Fox to Move ‘King of Hill’ to Tuesdays

Trying to establish a beachhead on a night where the network has struggled, Fox will shift the second-year series “King of the Hill” to Tuesdays as part of a revised lineup that features four new comedies and two dramas.

Moving “King of the Hill,” which has become a hit airing Sundays after “The Simpsons,” is probably the riskiest scheduling maneuver by any network. In its new time slot, the animated program would face two well-established sitcoms at 8 p.m.: ABC’s “Home Improvement” and NBC’s “Mad About You.”

Despite that competition, Fox apparently wanted to plant its flag on a new night and saw an opportunity Tuesdays, given that both competing comedies are presumed to be headed into their final season.

Fox will announce its schedule today, as will the UPN network. Their presentations to advertisers in New York will conclude the frenzied period in which the six broadcast networks unveil their lineup choices, setting off negotiations to sell advertising for the coming season. All told, more than three dozen new series will be introduced in September.

Fox is expected to launch new sitcoms after “The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill” and “Getting Personal,” the recently introduced series starring Vivica A. Fox, which has been renewed.

The newcomers include a comedy featuring stand-up comic Sue Costello produced by “Home Improvement’s” creators, and “Teenage Wasteland,” from the team behind “3rd Rock From the Sun.” The latter--reminiscent of the movie “Dazed and Confused,” set in a Wisconsin high school during the 1970s--is expected to air Sundays, between “The Simpsons” and “The X-Files.”

Insiders say Fox will leave Monday, Wednesday and Saturday nights unchanged, bringing back “Melrose Place,” “Ally McBeal,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Party of Five,” “Cops” and “America’s Most Wanted” in their current time slots. The network will scrap its low-rated Tuesday movie, rounding out that night with the dramatic program “Brimstone,” starring Peter Horton as a dead detective sent back to Earth to chase down escapees from hell.

The other new drama is “Hollyweird,” about two friends from the Midwest who explore L.A.’s macabre side. The series is produced by horror filmmaker Wes Craven and onetime Hardy Boy Shaun Cassidy.

In a down-to-the-wire decision, Fox will also renew “Millennium,” the brooding second-year series from “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter.

Two of Fox’s most significant lineup additions won’t premiere until January or later, since both involve animation and therefore entail more production time. “Futurama” comes from “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, while “The PJ’s” is a clay-animated look at life in a housing project, produced by and featuring the voice of Eddie Murphy.

Programs that didn’t make the grade include “Damon,” a sitcom starring Damon Wayans that premiered in March, as well as “Beyond Belief,” “Between Brothers” and “413 Hope St.”

UPN, meanwhile, will expand from three to five nights of programming with the addition of a Thursday night movie, three new comedies and a trio of dramas.

Two of the new one-hour programs--”Seven Days,” starring “New York Undercover’s” Jonathan LaPaglia as a government agent who travels back in time to stop disasters, and “Legacy,” a family drama set on a Kentucky ranch after the Civil War--will air Wednesday and Friday nights, respectively, leading into the returning series “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Love Boat: The Next Wave.”

UPN will introduce three sitcoms on Mondays, bringing back only the Malcolm-Jamal Warner show “Malcolm & Eddie.” One of the new comedies, “The Secret Life of Desmond Pfeiffer,” even has a period flavor, focusing on the black kitchen chief in Lincoln’s White House.

The other new sitcoms are “Diresta,” a family show about a transit cop; and “Guys Like Us,” about two young men--one white, one black--sharing an apartment with the latter’s precocious 6-year-old brother.

UPN will introduce a science-fiction series set in outer space, “Mercy Point,” on Tuesday nights following the sitcoms “Moesha” and “Clueless.” Here’s the UPN fall schedule, with new shows in bold:

Monday: “Guys Like Us,” “Diresta,” “The Secret Life of Desmond Pfeiffer,” “Malcolm & Eddie.”

Tuesday: “Moesha,” “Clueless,” “Mercy Point.”

Wednesday: “Seven Days,” “Star Trek: Voyager.”

Thursday: Movie.

Friday: “Legacy,” “Love Boat: The Next Wave.”