Fox Makes Big Scheduling Changes to 'The Resident' and '9-1-1: Lone Star'
Fox made some significant scheduling changes for the upcoming week. The Resident was set to end its sixth season on Tuesday, Jan. 10 with a two-hour finale, but the episode has now been split in half. The network also pushed back the 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 premiere. These changes come as the future of The Resident remains in question.
The Resident Season 6 finale was set to take over Fox's primetime line-up for Tuesday, with a two-hour episode starting at 8 p.m. ET. Instead, only one hour will air on Tuesday, starting at 8 p.m. ET, notes Deadline. The second hour will not air until Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. ET. Repeats of Alert: Missing Persons Unit will air in the 9 p.m. ET slot on both nights.
Rob Lowe's 9-1-1: Lone Star was supposed to return on Jan. 17. The Season 4 premiere will now air on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. ET, leading into a new episode of Accused at 9 p.m. ET. The new legal drama will have its series premiere on Sunday, Jan. 22 after an NFL playoff game.
The Resident was created by Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore, and Roshan Sethi, and focuses on the staff at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. Season 6 is its shortest so far, with just 13 episodes produced. Considering the small episode count, fans have been concerned that the show may be on its last legs. In December, showrunner Andrew Chapman told TV Insider the final episodes of the season were not written with an ending in mind.
"We always knew that it was gonna be 13 episodes," Chapman explained. "There was really never any talk of more than that for this season. But we don't know about Season 7. It's still a possibility. We're wrapping up the season, but not the show."
The final two episodes of The Resident Season 6 are titled "All the Wiser" and "All Hands on Deck." It begins with the emergency room getting increasingly busy after a devastating helicopter crash. Conrad (Matt Czuchry), Devon (Manish Dayal), and the rest of the team treat the patients, including Governor Mark Betz (Steven Culp). Later, Kit (Jane Leeves) calls in a favor for treatment and Conrad has to leave his daughter's birthday party after Sammie (Chedi Chang) comes down with a 104-degree fever.
The 9-1-1: Lone Star season premiere, "New Hotness," sees Owen (Lowe), Tommy (Gina Torres), and the rest of the firefighters try to help county fair visitors when a dangerous weather phenomenon hits Austin. Then, a "Heat Burst" causes temperatures to suddenly shoot up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.