TV Column: Fox picks fall trifecta: Britney Spears, Demi Lovato and Mindy Kaling - Washington Post

NEW YORK â€" Fox will plant four comedies on Tuesday’s schedule, including one originally developed by NBC for its star Mindy Kaling, whose new show will immediately follow “New Girl” â€" Fox’s most promising launch from last fall.

Elsewhere, pop train-wrecks Britney Spears and Demi Lovato have joined Simon Cowell’s singing competition, “The X Factor,” where they will mentor young, aspiring pop stars â€" proving once and for all that network suits have a sense of humor.

“We delivered! Rumors are one thing, delivering is something else,” Cowell simpered up onstage at the Beacon Theater during Fox’s dog-and-pony show. “This has taken a year to get where we got to today.”

“X” returns to Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8, the Fox suits told ad execs Monday afternoon as they unveiled next season’s prime-time schedule.

The network will protect its investment in the flailing “Glee” by moving it to the safe zone â€" a.k.a. after the network’s singing-competition shows on Thursdays. “Glee” will follow “The X Factor” in the fall and “American Idol” in the spring.

In other schedule changes, Kiefer Sutherland’s number-crunching “Touch” is moved to Fridays to join “Fringe’s” final season. And Jordana Spiro’s “Mob Doctor” will replace Hugh Laurie’s “angry doctor” drama “House” on Monday nights.

At midseason, Fox will introduce its new Kevin-Bacon-chasing-James-Purefoy’s-serial-killing-cult show, “The Following,” on Monday.

“The audience has consistently asked us, ‘Where is the next ‘24’?’ We think we found it,” Fox programming chief Kevin Reilly told reporters on a conference call Monday morning, regarding Bacon’s new 15-episode, highly serialized killer-chasing thriller. “We think it’s our next ‘24.’ ” (Apparently “Touch” â€" in which Sutherland runs around chasing his child, screeching “Jake! Jake!” â€" is not the next “24.” Has anyone told him?)

Reilly called Bacon “the casting coup of the year.” That’s because Reilly hasn’t met the capuchin monkey named Crystal who stars as Dr. Zaius in the new NBC comedy “Animal Practice” â€" yes, seriously â€" and who totally stole the show (and jaded advertisers’ hearts) at NBC’s new-schedule unveiling Monday morning.

Never bet against a TV show with a monkey. Yes, poor BritBrit, Demi and Bacon followed a heart-stealingly cute animal act.

The Fox weekend

As promised, “Cops” is toast in the fall, and Saturday is the new “Fox Sports Saturday.”

(Fox does swear that “Cops” is returning in midseason. But put it in your calendar in pencil.)

Sunday’s Animation Domination comedy lineup will start with the always hilarious NFL football and “The OT” in the fall, followed by “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy” and “American Dad.” “The Cleveland Show” will be back after football season.

The comedy block

Kaling, the writer/star from NBC’s “The Office,” will star in Fox’s “The Mindy Project” â€" which was developed at NBC for NBC, except that NBC passed, although it’s going to produce the show.

Kaling will play a skilled (thank goodness, or it would not be a comedy) OB/GYN pursuing her dream of becoming the perfect woman, finding the perfect man and getting her perfect romantic-comedy ending, Fox said.