It's only a matter of time before the weather starts cooling and the summer of the 2025 TV schedule gives way to primetime filling back in again for the fall. Fox has now announced its lineup for the fall, and there's one change that grants my wish for two series' second seasons, while the rest of the lineup makes me nervous about the future of the network. Let's start with the good news, concerning Doc and Murder in a Small Town following their successful first seasons!
Doc Is Paired With Murder In A Small Town
As far back as the Season 1 finale of Doc as Fox's record-breaking freshman medical drama, I've been hoping for the network to pair Molly Parker's series with the second season of Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk's co-led Murder in a Small Town. Both shows aired on Tuesday nights in the 2024 - 2025 TV schedule, but Murder in a Small Town's first season ran for eight episodes and wrapped in late 2024, while Doc debuted in early 2025. Both shows will premiere this fall on September 23.
While we never saw them paired up in their first seasons, I suspected that they'd make for a great night of primetime together. Plus, it'd be handy for me to watch two of my top new shows in one sitting! It remains to be seen if this pairing is indeed a success, but my fingers are crossed. Murder in a Small Town got a small boost in episode count for Season 2, with an increase from the eight episodes of Season 1 up to ten. As for Doc, the Season 1 order of ten episodes is bumped all the way up to 22 for Season 2.
So, Tuesday nights are shaping up to be great for me this fall, not least because the pairing is a silver lining for me after CBS cancelled FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International as two of my previous usual live Tuesday night shows. But there's one element of Fox's fall lineup that troubles me, and it's not exactly a small thing.
Fox's Mostly Unscripted Fall 2025 Lineup
Fox also announced the rest of the fall lineup, and it turns out that Doc and Murder in a Small Town are the network's only scripted options in the main Monday - Thursday night stretch of primetime, and the network's only live-action scripted options with Sunday's Animation Domination slate included. Even though I of course knew that Fox axed several series amidst the list of 2025's canceled and ending TV shows, seeing the schedule without 9-1-1: Lone Star, Alert: Missing Persons Unit, The Cleaning Lady, and/or Rescue: HI-Surf makes it feel all the more real that Fox is investing a lot in unscripted series and game shows.
As more of a fan of scripted fare, this concerns me. Sure, I joked about Rescue: HI-Surf having an annoying title to type out as far back as my first coverage of the action-packed show, but that didn't mean I wanted it and most of Fox's other scripted series to be cancelled! Take a look at what to expect on the network starting this fall:
Monday, September 15
Celebrity Name That Tune (Season 5) - 8 p.m. ET
Celebrity Weakest Link (Series Premiere) - 9 p.m. ET
Tuesday, September 23
Murder in a Small Town (Season 2) - 8 p.m. ET
Doc (Season 2) - 9 p.m. ET
Wednesday, September 24
The Floor (Season 4 Premiere) - 8 p.m. ET
99 to Beat (Series Premiere) - 9 p.m. ET
Thursday, September 25
Hell's Kitchen (Season 24 Premiere) - 8 p.m. ET
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test (Season 4 Premiere) - 9 p.m. ET
Fridays (Beginning August 29)
FOX College Football Friday - 8 p.m. ET
Saturdays (Ongoing)
Fox Sports Saturday - 5 p.m. ET
Sunday, September 28
The Simpsons (Season 37) - 8 p.m. ET
Universal Basic Guys (Season 2) - 8:30 p.m. ET
Krapopolis (Season 3) - 9 p.m. ET
Bob's Burger's (Season 16) - 9:30 p.m. ET
None of this is to say that Doc and Murder in a Small Town will be the only scripted offerings on the network for the 2025-2026 TV season. Memory of a Killer, starring Grey's Anatomy vet Patrick Dempsey, was ordered to series back in May (per Variety), while The Wrap confirms that Best Medicine (as an American adaptation of the U.K.'s Doc Martin) will arrive in 2026. Animal Control and Going Dutch will also be back in midseason, so the fall offerings won't truly be Fox's only scripted fare. But the unscripted outnumbers the scripted, and that makes me nervous for the future of Fox.
If you're more of a fan of unscripted than I am, then the fall schedule is packed with great options for you. New and returning shows will begin returning in mid-to-late September, so now is a good time to use a Hulu subscription to catch up on any episodes of shows like Doc and Murder in a Small Town that you might have missed the first time around.
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