Rough Fall Forecast for "O.C."

One O.C. cliffhanger airs Thursday night; one O.C. cliffhanger begins next fall.

Fox announced Thursday it was renewing the former flavor of the month for a fourth season, returning it to its usual night and time, and, in the process, asking the aging teen soap to hold its own against CBS' CSI, ABC's Grey's Anatomy and NBC's new would-be star, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, in what should be prime time's most competitive hour.

This past season, The O.C. has averaged just 5.7 million viewers. But Fox is fond of those 5.7 million, seeing as how they're largely teens and young adults.

In a press conference Thursday, Fox Entertainment president Peter Liguori allowed that the network did consider--"very briefly"--rezoning The O.C., and moving it off Thursdays at 9 p.m. "[But] the O.C. has an incredibly loyal audience," Liguori said. "We feel the audience will be there."

Additionally, Liguori said he believes the O.C.'s Thursday night, third-season finale--a buzzed-about shocker--will drive interest in the show's fourth-season return.

Elsewhere, the American Idol-powered network confirmed a slate of new shows that will call on the likes of Steven Spielberg, Simon Cowell, Mark Burnett, Jerry Bruckheimer and amateur film geeks as young as 13.

In all, Fox unveiled: five new fall shows, two dramas, two comedies, one Bruckheimer; one new January 2007 show, a romantic drama starring the dreamy Carver from Nip/Tuck; one midseason replacement, a comedy; one new Cowell project, a Skating with Celebrities concept with a stage instead of an ice rink; and, one Spielberg-Burnett-Joe Blow collaboration.

While that sounds like a lot of new product, Fox is tinkering, not overhauling. Headed toward a year-end victory as the most watched network among coveted 18- to 49-year-old viewers, it won't mess with its blueprint from this past season: some premieres in early fall, baseball in October, more premieres in later fall and Idol and 24 in January.

In addition to Idol and 24, both returning for their sixth seasons, and the O.C., Fox formally renewed 13 other prime-time shows: ginormous medical drama House; hardly watched midseason comedy The Loop; 2005-06 freshman standouts Prison Break and Bones; Sunday night live-action comedy The War at Home; all of its Sunday night 'toons, although King of the Hill won't be back until January; and all of its surveillance videos, from Cops to Nanny 911.

The Simpsons pickup was a good news, bad news scenario for Gunsmoke. The good news is that even with the animated clan's upcoming 18th season, the Fox show still will be more than 200 episodes away from its prime-time longevity record. The bad news is Homer and Marge are aging better, and slower, than Marshal Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty.

Rumors that Futurama would return to Fox's prime-time lineup proved to be rumors--there was no mention of Matt Groening's out-there 'toon in the network announcement.

Gone from the Fox schedule: freshman failures Kitchen Confidential, Head Cases, Reunion and Killer Instinct; midseason bust Free Ride, which actually boasted more viewers than The Loop; Pamela Anderson bust Stacked; and the veteran comedies Arrested Development, That '70s Show, Malcolm in the Middle and Bernie Mac.

Here's a brief rundown of the new shows: Vanished (fall): Appointment television for Greta Van Susteren. In this hourlong drama, the wife of a prominent politician goes missing, and the nation goes nuts following and tracking the ensuing soap opera. With Rebecca Gayheart as "an ambitious reporter." Standoff (fall): 24 meets Moonlighting--it says so right there in the network press release. In this hourlong hybrid, Sex and the City's Ron Livingston stars as an FBI crisis negotiator who's got trouble for a partner--she's also his (uh-oh) girlfriend. Justice (fall): From über-producer Jerry (CSI) Bruckheimer comes the adventures of "four lawyers from disparate backgrounds who join forces to tackle the most controversial and newsworthy cases." In lieu of infrared vision, these super friends rely on "the power of forensic law." Starring Alias' Victor Garber as Professor Xavier, sorry, law firm lion Ron Turk. 'Til Death (fall): With his talked-about Everybody Loves Raymond spinoff long dead, Brad Garrett stars in this half-hour comedy about an old married couple who, in Al and Peg Bundy fashion, have a new married couple for neighbors. Happy Hour (fall): In this half-hour comedy, a small-town Missouri man comes under the tutelage of a Chicago swinger. The Wedding Album (January): In this hourlong romantic drama, Nip/Tuck killer Bruno Campos stars in the Jennifer Lopez role as a photographer who can shoot any wedding--except his own. The Winner (midseason): A comedy about a 43-year-old man wistfully looking back on his "wonder years"--as a 32-year-old man. Duets (September, limited run): Executive producer Simon Cowell coaxes stars not known for their lovely singing voices to vocalize with stars who are. Ringers who might participate, per Liguori's name-dropping: Michael Bolton, Cyndi Lauper and Smokey Robinson. On the Lot (late spring 2007): Executive producers Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett (Survivor) run aspiring filmmakers through the American Idol paces. At stake: a $1 million development deal with DreamWorks. The competition is open to Spielberg types, age 13 and older, who can "endure [the] potential physical and mental challenges that may arise as a result of participation." Applications now available at, and video submissions now being accepted at, thelot.com.

Fox also announced Talk Show with Spike Feresten, a new talk show that isn't really a talk show. It'll air late night on Saturdays after the renewed MADtv.

Here's a night-by-night look at Fox's 2006-07 lineup, which undergoes some heavy shifting in January due to the influx of Idol and 24:

SUNDAY: King of the Hill (as of January); The Simpsons; American Dad; Family Guy; The War at Home
MONDAY: Prison Break (fall)/Standoff (January); Vanished (fall)/24 (January)
TUESDAY: Standoff (fall)/American Idol (January); House
WEDNESDAY: Bones (fall)/Justice (January); Justice (fall)/American Idol and The Loop (January)
THURSDAY: 'Til Death; Happy Hour; The O.C.
FRIDAY: Nanny 911 (fall)/Bones (January); Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (fall)/The Wedding Album (January)
SATURDAY: Cops; America's Most Wanted: America Strikes Back

Although, as the schedule says, Prison Break loses its time slot in January, the network promises it'll be back sometime later that year. A full season's worth of 22 episodes has been ordered.