Fall 2011 TV Preview: Fox Premiere Schedule and Trailers

Fox must enjoying the era of the reality show very much: "American Idol" has been so successful for them that they're planning on bringing us another vocal competition show this fall. We'll have people singing their hearts out and subsequently having said hearts broken year-round!

But Fox has some great scripted shows on the slate as well, including their strong "Animation Domination" block that gained a new member for the fall. Read on to find out about all of the new and returning shows on Fox this fall.

New Shows:

"New Girl" - Tuesday, September 20th at 9pm ET/PT

The first new show to hit Fox's airwaves this fall will be a big one. "New Girl" is a new single-camera comedy starring Zooey Deschanel as an "adorkable" girl who, after a bad break-up, moves in with three guys. The formula here is simple: Deschanel does girly stuff, the guys do guy stuff, and yet in the end they all get along.

But the real draw will be Deschanel, who's hip enough to have female fans and at a level of cuteness that could draw plenty of men to watch this show. Oh, and the fact that it airs right after "Glee" doesn't hurt, either.

With the other Deschanel (Emily) taking an early leave from "Bones" due to her pregnancy and thus moving the premiere of her much-loved show back to November, "New Girl" should serve as the Nicorette to "Bones" fans' Deschanel addiction.

"The X Factor" - Wednesday, Sept. 21st and Thursday, Sept. 22nd at 8pm ET/PT

The big premiere week for Fox continues with two nights of "The X Factor," freshly minted off of the adaptation press that seems to be churning out UK shows into US versions of late. Simon Cowell himself will be judging on the show, along with music exec L.A. Reid, Cowell's former fellow "American Idol" judge Paula Adbul, and songstress Nicole Scherzinger (sorry, Cheryl Cole).

How will "X Factor" differ from "Idol?" The major pitch is that there are categories for singers based on age, so it won't be a roster full of 16-year-olds like "Idol" always seems to be. Plus, now that Cowell is gone from "Idol" and the judges' table has been reduced to three famous people smiling and saying "I loved it," it will be refreshing to hear his honest--and often brutal--opinions again.

"Terra Nova" - Monday, September 26th at 8pm ET/PT

This is the big one. "Terra Nova" is Fox's go big or go home, swing for the fences show that will either create their version of "Lost" or become a big financial bust. The pieces all seem to be in place: it has a great concept, one in which future Earth is all used up and groups of people must travel, one-way, back in time to the prehistoric age in order to survive. The fact that it has some CGI dinosaurs and that Steven Spielberg is producing also helps.

But those CGI dinos cost a lot of money, as does a lot of the other production on the sci-fi show. So it's expensive, which makes it a risk. But I have a good feeling that it will pay off...especially since we saw another effects-laden sci-fi show, "Falling Skies," do very well over at TNT. Oh, and that one had Spielberg behind it too.

"Allen Gregory" - Sunday, October 30th at 8:30pm ET/PT

Animation Domination will have already been running for about a month with "The Cleveland Show" in the 8:30 time slot once October 30th rolls around, but the new animated show "Allen Gregory" will be taking over the spot then. The show centers on a highly intelligent, highly cultured 7-year-old (voiced by Jonah Hill) who must start attending a public elementary school. Imagine taking a more refined Stewie Griffin and putting him in the first grade, and you've got "Allen Gregory."

It's clear that Fox has been trying to find another big animated hit to match the success of "Family Guy" (heck, they gave Seth MacFarlane two more shows), so they've been expanding this animation block with the likes of "Bob's Burgers," which turned out to be very funny. Let's hope "Allen Gregory" turns out the same way.

"I Hate My Teenage Daughter" - Wednesday, November 23rd at 9:30pm ET/PT

This new sitcom gets a late start in the season, making it almost a mid-season show. But, the schedule is what the schedule is. On the plus side, the multi-cam comedy will get a nice time slot right after "The X Factor" once the reality show cuts down from two hours to 90 minutes, so there's not much to complain about there. However, the premiere date is also the day before Thanksgiving, which could either help or hurt depending on whether people are busy traveling or are just sitting on the couch.

Returning Shows:

"Glee" - Tuesday, September 20th at 8pm ET/PT

The very first primetime show to premiere this fall for Fox will be their mega-hit "Glee," which seems only fitting. The show has enjoyed two very successful seasons, wrapped a live summer tour, released a concert movie of said tour (which did pretty poorly at the box office, but oh well), and has a reality show spin-off, "The Glee Project," on Oxygen that has gotten stronger as the season went on. Expect a return to season one tactics this year: more focus on the core characters, fewer guest stars and random storylines.

"Raising Hope" - Tuesday, September 20th at 9:30pm ET/PT

This underrated comedy will be coming off of an Emmy nomination, which might help it draw in some more viewers this year and keep it alive a little longer. Sadly, it loses its direct lead-in from "Glee."

"Kitchen Nightmares" - Friday, September 23rd at 8pm ET/PT

Just in case you didn't get enough of Gordon Ramsay in "Hell's Kitchen" and "MasterChef," you'll get even more of him with the return of "Kitchen Nightmares" as he helps failing restaurants get back on their feet by cursing at employees.

"Fringe" - Friday, September 23rd at 9pm ET/PT

This quietly brilliant sci-fi show about parallel dimensions and other "fringe science" returns for another season and sees Joshua Jackson's character, Peter, in a different iteration than before.

"The Simpsons," "The Cleveland Show," "Family Guy" and "American Dad" - Sunday, September 25th from 8pm-10pm ET/PT

The Animation Domination block returns at full strength on the 25th with the long-running "Simpsons" and the three Seth MacFarlane shows. If you're a "Family Guy" fan and never watched "American Dad," start now: it's gotten very good over the last few seasons.

"House" - Monday, October 3rd at 9pm ET/PT

This could be the final season for the medical drama, as Fox is expected to make a decision about the show's future in the fall. Will it finally be lupus?

"Bones" - Thursday, November 3rd at 9pm ET/PT

The late premiere date here is, as previously mentioned, due to star Emily Deschanel's pregnancy. Expect a truncated season for now, but the show should return next year at full force.