The bubble at Fox is shaping up to be very small this season, with the vast majority of the network’s scripted lineup poised for renewal. That includes Fox’s drama contingent, with all four shows consistently charting on Hulu’s daily Top 10 during their runs.
The oldest among them are sophomores Doc and Murder In a Small Town, which both are expected to return next season. Doc, which last year received a supersized by today’s standards 22-episode second-season pickup, is headed for another sizable 2026-2027 order with a solid Season 2 showing.
Meanwhile, Murder In a Small Town, which produces fewer episodes (eight in Season 1, 10 in Episode 2), has emerged as a reliable utility player, a sturdy performer at a very appealing price point, making it attractive for renewal. (The Canadian-made series is produced under a lower-cost production model.)
Doc and Murder In a Small Town were both on the fall schedule and contributed, along with animated comedies and unscripted standouts like The Floor, to Fox posting its first entertainment revenue uptick in four years during Q4 2025, as revealed in the company’s earnings earlier this month.
And then there are Fox’s freshman dramas, Best Medicine and Memory Of a Killer, which premiered last month alongside the unscripted Fear Factor reboot.
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch called this the network’s best midseason launch in 14 years, touting Memory of a Killer, Best Medicine and Fear Factor‘s premiere performance, each exceeding 11 million viewers across platforms in their first week. (All three debuts were helped by special airings behind NFL games on Sunday, with Memory of a Killer getting the strongest lead-in, the NFC Championship Game.)
Best Medicine, starring Josh Charles, is considered a lock for renewal with potent, consistent week-to-week delivery, and it’s the one current drama series fully owned by Fox. It’s still a little early on Memory of a Killer, starring Patrick Dempsey, which premiered to big numbers after the NFC Championship Game but has slipped in the couple of weeks since. Still, the series does well on Hulu and, unless its ratings fall off a cliff, it looks primed for renewal. (A renewal for Fear Factor, a big draw on Hulu, also is considered a foregone conclusion.)
After experimenting with different genres, Fox has found a sweet spot with comfort food, soapy/small town character procedurals such as Doc, Best Medicine and Murder In a Small Town, which have delivered both on linear and streaming. Of the current slate, only Memory of a Killer is in the masculine thriller genre in the tradition of signature Fox shows like 24 and Prison Break. (All four series are based on existing IP, including two European formats with Doc and Best Medicine.)
As Fox’s existing drama series are doing well, the network also is picking up new ones for next season. The Baywatch reboot was ordered in September. The Interrogator starring Stephen Fry was recently greenlighted; one more series pickup is likely out of two candidates, with Katie Greaves (working title) believed to be the current frontrunner.
On the comedy side, Fox has two live-action series, Animal Control, now in its fourth season, and sophomore Going Dutch. Both are fully owned by Fox.
Animal Control is considered a shoo-in for another renewal. It is doing OK on Fox while also selling internationally and was recently licensed to Netflix. Underscoring the network’s support for the series starring Joel McHale, Fox gave it a football-boosted Sunday launch pad for the current season in December.
Going Dutch is probably the only true bubble scripted series at Fox this season, with its fate in limbo. It is the lowest-rated entertainment program on the network. Still, its star Denis Leary is well liked within Fox, which could tip the scales in the show’s favor, along with the network’s scheduling needs.
No Fox animated comedies are in dire need of a renewal. The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers and American Dad! are all in Year 1 of four-season pickups, while Grimsburg, Krapopolis and Universal Basic Guys have been renewed through next season.
English (US) ·