‘Family Guy’ Finds Home in Fox Midseason Lineup — by Giving ‘The Simpsons’ a Break
For the first time in more than 30 years — and only for six weeks — Fox will not lead off its Sunday animation block with The Simpsons.
The longest-running scripted primetime series in American TV history will take a break in February and March. In The Simpsons‘ place, Fox will air the second longest-running animated series on the network, Family Guy. That show’s 23rd season will premiere at 8 p.m. Feb. 16, kicking off a somewhat revamped animation block.
Also debuting on Feb. 16 is the second season of Grimsburg; the Jon Hamm-led series will follow Family Guy at 8:30 p.m. The Great North begins its fifth season at 9 p.m. that night (though one episode aired the weekend before Christmas), and Krapopolis stays put at 9:30 p.m.
The last time The Simpsons didn’t lead off Fox’s Sunday night was in the 1993-94 season (the show’s fifth), when it aired at 8 p.m. Thursdays. It moved to Sunday in the fall of 1994 and has remained there ever since.
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The Simpsons will return to its usual 8 p.m. Sunday berth on March 30, with Family Guy sliding back a half-hour to 8:30 and the 9 o’clock hour remaining the same. The changes will also sideline Bob’s Burgers for a while, but Fox says it will return to the lineup later in the season. Universal Basic Guys, which followed The Simpsons in the fall, finished its 13-episode first season in December and has been renewed for a second season.
The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers are all coming to the end of two-season orders in the spring. Fox has yet to make renewal decisions on the three.
