FOX Gives ‘Family Guy’ A Midseason Debut For The First Time In Nearly 20 Years — But Insists The Comedy Is “Crucial” To Their Lineup

FOX‘s fall schedule is experiencing a Family Guy-sized shake-up.

At the network’s Upfront Conference Call held on Monday morning, FOX shared that the hit animated comedy will make a midseason return for its upcoming Season 23 as opposed to launching in the fall.

Family Guy, which has historically been included in the network’s Sunday night Animation Domination lineup, switched to Wednesday nights toward the end of Season 22, per The Hollywood Reporter.

During Monday’s call, FOX network president Michael Thorn said the network aims to “keep the strength of our longtime running legacy series” while also promoting newer shows like Krapopolis and the comedy Universal Basic Guys, which will air on Sundays after NFL coverage.

Universal Basic Guys will now air after The Simpsons and Krapopolis will air in the 9:30 p.m. time slot after Bob’s Burgers.

Universal Basic Guys has already been ordered for a second season ahead of its debut this fall. According to a press release, the show “centers on two brothers, Mark and Hank Hoagies, who lose their jobs to automation and are given $3,000 a month in a new basic income program.”

Thorn noted that they “want to give a very specific impactful launch” for Universal Basic Guys.

“At the same time, our long running series like Family Guy are still of crucial importance to us and our audience,” he added. “So bringing it back midseason with a full order is absolutely our plan.

“We’ll give [the show] a great relaunch along with our lineup for that part of the season and of course, the show is beloved,” Thorn shared. “And just like we did this year with Animal Control, where it succeeded as a great one-hour block of comedy, we know when it comes back on Sunday in midseason, it will resonate with our audience the way it always has.”

Thorn also said that “most of the animation audience, specifically Family Guy, consumes it on Hulu or on one of [their] on-demand platforms.”

“So we have an opportunity to give Family Guy a long run with very few repeats starting in midseason,” he added. “And we know the fans, based on this year’s run on Wednesdays, are going to find and engage with Family Guy wherever it is.”

Family Guy joins fellow FOX animated comedies The Great North and Jon Hamm‘s Grimsburg in landing midseason returns. Other scripted series slated for a midseason comeback are Alert: Missing Persons Unit, Animal Control, The Cleaning Lady and Doc, a newly announced medical drama starring Molly Parker that is based on the Italian series Doc — Nelle tue mani, per Deadline, which Thorn described on Monday’s call as “heart-racing and heart-wrenching.”

Meanwhile, six unscripted series will return midseason, including MasterChef and Name That Tune.