TV Renewals Update: FOX Network’s Plans For ‘Empire, ‘American Idol,’ And ‘Lucifer’ Revealed

TV renewals and cancellations are in the midst of being tallied up for final determinations by network executives. As the highly-anticipated details are confirmed, an update on the FOX network’s TV programs regarding Empire, American Idol, Lucifer, and The X-Files have been released, TV By The Numbers reports.

A conference call with Co-Chairman and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman was covered in an update for the 2015-16 season. According to the report, the CEOs confirm that Empire will remain on Wednesday at 9 p.m. because: “We’d be crazy to move it. We want to thank and reward our fans by leaving it in is timeslot.”

The show will have 18 episodes for Season 2 — and divided into two parts; the first will air in the fall and the second will air in the winter. The Empire cast is doing concerts all summer and more promotional efforts will launch in June. There will also be more “big” guest star names to appear on the renewed television show, and Ne-Yo will write songs for the second season with Timbaland.

Word is a lot of FOX dramas will be split in two parts for their seasons.

No repeats will be aired of Empire, except for online streaming.

American Idol will keep its Wednesday and Thursday time slots. It may consist of having more music competition shows. As the report adds in this FOX TV renewals and cancellations update, in order for the show to continue with its success, the “genre needs to be reinvented.”

Newman says that it wasn’t an “easy decision” to end the popular FOX series. Huffington Post cites EW in the co-chairman’s comments about the show.

“You know, it was not an easy decision. American Idol has been such a vital part of FOX for its run and we spent a lot of time talking with producers about the future of American Idol and collectively we arrived at the conclusion that it was time to bring the show to an end.”

Season 15 will be a wrap for American Idol in January 2016.

There was mention on TV By The Numbers of The X Files and how FOX wants to attempt giving it the best exposure by having an NFL playoff lead-in. The strategy would be airing a second episode the following day. Another hope is that The X-Files will help the launch of Lucifer. Little is known about the storyline that Chris Carter has planned for the season.

The final list of TV renewals and cancellations from all of the networks is due out sometime this week.

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