Fox Sets Fall Schedule with Friday Comedy Block

Fox is going for the laughs. The network announced that it is opening its Tuesday night lineup with new shows from Seth MacFarlane and Andy Samberg. Fox included sweeping changes its new prime-time schedule that they announced today.

The network will add twelve new series that will be spread out throughout the season to maintain a consistently original schedule from September to May. Fox announced that there will be five live-action comedies, an animated comedy called “Murder Police,” four dramas, a reality show and what they network is calling an “event series” among the new shows.

The most anticipated new comedy on Fox is Seth MacFarlane’s “Dads.” The live-action comedy will star Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi as young bachelors who are dealing with living with their dads. Adam Samberg and Andre Braugher will play two city cops who can’t get along in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” Both shows will start on Tuesday as lead-ins to “New Girl” and the sophomore season of “The Mindy Project.”

“Bones” opens the week in the 8 p.m. Monday hour. This will be followed by the new show “Sleepy Hollow.” “Almost Human” a robot-cop show by J.J. Abrams’, will take over the 8 p.m. slot in the late fall. It will be with season two of “The Following” by midseason. Fox will shift “Bones” to Friday at 8 p.m. right before the Friday night comedy block.

The network will air two-hour segments of “The X Factor” in the fall and “American Idol” in the midseason on Wednesdays. “Glee” will follow “X Factor” in the fall. In mid-season, Greg Kinnear will play a charming, but self-destructive defense lawyer in the drama “Rake” on Thursdays which will be led by “Idol.”

In the fall, Fridays will open with the reality show “Junior MasterChef.” This will be followed by “Sleepy Hollow” reruns until “Bones” and comedy lineup kicks in.

Fox will continue to show a primetime sports block on Saturdays. “Animation Domination High-Def” will take the 11 p.m.-12:30 a.m. block.

Sundays will stay as they are. Football will lead into the block of the animated comedies “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy” and “American Dad.”

Fox also picked up some new series pickups that will eventually make their way to the midseason. These include the comedies “Surviving Jack,” “Us and Them,” “Murder Police” and the drama “Gang Related.”

Next year Fox will air its event limited series, “Wayward Pines” from “Sixth Sense” director M. Night Shyamalan. Fox will run a segment of “New Girl” and a new comedy after the Super Bowl. Fox has also unveiled plans to revive “24″ as a limited event series.