'Allen Gregory' a No-Show on Fox's Midseason Roster

Fox on Thursday released its midseason lineup, and to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Allen Gregory is nowhere to be found on the schedule. Voiced by Jonah Hill, the animated series has punched a ragged, child-sized hole in Fox’s Sunday night “Animation Domination” roster. Since bowing Oct. 30 to an underwhelming 4.77 million viewers and a 2.4 rating in the 18-49 demo, Allen Gregory has plummeted to an anemic 3.18 million viewers and a 1.5 rating. On Nov. 27, Allen Gregory lost 43 percent of the lead-in audience furnished by The Simpsons. Through five episodes, Allen Gregory is averaging 4.09 million viewers and a 2.0 rating in the money demo. In the same time slot a year ago, The Cleveland Show averaged 6.46 million viewers and a 3.0 rating in its first five weeks. Allen Gregory’s failure to connect with viewers appears to be taking a bite out of Family Guy’s audience at 9 p.m.––at this time last season, Seth MacFarlane’s signature series was drawing 8.04 million viewers and a 3.9 rating; through Nov. 20, Family Guy is averaging 6.41 million viewers and a 3.4 rating. Beginning Jan. 15, new series Napoleon Dynamite will replace Allen Gregory in the 8:30 p.m. time slot. Fox placed an order for 13 episodes of the comedy, which is voiced by the original cast of the 2004 theatrical. On March 11, Napoleon Dynamite will give way to the second season of Bob’s Burgers. Also not on the midseason schedule is the freshman comedy I Hate My Teenage Daughter. As it premiered Wednesday night, it’s premature to make any projections about the fate of the series, but Fox hopes to bring it back at an unspecified date in the spring. Seven episodes of IHMTD are slated to air between now and Jan. 11. Per preliminary Nielsen data, the pilot episode drew 6.84 million viewers and a 2.8 rating leading out of The X Factor at 9:30 p.m. Among the new series on Fox’s midseason slate are the much-anticipated Kiefer Sutherland vehicle, Touch, and J.J. Abrams’ wiggy time-warp procedural Alcatraz. Touch will bow in a special one-hour preview on Jan. 25, leading out of the season’s third installment of American Idol. Touch will take its regular spot in the Monday night lineup on March 19, leading out of House. Alcatraz effectively will share the Monday 9 p.m. slot with Touch; the series premieres on Jan. 16 in a two-hour block. Also new this winter is The Finder, a Bones spinoff that premieres Jan. 12 at 9 p.m. One week later, The Finder will begin airing out of the Thursday installment of American Idol. Heading into its 11th season, Idol commands the second-highest ad rate on the tube ($500,000 per :30), trailing only NBC’s Sunday Night Football. The resurrected Christian Slater comedy Breaking In will move into the Tuesday 8:30 p.m. slot on March 6, leading out of encore episodes of Fox’s freshman hit, New Girl. The X Factor and Glee will go on hiatus on Dec. 22 and Jan. 17, respectively. Both series will return in fall 2012. No decision has been made on Fox’s pricey CGI drama Terra Nova, which is averaging 7.98 million viewers and a 2.7 in the demo in its Monday 8 p.m. slot. Of the 26 new series that debuted this fall, half have been given back-nine orders and one (The X Factor) has already been picked up for a second season. Of the 13 remaining series, five have been yanked from the prime time schedule (Charlie’s Angels, How to Be a Gentleman, Free Agents, The Playboy Club, H8R) and four have been scrubbed from the midseason roster (Pan Am, Allen Gregory, Man Up!, Prime Suspect). New scripted hits have been few and far between. Season-to-date, CBS’s 2 Broke Girls is averaging 12.2 million viewers and a 4.8 in the demo, while Fox’s New Girl is drawing 8.14 million viewers and a 4.0 rating. ABC’s Once upon a Time is a surprise hit on Sunday night, averaging 11.6 million viewers and a 3.8, and stablemate Suburgatory is pulling in 8.93 million viewers and a 3.1 rating through its first eight weeks.

Convergent TV

'Allen Gregory' a No-Show on Fox's Midseason Roster

Network sets premiere dates for 'Touch,' 'Alcatraz'

Anthony Crupi

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Anthony Crupi