Fox Makes Prime-Time Changes : Television: Moves include canceling ‘The Ultimate Challenge’ and launching a comedy series with Sam Kinison. The changes take effect Nov. 9.

Fox has become the second of the four networks to juggle its new prime-time TV schedule with a series of moves that includes the cancellation of the low-rated “The Ultimate Challenge” and the installation of a comedy series starring Sam Kinison. The changes take effect Nov. 9.

The two reality-based comedy series that now occupy the 9-10 p.m. slot on Saturdays--”Best of the Worst” and “Totally Hidden Video”--will move to 9-10 p.m. Fridays in place of “Ultimate Challenge.”

“Charlie Hoover,” featuring Kinison as the loudmouth conscience of a character played by Tim Matheson, will air Saturdays at 9 p.m., followed by “Get a Life,” a comedy starring Chris Elliot that was renewed last season but didn’t make the first fall lineup.

When Fox unveiled its fall season last May, the network said it planned to move its entire Friday lineup to Mondays once ABC’s popular “Monday Night Football” was finished. The strategy was to abandon Friday nights because fewer viewers tune in then. Monday’s “Fox Night at the Movies” would move to Wednesday nights, where the network does not currently supply programming.

But “America’s Most Wanted” has increased its audience share by 20% over last year, Fox says, and so it has decided to keep programming on Friday nights indefinitely.

“The reality is, the networks are becoming less competitive Friday nights, and we were showing growth Saturday nights,” Fox spokeswoman Andi Sporkin said. “ ‘America’s Most Wanted’ really clicked. We don’t want to mess with the success of the show. It just doesn’t make sense to leave Friday behind.”