Fox renews ‘Gotham,’ ‘Empire,’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’

Fox has given out early season renewals for its breakout freshman dramas “Empire” and “Gotham” and seasoned comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

The announcements were made Saturday during the network’s session at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena. While the news came early in the season, the renewals were hardly unexpected.

In just two weeks, “Empire” has proven to be a strong midseason entrant for the network. The drama, produced by 20th Century Fox Television and helmed by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, opened strong in its post-”American Idol” slot Wednesdays with a 3.8 rating in the advertiser-preferred demographic of adults ages 18 to 49 and 9.9 million total viewers. It outperformed “Idol” in the demo and was Fox’s biggest debut in three years.

It hasn’t been the network’s only strong new performer.

The network’s Batman-backstory drama, produced by Warner Bros. Television, was the network’s biggest bet heading into the 2014-15 season. And the Monday drama came out with a bang with its season opener, despite not having a lead-in with its 8 p.m. slot. It managed to outpace “Blacklist” and “Scorpion” in the 18-49 demo with its Sept. 22 premiere. Since then, the drama is averaging 10.6 million total viewers and a 4.2 rating in the demo. The numbers get even more impressive when factoring in DVR-delayed viewing over seven days.

Meanwhile, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine has stayed solid since mingling with its animation peers on Sundays this season. The Universal Television comedy, from “Parks and Recreation” tag-team Dan Goor and Mike Schur, is averaging a 2.7 rating in the demo -- rising 17% year-over-year.

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