Wednesday becomes a full night of music on Fox, and more shuffles coming to the network in 2017-18

Fox Broadcasting is rearranging much of its prime-time lineup in an effort to build better momentum across the week.

The network is poised to finish the season in second place in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic, up from third last season — largely thanks to a boost from Super Bowl LI and the World Series. However, when sports are excluded, the slate of entertainment shows was down 25%, compared to last season.

After a season that drew on properties with built-in audiences, such as “24” offshoot “Legacy” and “Lethal Weapon,” the network is largely going with the unknown next season with the launch of four new dramas and two new comedies. The familiar will come with its staging of two live musical events — “Rent” and “A Christmas Story” — and another chapter to “The X-Files” revival.

“The past few seasons were about building a foundation of strong new shows,” Fox Television Group Co-Chairman Dana Walden said in a Monday conference call ahead of the network’s presentation to advertisers in New York.

Next season, she added, “the focus is on building stronger nights and building better circulation across our schedule.”

The network is starting out on familiar footing, saving three of its newcomers for mid-season.

In the fall, “Lucifer” takes over “Gotham’s” time period on Monday nights at 8, followed by a new Marvel drama, “The Gifted,” which tracks a suburban couple (played by Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker) whose lives are upended by the revelation that their children posses mutant powers.

Tuesdays will now kick off with “Lethal Weapon,” leading into a comedy block in the 9 p.m. hour featuring “The Mick” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

After rotating out last year, the high-octane histrionics of Lee Daniels-stamped dramas take over Wednesdays when “Empire,” which remains a strong player despite losing some steam, now leads into the second season of “Star.” Both series will consist of 18 episodes and will have staggered seasons.

As it struggles to gain a handle on increasingly competitive Thursday nights, Fox relocates steady-performing “Gotham” to 8 to serve as a springboard to the new Seth MacFarlane series “The Orville.” The live-action, one-hour dramedy, set 400 years in the future, follows the adventures of the crew of a mid-level exploratory spaceship.

Friday veteran “Hell’s Kitchen” leads the night at 8, followed by the second season of “The Exorcist.” Fox will fill out its Saturday night with live sports events.

On Sunday, “The Simpsons” will lead into the new Adam Scott-Craig Robinson comedy “Ghosted,” about a duo who explore the paranormal in Los Angeles. “Family Guy” and “Last Man on Earth” will round out the night.

During the call, Walden and fellow Co-Chairman Gary Newman also confirmed the end of “Scream Queens” after two seasons.

Still unknown are the fates of “24: Legacy” and “Prison Break” — though Fox is open to doing more. “Legacy’s” Corey Hawkins is currently starring on Broadway in “Six Degrees of Separation,” so “his schedule really wouldn’t allow us to consider the show for the fall,” said Newman, while noting that the series is still “very much in the mix.”

As for more “Prison Break,” Walden said: “We would definitely consider doing more episodes of ‘Prison Break’… It’s definitely not something we want to do every season. We want to make it special.”

Elsewhere in the coming season will be Fox’s next live musical events. Last year — taking a page from its rival NBC in staging live musical productions as a way to bolster appointment viewing — the network produced a live version of “Grease” to strong ratings (12.2 million total viewers). Now, Fox is doubling-down in the upcoming season with live stagings of “Rent” and “A Christmas Story.”

In mid-season, Fox will send off the Zooey Deschanel-fronted “New Girl,” which wraps its run after seven seasons. The network is also saving the 10-episode second chapter of “The X-Files” reboot, which performed to successful ratings with its return last season, for spring.

The network’s new programs slated for spring include:

“9-1-1,” a procedural drama starring Angela Bassett that follows the lives and careers of first responders (cops, paramedics, firefighters). The drama is executive produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (“Glee,” “American Horror Story”).

“L.A. to Vegas,” a workplace comedy about an airline crew and the madcap group of passengers who every weekend take a round-trip flight from the City of Angels to Sin City. The series stars Dylan McDermott and counts Will Ferrell and Steve Levitan (“Modern Family”) among its executive producers.

“The Resident,” a medical drama that follows three doctors at different stages in their careers and a dedicated young nurse. It stars Matt Czuchry (“The Good Wife”), Emily VanCamp (“Revenge”) and Bruce Greenwood (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”).

Not to go unmentioned, Walden and Newman were asked about Fox losing its long-running reality stalwart, “American Idol,” to ABC for the 2017-18 season.

“It’s obviously a tough one for us,” Walden said. “It’s so connected to the Fox brand… It feels bad knowing it’s coming back on another network.”

Walden was open about the frustrations that emerged during conversations with “Idol” producers FremantleMedia. Walden confirmed that Fox tried to make a move to bring back “Idol,” with the caveat that the return be delayed until 2020. But FremantleMedia, Walden said, rejected the idea because it wanted the singing competition series on the air as soon as possible, and “they thought ABC was a good opportunity.”

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yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com

Twitter: @villarrealy