Fox Makes Scheduling Changes

Reacting to low ratings, Fox has canceled another new show as part of a major prime-time overhaul that includes moving “Married . . . With Children” and reviving “America’s Most Wanted.”

As part of the shuffle, Fox will return “Married” to Sunday night, where the series aired most of its 10 previous seasons. The risque sitcom has been scheduled at 7 p.m., with two episodes to run in that hour beginning Nov. 10.

That may provide some fodder for politicians pushing to reinstate the family hour, given that “Married” has drawn fire for content even airing at 9 p.m.; Fox, however, pointed out that repeats of the comedy already play in earlier time periods Monday through Friday on stations reaching more than 45% of the United States, including KTTV-TV Channel 11 locally.

“There’s no reason to suggest or believe that in any way we are doing anything that’s offensive,” Fox Entertainment President Peter Roth said Wednesday. Roth, who has held his position just over two weeks, inheriting the job after John Matoian resigned last month, added that there was “great thoughtfulness given to these scheduling changes.”

A show that has drawn praise in Washington, “America’s Most Wanted” will assume its old 9 p.m. Saturday slot Nov. 9 under the title “The New America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back.” Fox put the series back in production recently after what had been billed as its final episode had aired.

Fox will also delay the second-season premiere of the comedy “Ned & Stacey” until Nov. 17, to air back-to-back episodes of “The Simpsons” on Sundays from 8-9 p.m. The hope is to provide a stronger lead-in to the network’s top-rated show, “The X-Files,” which shifts to 9 p.m. Sundays Oct. 27 (unless there’s a seventh game of the World Series, which would delay the move one week).

Fox canceled “Love and Marriage,” a new comedy about a working-class couple that followed “Married . . . With Children” on Saturdays. The decision was made after just two low-rated telecasts attracted a mere 6% share of audience.

Fox has thus pulled the plug on two of its three new comedies. The network already axed “Lush Life” and sidelined “Party Girl,” which will return later this season.

Another new program, the game show “Big Deal,” is also off the schedule but remains in production. The show will return later, as will the revised firefighting drama “Fire Co. 132,” which had been discussed for November.

Fox’s prime-time ratings are down 16% compared to the start of last season, although the network’s average will doubtless get a boost from baseball’s World Series, which Fox will televise beginning Oct. 19. The network also hopes those games will provide a means of promoting “Millennium,” a new series that will take over “The X-Files” slot on Fridays beginning Oct. 25.

So far, the other networks have yet to cancel a new program.