Fox’s Fall Shuffle May Move 2 Top Shows to New Nights

Fox Broadcasting Co. is expected to announce a new schedule for next fall that will involve moving two of its highest-rated shows, “The X-Files” and “Married . . . With Children,” to new nights.

Fox, which officially makes its announcement today in New York, reportedly will shift “The X-Files” from the Friday slot it’s occupied for three seasons to 9 p.m. Sundays. Under that scenario, Fox will schedule “Millennium”--a new show from “X-Files” creator Chris Carter, set in the near future and starring Lance Henriksen--in its place at 9 p.m. Fridays following the sci-fi show “Sliders.”

“Married . . . With Children,” meanwhile, will apparently leave Sunday in its 11th season and take up residence at 9 p.m. Saturday, leading into a new sitcom, “Come Fly With Me,” about another blue-collar family.

A new ensemble drama, “L.A. Firefighters,” is said to be penciled in to lead off Sundays, followed by “The Simpsons,” “Ned & Stacey” and “The X-Files.”

“Melrose Place” will be followed on Mondays by two new comedies: “Lush Life,” from “Living Single” producer Yvette Lee Bowser, starring Lori Petty and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s” Karyn Parsons as single friends in New York; and “Party Girl,” a sitcom version of the independent feature film.

Fox is expected to leave three nights--Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday--unchanged, keeping its Tuesday movies, “Beverly Hills, 90210” leading into “Party of Five” on Wednesdays and “Martin,” “Living Single” and “New York Undercover” set for Thursdays.

CBS is also putting the finishing touches on its lineup, having ordered new comedy series for fall starring former NBC stars Bill Cosby, Ted Danson (with wife Mary Steenburgen) and Rhea Perlman, as well as a half-hour from producers Steven Bochco and Jay Tarses entitled “Public Morals,” about vice cops.

CBS’ new dramas will include “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” a detective show starring Scott Bakula; “Moloney,” casting Peter Strauss as a police psychologist; “Early Edition,” with Kyle Chandler as a newspaper man; and “EZ Streets,” an underworld crime drama starring Ken Olin. CBS will officially announce its schedule on Wednesday.

Fox previously confirmed a midseason order on “King of the Hill,” an animated series from “Beavis and Butt-head” creator Mike Judge that will likely premiere in January.

Gone from the Fox lineup are such shows as “Too Something,” “Strange Luck,” “Kindred: The Embraced,” “Profit” and “The Show.”

ABC announced its prime-time schedule Monday, featuring six new comedies, two dramas and a third newsmagazine--”Turning Point,” as in the past using rotating anchors--to occupy the unenviable hour opposite “ER.”

The dramas are “Relativity,” starring Kimberly Williams in an hour on marriage and extended families from “thirtysomething” creators Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick; and “Dangerous Minds,” adapted from the feature film with Annie Potts as an inspirational teacher.

“Relativity” will air Saturdays at 10 p.m., hoping to pick up female viewers who previously watched NBC’s “Sisters,” which has ended its run.

ABC’s new half-hour comedies include “Spin City,” casting Michael J. Fox as New York’s deputy mayor; “Clueless,” with Rachel Blanchard in the Alicia Silverstone part and Stacey Dash reprising her role from the movie; “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” featuring Melissa Joan Hart as the Archie Comics character; “Life’s Work,” with comedienne Lisa Ann Walter (who starred in an earlier Fox series) as a working mom.

ABC also has scheduled a Latino-lead sitcom, “Common Law,” featuring comic Greg Giraldo, who has an interoffice romance at his Manhattan law firm; and “Townies,” starring Molly Ringwald in her first series, about a group of lifelong friends in a small New England town.

“Murder One” will follow three separate court cases over the coming season as opposed to extending one trial over 22 episodes. Recasting is also underway, with reports that Alan Alda has been approached for the lead role, though insiders say it’s in doubt whether a deal can be worked out.

*

ABC also announced two midseason orders: “The Practice,” a legal drama from onetime “L.A. Law” (and current “Chicago Hope”) producer David E. Kelley, and “It’s Good to Be King,” starring Jim Belushi as the divorced owner of a blues club.

“The Practice” was actually penciled in for fall, but sources say Kelley’s production company balked at a Thursday night time slot, opting instead to wait until midseason.

Other backup shows include the long-running Friday night comedies “Step by Step” and “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” as well as “Muppets Tonight,” which premiered to low ratings during the spring.

Only two of the new fall shows come from Walt Disney Television, the production arm of ABC’s new parent company. Studio officials have pledged that they would keep the door open to a variety of suppliers, despite concern in Hollywood that ABC’s shelves would be stocked with Disney fare.

Another major franchise will be a weekly Disney movie that will launch later in the season.

In other areas, the network announced an exclusive arrangement with author Tom Clancy to develop dramatic programs and miniseries, and a TV movie for next season starring Meryl Streep, “First Do No Harm,” representing her first for television since the 1978 production “Holocaust.” ABC will also air a six-hour version of Stephen King’s “The Shining.”

ABC’s prime-time schedule will be as follows:

Monday: “Monday Night Football,” “Dangerous Minds.”

Tuesday: “Roseanne,” “Life’s Work,” “Home Improvement,” “Spin City,” “NYPD Blue.”

Wednesday: “Ellen,” “Townies,” “Grace Under Fire,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “PrimeTime Live.”

Thursday: “High Incident,” “Murder One,” “Turning Point.”

Friday: “Family Matters,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” “Clueless,” “Boy Meets World,” “20/20.”

Saturday: “Second Noah,” “Coach,” “Common Law,” “Relativity.”

Sunday: “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “The ABC Sunday Night Movie.”