Fox thinks Britney Spears has The X Factor, and it's expected to add her to the judging panel as part of a stable fall lineup that includes just three new series.
The singer's arrival is likely to be formally announced at a presentation to advertisers Monday, and TMZ reported that Demi Lovato will become the show's fourth judge, joining Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid. Fox declined comment on new judges ahead of its 4 p.m. ET announcement.
In its biggest scheduling move, the network will shift Glee to Thursdays behind X Factor's results show to make room for a two-hour Tuesday comedy block, part of an overall trend to boost comedies across the major networks. And with the renewals of Fringe (for a final 13-episode season) and Kiefer Sutherland's Touch, the network has few other needs for fall.
Midseason dramas Alcatraz, the missing-prisoner drama from producer J.J. Abrams, and The Finder, a spinoff of Bones, have been cancelled.
House exits next week after eight seasons, so Bones remains Monday's leadoff hitter, followed by new drama TheMob Doctor, starring Jordana Spiro as a thoracic surgeon indebted to the Chicago Mafia.
Tuesday will see the returning Raising Hope opening the night, followed by new sitcom Ben and Kate, about a guy who moves in with his high-strung sister and becomes a "manny" to his niece. New Girl stays at 9, followed by The Mindy Project, a comedy featuring writer/star Mindy Kaling (The Office) as a single gynecologist juggling professional and personal lives.
Three hours of The X Factor will air on Wednesdays and Thursdays (making way for American Idol in January), and the more compatible musical dramedy Glee fills out Thursdays. And Touch will shift to Fridays as the lead-in for Fringe, which wraps up its run in December. UFC fighting and some Major League Baseball games will anchor Saturdays, and Sundays remains the home of Fox's animation block, including The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy and American Dad.
The Following, starring Kevin Bacon as an ex-FBI agent tracking a cult of serial killers led by James Purefoy, and The Goodwin Games, a comedy about three siblings jumping through hoops for their father's inheritance, will await midseason berths.
"Audiences continue to ask where is the next 24, and we think we've found it," says Fox entertainment chief Kevin Reilly of The Following. Bacon would only agree to 15-episode seasons, and Fox executives "want to start experimenting selectively with doing shorter" run series that will air consecutively with no repeats, just as 24 did.
Fox will finish this season in first place among young adults for the eighth consecutive year, though steep declines for Idol have contributed to an 11% drop in that demographic across the week. Among all viewers, Fox ranks second to CBS.
