Fox Renews 'Glee,' 'New Girl' and 'Raising Hope'
The network has picked up its Tuesday night comedy lineup for next year.
Fox has renewed Glee, New Girl and Raising Hope.
Fox announced Monday that it has picked up its Tuesday night comedies Glee for a fourth season, New Girl for a second and Raising Hope for a third. The news comes a month ahead of Fox's upfront presentation to advertisers and several weeks into the network's pilot season, which includes such projects as a serial killer drama from The Vampire Diaries' Kevin Williamson and comedy efforts from Cougar Town's Bill Lawrence and The Office's Mindy Kaling.
"Over the past season, New Girl has become the hottest new appointment series for young adults; Raising Hope has established itself as one of the smartest and most unique offbeat comedies on television; and Glee has continued its success as a genre-defying, global cultural phenomenon,†Fox Entertainment chief Kevin Reilly said in a statement announcing the news. “All three of these comedies add a fresh and distinctive flavor to our Tuesday nights, and I’m really happy to bring them back to our air next season.â€
Glee has averaged 8.9 million total viewers and a 3.8 rating in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic so far this season, according to Nielsen. With the show's third year marching toward the graduation of its core cast members including Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer, the fourth will continue to feature the stars in what the network and actors have called a ground-breaking fashion, potentially a show-within-a-show format.
The Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk co-created series returns from its winter hiatus on Tuesday with the first of eight original episodes that will likely explain the trajectory of the newly announced next season. The renewal comes after a somewhat bumpy season for Glee, with talks last summer that Michele, Monteith and Colfer would not return to the series, likely heading to a planned New York-set spinoff in the works. Riley officially nixed the potential spinoff in January at the Television Critics Association press tour.
The network and studio 20th Television also opted to bypass a Glee concert tour this summer, instead giving its cast a two-and-a-half-month hiatus. In lieu of a full tour, Glee producers are eyeing a one-off benefit concert event that likely would take place in the fall at the Hollywood Bowl and serve as a fundraiser for its arts education charity Glee Give a Note. The goal is to raise $10 million this year. But negotiations for such an event have not begun so nothing is set in stone.
For its part, the Zooey Deschanel starrer New Girl is averaging 8.3 million weekly viewers and a 4.2 demo rating this season. Since starting particuarly strong, the freshman effort has dipped more recently without the benefit of Glee as a lead-in. Raising Hope, starring Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman and Lucas Neff, is regularly luring 5.6 million viewers per week this season and a 2.6 rating in the key demo.
