Fox Cancels Half Its Scripted Programs

Fox has canceled five of its scripted series and though there are no big surprises it was not anticipated that all five would get the ax. The Christian Slater comedy Breaking In is gone despite decent ratings having largely benefited from having American Idol as a lead-in. The other four all had poor ratings and though several were highly regarded the network couldn’t hang on to them at their current ratings levels. Dramas The Chicago Code, Lie to Me, and Human Target along with the comedy Traffic Light will not be returning next season.

To replace them on the schedule new series pickups have been made for the J.J. Abrams drama Alcatraz, the Bones spin-off Finder, and comedies The New Girl (starring Zooey Deschanel) and I Hate My Teenage Daughter. They’ll join the high budget sci-fi drama from Steven Spielberg Terra Nova in the fall. Returning scripted series are Fringe, House, Bones, Glee, and Raising Hope.