
The pickup will keep the Disney-owned comedy on the air through its 34th season in 2023.

The network will open a second animation block on Monday nights in the summer. Newcomer Housebroken, featuring the voices of Lisa Kudrow, Nat Faxon, Will Forte and Sharon Horgan, will pair with second-year show Duncanville, starring Amy Poehler, beginning May 31. Duncanville will premiere with two episodes on Sunday, May 23, before moving to its regular berth.

The NFL is in active discussions on renewal rates with all four of its existing network partners — NBC, CBS, Fox, and Disney-owned ESPN, according to people familiar with the matter. The NFL is hoping to get its primary package renewals completed by March 17. NBC, CBS and Fox are likely to accept increases closer to 100% than Disney, which is currently paying much more than the three broadcast networks for its Monday Night Football package, said the people.

Fox sats it will be holding its upfront presentation on May 17 and that, in addition to its entertainment and sports programming, this year’s event will showcase Tubi, the ad supported streaming service it bought last year.

The Masked Singer will premiere its fifth season this March on Fox with a new lead-out series, the broadcast network said Monday. The hit whosungit series will debut Season 5 on Wednesday, March 10 at 8 p.m. ET and be immediately followed by the series premiere of the new Wayne Brady-hosted variety show Game of Talents at 9. In the fall, The Masked Singer acted as the lead-in for I Can See Your Voice, which was renewed for Season 2 at Fox in January. The broadcast network has decided to slot Game of Talents in its place for this spring cycle.

The show set in ancient Greece stems from a direct broadcast deal the Rick and Morty co-creator signed at the network.

The broadcaster has renewed the unscripted series hosted by Ken Jeong following a solid debut run in the fall. Jeong, who’s also an executive producer, and judges Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton are set to return.

Fox acquired the first two seasons, or 12 episodes, of the CBC original drama that stars Being Erica and General Hospital actress Vinessa Antoine as Marcie Diggs, a star corporate lawyer who reconsiders her priorities and moves to work in a legal-aid office after her beloved aunt takes her own life following the pressures of a malicious prosecution.

Varun Narang has been named chief product officer at Fox, where he will oversee the company’s Fox-branded streaming products, platforms and engineering. Narang had been chief product officer with Disney Plus Hotstar, which he joined in 2015, before it was sold by 21st Century Fox to Disney.

The National Football League will allow CBS, NBC and Fox to sell an additional two minutes of commercials during the playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl, according to network and league officials. That will mean several million dollars of new revenue for the networks, as NFL postseason games are among the most sought-after content for advertisers. A spot usually runs as high as $1 million during the early playoff rounds and can top $2 million for the conference championships that determine who plays in the Super Bowl, network executives said.

The Oscar winner has joined the network’s drama Prodigal Son for its second season. She’ll be a series regular and foil for Michael Sheen’s character in the series. It’s her first series role on a U.S. broadcast network.

The New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings game on Christmas Day proved a strong lure for sports fans isolated from their typical family gatherings by the pandemic. The game drew a 10.1 demographics score and provided an NFL record performance, as Saints running back Alvin Kamara scored six touchdowns.

Following the NFL on Fox doubleheader on Jan. 3, the network’s new animated series The Great North is getting a special preview at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, ahead of its Feb. 14 series premiere, following the series premiere of multi-cam comedy Call Me Kat, starring Mayim Bialik at 8 p.m.

Even though games may look the same, most of the processes around broadcasting the games have changed. Interviews for pregame features are being done remotely, announcers are socially distanced while being separated by plexiglass, and sideline reporters are in the stands.

Fox and Sinclair Broadcast Group said they reached an agreement renewing the Fox Broadcasting affiliation for stations in 25 markets. The Sinclair Fox affiliates affected by the deal cover about 11% of U.S. households.

The network has handed a straight-to-series order to a contemporary reboot of the late-’70s/early ’80s ABC drama, to hail from executive producers Liz Craft and Sarah Fain (The 100) and air in summer 2021.

The potential Empire spinoff centered on Cookie Lyon starring Taraji P. Henson is not moving ahead at Fox. The spinoff was first announced as being in development back in July, part of a first-look deal Henson had signed with studio 20th Television. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, the project will be shopped to other outlets.

