A day after ABC essentially canceledits Tuesday comedy Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Fox said
Wednesday it is pulling rookie comedy Ben and Kate from its Tuesday
lineup.
Starting Jan. 29, Raising Hope will air originals
from 8-9 p.m. through February sweeps (except for Feb. 19, when a repeat New
Girl will air at 8:30 p.m.). Fox said Ben and Kate, which has aired
13 episodes of a19-episode order, will return to the schedule at a later date.
Hell's Kitchen will move to Tuesdays with its season
11 premiere on March 12 at 8 p.m., leading into New Girl and The
Mindy Project for the remainder of the season. Raising Hope will
have a one-hour season finale following American Idol on Thursday, March
28.
Fox's Tuesday lineup has struggled all season, with New
Girl failing to get the sophomore bounce it needed to support the
four-comedy block. Despite critical praise, Ben and Kate has been its
lowest performer, averaging a 1.2 rating with adults 18-49 and just 2.6 million
total viewers for itsmost recent episode. Out of New Girl, Mindy is faring
slightly better, drawing a 1.5 rating and three million viewers on Tuesday.
The move to shelve Ben and Kate comes weeks after Fox
entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly signaled his intention to stick with the
current lineup of shows while looking for a way to protect Tuesdays in spring
when TV viewing typically suffers from extended daylight hours.
"I hate to say it, but I think for the rest of this year
we've just got to play through," Reilly said to a group of reporters at the
Television Critics Association press tour. "I'm looking at it in spring to see
if there's anything we can do to protect it a little bit when daylight savings
time comes in, which also challenges the ratings, but I'm going to stick with
the shows."
