Fox will expand its primetime lineup by 30 minutes on
Tuesday, Oct. 23, in order to make up for an episode of The X Factor that didn't air on Oct. 17 because of the network's
coverage of that day's NLCS game, which experienced a severe rain delay.
Tuesday will run intact from 8-9:30 p.m. with new episodes
of Raising Hope, Ben and Kate and New Girl.
At 9:30 p.m., Fox will pre-empt The Mindy
Project to air the conclusion of the "Judges Homes" round of X Factor from 9:30-10:30 p.m.
Extending prime by half an hour was done in order to make up
the missed X Factor episode while
keeping the comedy lineup as consistent as possible for viewers who are still
settling in to fall viewing patterns. Fox has said it will also extend prime on Nov. 1 to air a special 2.5-hour episode of X Factor from 8-10:30 p.m. for its first live show of the season. If an MLB World Series Game 7 is needed, the game will air starting at 7:30 p.m. that day instead, with the extended X Factor episode airing Sunday, Nov. 4.
The practice of extending primetime is usually a rare occurrence for Fox
because of the need to get various constituencies -- affiliates, advertisers and
producers -- on board with the change. For Fox affiliates in politically contested markets, the loss of local ad inventory might be tough to stomach in the lead-up to Election Day, though station sales managers seemed to understand the network's need to run a key show in its entirety.
Additional reporting by Michael Malone
