Fall TV season is in full swing, but it's never too early to start thinking about the shows that will be coming back and even premiering for the first time in midseason. While many other shows may still be on hiatus, some hit the airwaves in the early winter months to give us something to watch. Fox has now released premiere dates for Seth MacFarlane's The Orville, the final season of Gotham, and more. Take a look at the first batch!
Sunday, December 30The Orville Season 2 - Special time following NFL On Fox doubleheaderTuesday, January 1The Gifted Winter Premiere - 8 p.m.Lethal Weapon Winter Premiere - 9 p.m.Wednesday, January 2Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours To Hell And Back Season 2 - 8 p.m.THE MASKED SINGER - 9 p.m.Thursday, January 3Gotham Season 5 - 8 p.m.The Orville Season 2 - Regular time slot premiere - 9 p.m.
The Orville is the first of Fox's midseason shows to hit the airwaves, but it won't debut in its regular time slot. Instead, the first episode of the second season will hit the airwaves on December 30, which is several days before premiering its regular time slot on Thursdays. The special premiere could be a sign that Fox hopes to increase the show's audience by attracting some football fans. Seth MacFarlane revealed that each episode of the second season "feels like a movie" and be "more comfortable in its footing."
It should be interesting if its placement behind the fifth and final season of Gotham impacts The Orville's ratings at all. Gotham has never exactly been a ratings juggernaut for Fox, and there was serious doubt during Season 4 that the network would bring it back. The renewal in the spring was for one shortened batch of episodes to wrap the series up, which was better than nothing. Now, Fox has even more good news for Gotham fans beyond the fact that it's premiering quite early in 2019.
The January 3 premiere will be the first of 12 episodes of Season 5, which is a bump up from the initial Season 5 order of 10 episodes. The extra two episodes means that Gotham will hit the big 100-episode milestone and perhaps earn a syndication deal at some point. Season 5 promises to pull out all the stops when it comes to villains and even adapt some iconic DC Comics plots with a classic Gotham twist.
Now, onto the next batch of premieres!
Monday, January 14The Resident Winter Premiere - 8 p.m.THE PASSAGE - 9 p.m.Sunday, January 27RENT LIVE MUSICAL PRODUCTION - 7 p.m.Friday, February 15PROVEN INNOCENT - 9 p.m.Sunday, March 3Bob's Burgers - Time Slot Premiere - 7:30 p.m.The Simpsons - 8 p.m.Family Guy - Time Slot Premiere - 8:30 p.m.COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS - 9 p.m.
January will also bring the premiere of The Passage, which delivers Mark-Paul Gosselaar back to Fox following the cancellation of Pitch. He's definitely not playing a Padres catcher in the new vampire drama, based on a beloved novel trilogy. The latest big trailer indicates that we're in for an intense show, and perhaps give vampire fans a fix after The Originals went off the air earlier this year. Legacies isn't all about the vampires, after all!
The live musical production of Rent should excite musical fans. Fox did well with Grease: Live back in 2016, and Rent is another popular musical that could attract viewers. One of the Grease Live stars will tackle a role in Rent as well.
All of this said, fall TV premiere season isn't entirely over yet, so you don't need to wait until January for some fun new TV. Check out our fall premiere guide to learn what to watch and when you can watch it.
