Fox bolsters fall lineup with seven new shows

Fox introduced a fall lineup Thursday that features seven new shows, two of them comedies.

The Simple Life, Life on a Stick and North Shore won't be back, joining the previously canceled Quintuplets, Method and Red, Tru Calling (Fox, you suck!), Point Pleasant and Jonny Zero.

The reality series Nanny 911, Trading Spouses and Renovate My Family are not slated for fall but will be back with new episodes this summer. American Idol and 24 will rejoin the lineup in January. And as previously announced, Fox chose to renew the low-rated, Emmy-winning comedy Arrested Development.

"The key to our schedule is stability and balance," said Fox Entertainment chief Peter Liguori, who noted that the fall lineup features a returning show every night of the week.

One of those is The Bernie Mac Show, which received a surprise fifth-season renewal. It will be packaged with a Sunday night staple, Malcolm in the Middle, on Fridays this fall.

The new shows:

• Bones, a drama about a forensic anthropologist (Kathy Reichs) and her uncanny ability to "read" clues left behind in a victim's bones. She often finds herself teamed with a special agent (David Boreanaz). Hmmm.
• The Gate, about a detective in San Francisco's deviant crime unit. Johnny Messner and Chi McBride star.
• Head Cases, a comedy-drama starring Chris O'Donnell as a superstar lawyer who suffers a nervous breakdown and ends up suffering the company of a disturbed "buddy" played by Adam Goldberg. Rachel Leigh Cook also stars.
• Kitchen Confidential, about a boozing, womanizing chef (Bradley Cooper) given one last chance to make it at a top New York restaurant.
• Prison Break, a drama about a man's attempt to break his brother out of prison. Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell star.
• Reunion, a drama that tracks the lives of six friends over 20 years, each episode set in a different year. Will Estes, Sean Faris, Alexa Davalos, Chyler Leigh and Mathew St. Patrick star.
• The War at Home, a comedy about the "war" between parents and their rebellious children. Michael Rapaport and Anita Barone star.

FOX LINEUP

• Monday
7 p.m. Arrested Development (new night)
7:30 p.m. Kitchen Confidential (new)
8 p.m. Prison Break (new)
• Tuesday
7 p.m. Bones (new)
8 p.m. House
• Wednesday
7 p.m. That '70s Show
7:30 p.m. Stacked
8 p.m. Head Cases (new)
• Thursday
7 p.m. The O.C.
8 p.m. Reunion (new)
• Friday
7 p.m. Bernie Mac
7:30 p.m. Malcolm in the Middle (new night)
8 p.m. The Gate (new)
• Saturday
7 p.m. Cops
7:30 p.m. Cops
8 p.m. America's Most Wanted
• Sunday
6 p.m. Reruns
6:30 p.m. King of the Hill
7 p.m. The Simpsons
7:30 p.m. The War at Home (new)
8 p.m. Family Guy
8:30 p.m. American Dad
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