Get ready Fox affiliates: “American Idol” will be back January 18th. The network has also set premiere dates for the new dramas “Touch” and “Alcatraz,” as well as the procedural “The Finder.”
American Idol kicks off its 11th season with a two-night premiere Wednesday, January 18 (8:00-10:00 pm ET/PT) and Thursday, January 19 (8:00-9:00 pm ET/PT). Ryan Seacrest returns and host and there is lso no change in the judges panel this time, with Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler all coming back. Television’s #1 series continues with a special, extended primetime broadcast Sunday, January 22 (10:00-11:00 pm ET/7:00-8:00 pm PT) following the NFC Championship Game (6:00 pm-conclusion ET live/3:00 pm-conclusion PT live).
Touch, the distinctive new drama created by Tim Kring (“Heroes”) and starring Kiefer Sutherland (“24”) will debut with a special preview Wednesday, January 25 (9:00-10:00 pm ET/PT), immediately following Idol (8:00-9:00 pm ET/PT). The uplifting drama, which makes its series premiere Monday, March 19 (9:00-10:00 pm ET/PT), features Sutherland as a widower and single father haunted by an inability to connect to his mute 11-year-old son. But everything changes when he discovers that his son possesses the gift of staggering genius – the ability to see things that no one else can and the patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events.
J.J. Abrams’ (“Super 8,” “Star Trek,” “Lost”) chilling new thriller Alcatraz will debut Monday, January 16 (8:00-10:00 pm ET/PT) with a special two-hour premiere event. The series then makes its time period premiere on Monday, January 23 (9:00-10:00 pm ET/PT), following all-new episodes of House (8:00-9:00 pm ET/PT). The mysterious drama stars Sarah Jones (“Sons of Anarchy”), Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) and Sam Neill (“Jurassic Park”) as a unique team investigating the shocking reappearance of Alcatraz’s most notorious prisoners, 50 years after they vanished.
The Finder, the one-hour procedural centering on a remarkable man with an extraordinary ability to help people find the unfindable, joins the schedule Thursday, January 12 (9:00-10:00 pm ET/PT). The debut follows an encore episode of Bones (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), in which The Finder’s “Walter Sherman” (Geoff Stults, “She’s Out of My League,” “October Road”) and “Leo Knox” (Michael Clarke Duncan, “The Green Mile”) were first introduced.
“Napoleon Dynamite,” the new animated comedy based on the hit movie, joins the Animation Domination lineup with a double dose of Dynamite episodes Sunday, January 15, beginning with the series premiere at 8:30-9:00 pm ET/PT, followed by a second all-new episode at 9:30-10:00 pm ET/PT. Featuring the voices of the original cast, Napoleon Dynamite follows the continuing adventures of America’s most awesomely awkward teenager and his quirky family and friends, as they navigate small-town life in rural Idaho.
FOX 2011-2012 MIDSEASON SCHEDULE
(Times for All-New episodes are ET/PT except as noted)
MONDAY
Monday, Jan. 16:
8:00-10:00 PM ALCATRAZ (Series Premiere)
Mondays, beginning Jan. 23:
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM ALCATRAZ (Time Period Premiere)
Monday, March 12:
8:00-10:00 PM ALCATRAZ (Two-Hour Episode)
Mondays, beginning March 19:
8:00-9:00 PM HOUSE
9:00-10:00 PM TOUCH (Series Premiere)
TUESDAY
Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 17:
8:00-9:00 PM GLEE
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM RAISING HOPE
Tuesdays, beginning March 6:
8:00-8:30 PM NEW GIRL (encore)
8:30-9:00 PM BREAKING IN (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM NEW GIRL
9:30-10:00 PM RAISING HOPE
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, Jan. 4:
8:00-9:00 PM GLEE (encore)
9:00-10:00 PM MOBBED
Wednesday, Jan. 11:
8:00-9:00 PM MOBBED (encore)
9:00-10:00 PM MOBBED
Wednesday, Jan. 18:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part One)
Wednesday, Jan. 25:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM TOUCH (Special Preview)
Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 1:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00-10:00 PM MOBBED
Wednesdays, beginning Feb. 15:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Two-Hour Episodes)
THURSDAY
Thursday, Jan. 12:
8:00-9:00 PM BONES (encore)
9:00-10:00 PM THE FINDER (Series Premiere)
Thursdays, beginning Jan. 19:
8:00-9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL (Season Premiere, Part Two)
9:00-10:00 PM THE FINDER
FRIDAY
Friday, Jan. 6:
8:00 PM-CC ET FOX SPORTS SPECIAL: 2012 AT&T COTTON BOWL CLASSIC (Live)
Fridays, beginning Jan. 13:
8:00-9:00 PM KITCHEN NIGHTMARES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE
SATURDAY
Saturdays, beginning Jan. 7:
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM DRAMA ENCORES
11:00 PM-Midnight ENCORES
Midnight-12:30 AM ENCORES
Saturday, Feb. 11:
8:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED SPECIAL EDITION
11:00 PM-Midnight ENCORES
Midnight-12:30 AM ENCORES
SUNDAY
Sunday, Jan. 8:
7:00-7:30 PM BOB’S BURGERS (encore)
7:30-8:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW (encore)
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
Sunday, Jan. 15:
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Series Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (Special Time)
Sunday, Jan. 22:
6:00 PM-CC ET FOX SPORTS SPECIAL: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (Live)
10:00 PM ET/7:00 PT AMERICAN IDOL (Special Broadcast; Approximate Start Time)
Sundays, beginning Jan. 29:
7:00-7:30 PM BOB’S BURGERS (encore)
7:30-8:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
Sundays, beginning March 11:
7:00-7:30 PM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES
7:30-8:00 PM THE CLEVELAND SHOW
8:00-8:30 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30-9:00 PM BOB’S BURGERS (Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:30-10:00 PM AMERICAN DAD
