Fox Sets Premiere Dates for Fall 2019, Including WWE Smackdown Debut

Fox announced its premiere week schedule for Fall 2019, kicking off the new television season with the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards. The fall will also see three new shows and the debut of WWE Smackdown.

This is a big season for Fox as it will be the network’s first since rival Disney bought 20th Century Fox Television Studios, leaving Fox without its own studio to pull content from. However, three of the six new shows Fox plans to debut during the 2019-2020 television season are still 20th Century Fox TV productions.

Thankfully for the network, Thursdays will not be a problem for part of the fall, as it will be carrying NFL Thursday Night Football games. Fox also broadcasts the MLB playoffs, including the World Series, which will take off some of the pressure from the new and returning scripted shows.

The other big change for Fox is a new Friday night anchor: WWE Smackdown. Beginning in the first week of October, the WWE event will take over both hours of Fox’s primetime at the end of the week.

Scroll on for a look at Fox’s premiere dates for this fall.

Sunday, Sept. 22: 71st Primetime Emmy Awards

The television season will kick off by honoring the best of last season. After airing on NBC last year, it is Fox’s turn for the Primetime Emmy Awards. The ceremony will kick off at 8 p.m. ET, live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air live in all time zones.

Fox has not announced the hosts for the show yet, but the networks typically use the show as a chance to promote their biggest talents. Last year’s ceremony was hosted by Saturday Night Live stars Michael Che and Colin Jost.

The Emmy nominations will be announced on July 16.

Monday, Sept. 23

9-1-1 returns for its third season at 8 p.m. ET.

Prodigal Son, a new series starring Michael Sheen and Tom Payne, debuts at 9 p.m. ET. Prodigal Son centers on a notorious serial killer, whose son is a criminal psychologist. Lou Diamond Phillips and Scandal‘s Bellamy Young also star.

Tuesday, Sept. 24

The Resident will now be tasked with leading off a night. Its third season will launch at 8 p.m. ET as a lead-in for the sixth and final season of Empire, which airs at 9 p.m. ET. Empire previously aired on Wednesday nights.

Wednesday, Sept. 25

The Masked Singer was such a big hit last season that Fox is hoping that audiences do not get tired of it. The reality competition show will kick off its second season at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 25 with a two-hour episode. It will go to an hour the following week.

Thursday, Sept. 26

On Thursday, Sept. 26, Fox will air its first NFL Thursday Night Football game of the season, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. ET live. The game will actually be the fourth Thursday game of the season, with the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the Green Bay Packers, and it will also air on the NFL Network. Fox will continue airing TNF games though the Dec. 12 matchup between the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens.

Sunday, Sept. 29

On Sunday, Sept. 29, Fox will finally launch its animation line-up. The Simpsons Season 31 starts at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the new animated comedy Bless the Harts at 8:30 p.m. ET. Bob’s Burgers Season 10 and Family Guy Season 17 follow at 9 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET, respectively.

Wednesday, Oct. 2

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, The Masked Singer will go back to only an hour. Fox is hoping fans will stick around for Almost Family at 9 p.m. ET. The new series stars Pitch Perfect‘s Brittany Snow as an only child who discovers she really has hundreds of siblings because her father (Timothy Hutton) is a fertility doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate patients.

Friday, Oct. 4

WWE SmackDown Live returns to broadcast television on Friday, Oct. 4, airing each week of the season.

Fox held back three other new shows to debut later in the season. Deputy is a new cop drama starring Stephen Dorff, while Next is a thriller starring John Slattery. The Great North is another animated comedy, created by the same team who came up with Bob’s Burgers.

Lastly, Outmatched is Fox’s only new sitcom. The series stars Maggie Lawson and Jason Biggs. It will likely be paired with Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing later in the season.