally, when "American Idol” comes back, the world (and the season) will stop for it as it did this spring to give us an average of one new episode of "House” a month. Personally, I can’t wait to be that irritated by the senseless interruption of a few of the only good shows Fox has again; I’m just grateful "24” has such steam behind it that its nonstop season is "American Idol” interference-free.

Out of all this news, one series with potential emerges and that’s "New Amsterdam,” one of those old school fictional dramas that we miss so much, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau ("Kingdom of Heaven” and "Black Hawk Down”) as an immortal homicide detective in New York City whose curse is his burden to bear. The premise is reminiscent of the cult series "Forever Knight” starring Geraint Wyn Davies, which was set in Toronto, about a vampire detective trying to redeem himself and cure himself of being a blood-drinker. (Joss Whedon’s noir sci-fi fantasy drama "Angel” was also reminiscent of this premise.) "New Amsterdam” has been moved for a midseason premiere, most likely as a back-up in case of a strike. We’ll see just how "New Amsterdam” does, because if done right, it seems to be the only new show in this lineup that will be worth checking out.