Fox Corp. is the only NFL media partner to carry two different football franchises. Depending on the future costs of those games, Fox may be content to carry just one. The company’s CFO, Steve Tomsic, said Tuesday that if forced to make a decision about whether to carry just Sunday-afternoon football games or Thursday Night Football, Fox would opt for the Sunday package.

Former Community costars Ken Jeong and Joel McHale are set to host Fox’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2021 (working title), the network announced Wednesday. They succeed former NYE emcee Steve Harvey, who has presided over Fox’s countdown since 2017.

To the surprise of no one, Fox has renewed The Masked Singer for a fifth season, set to air in 2021. The announcement comes just hours ahead of the Season 4 semifinals, airing tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

Fox has ordered the unscripted series Game of Talents with Wayne Brady set to host. Based on the Spanish format, Game of Talents pits two teams of contestants against each other as they attempt to figure out the hidden talents of the mystery performers based on first impressions and a series of clues. The series is currently in production in Los Angeles and will debut on Fox in 2021.

Jane Drakowski and Randy Jackson will host the musical game show that will be paired with a new season of The Masked Singer in January.

Will Arnett will return as host and exec producer of the competition series.

Fox has unveiled the bulk of its winter 2021 schedule, featuring the network’s returning scripted series, which will roll out starting on Dec. 27.

Fox will not renew either series for a second season, although both shows will see out their current runs. Low ratings — both shows are averaging a 0.5/3 in the 18-49 demo — and uncertainty are behind the cancellation of the series, which were both originally intended for summer runs.

Fox is getting a very early jump on its lineup for the 2021-22 TV season. The network has given a series order to This Country, a single-camera mockumentary from creator Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City, The Big C) and director Paul Feig (A Simple Favor, The Office). It’s based on a BAFTA-winning BBC series created by and starring Daisy and Charlie Cooper.

The six games on Fox averaged a 5.2 rating/12 share and 9,785,000 viewers, Nielsen said Wednesday. The previous low was a 7.6 rating/12 share and 12,660,000 viewers for the San Francisco Giants’ four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in 2012.

Believing it’s never too early to start thinking about the upfront, Fox has launched an ad campaign aimed at media buyers and brand managers, and a web portal where clients can get information about upcoming schedules and programming. The campaign uses the theme “The Power Of Fox Is The Power To Break Through’” and informs clients that they can buy the company’s four verticals — entertainment, sports, news and the Tubi streaming services — or buy the entire portfolio.

Los Angeles’ 8-3 Game 1 win received a 5.1 rating/11 share, and was seen by an average of 9,195,000 viewers on Fox from 8:06 p.m. to 11:41 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nielsen Media Research said Wednesday.

Fox’s four returning drama series, 9-1-1, spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star, The Resident and Prodigal Son, will be back in the air with new seasons in January (no exact premiere dates yet). The network on Tuesday released a promo teasing the upcoming return of the series, which are now in production. The network also unveiled tweaked Monday and Tuesday lineups.

Fox announced Wednesday that Tim Allen’s death-defying family sitcom will conclude with its upcoming ninth season, which is set to premiere in January. The network resurrected the series in May 2018, ordering a seventh season nearly a year to the day after its controversial cancellation at ABC.

Fox’s animation will be dominating for the foreseeable future: Sunday-night staples Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers have each been renewed for two more seasons, the network announced Wednesday. Family Guy has been picked up for Seasons 20 and 21, while Bob’s Burgers will be back for Seasons 12 and 13. Each show will now run through at least 2023.

Liv Tyler has opted out of season two of Fox’s 911: Lone Star. The actress, who had a multiple-year deal for the Fox procedural, will not return to the Tim Minear drama amid issues related to the coronavirus pandemic. Tyler had previously commuted from London to Los Angeles, where the Austin-set series is filmed.

Fox Corp. is willing to spend as much as $2 billion a year to maintain its rights to National Football League games on Sunday, a huge increase from its current contract, according to people familiar with the matter. Negotiations with the league are heating up because current broadcast rights begin expiring at the end of next year.

Fox has set September premiere dates for Season 4 of The Masked Singer and the new Ken Jeong-hosted musical game show I Can See Your Voice, the network announced Wednesday. I Can See Your Voice was not on the original fall schedule Fox released back in May, but the show was fast-tracked to debut next month, taking the Wednesday night timeslot previously designated of MasterChef Junior.