FOX January Lineup Schedule: A whole lot of moving!

[The Clown Prince]

FOX announced it's January/February schedule changes and there are some good/bad ones depending on one's opinion. Zap2It has an analysis on the new schedule changes (here (http://www.zap2it.com/zap-storylink-foxjanuaryschedule,0,7865859.storylink)) and with regards to Terminator:SCC, they seem to think it just might do better on Fridays away from the highly competitive Monday 8:00pm slot. Me on the other hand......... UGH! :shrug: It's still Friday. :( Dollhouse, will it ever a get a fair shot on Friday?


Saturdays, beginning Jan. 3 (no change to lineup):
8:00-8:30 PM "COPS"
8:30-9:00 PM "COPS"
9:00-10:00 PM "America's Most Wanted"
11:00 PM-Midnight "MADtv"
Midnight-12:30 AM "Talk Show with Spike Feresten"

Sunday, Jan. 11:
8:00-10:00 PM "24" (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Monday, Jan. 12:
8:00-10:00 PM "24" (Season Premiere, Part 2)

Tuesday, Jan. 13:
8:00-10:00 PM "American Idol" (Season Premiere, Part 1)

Wednesday, Jan. 14:
8:00-10:00 PM "American Idol"(Season Premiere, Part 2)

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 15:
8:00-9:00 PM "Bones" (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM "Kitchen Nightmares"

Fridays, beginning Jan. 16 (no change to lineup):
8:00-9:00 PM "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"
9:00-10:00 PM "Don't Forget the Lyrics"

Sundays, beginning Jan. 18:
7:00-7:30 PM "Hole in the Wall" (Time Period Premiere)
7:30-8:00 PM "Hole in the Wall" (Time Period Premiere)
8:00-10:00 PM "Animation Domination" ("The Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "Family Guy," "American Dad")

Mondays, beginning Jan. 19:
8:00-9:00 PM "House" (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM "24" (Time Period Premiere)

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 20:
8:00-9:00 PM "American Idol" (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM "Fringe"

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 21:
8:00-9:00 PM "American Idol" (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM "Lie to Me" (Series Premiere)

Thursdays, beginning Jan. 29:
8:00-9:00 PM "Bones"
9:00-10:00 PM "Hell's Kitchen" (Season Premiere)

Fridays, beginning Feb. 13:
8:00-9:00 PM "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Time Period Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM "Dollhouse" (Series Premiere)

[Tobias]

:sad:

Fox, thine executives art morons. What happens every. Single. Time. You move a ratings successful show out of it's time slot and ship if off to the dark recesses of Friday night? And what happened the last time you premiered a Whedon show on Friday?

Come on, learn from your mistakes Fox. Next thing you know, they'll air Dollhouse completely out of order and cancel both that and Terminator by mid-March.

[bigddan11]

:sad:

Fox, thine executives art morons. What happens every. Single. Time. You move a ratings successful show out of it's time slot and ship if off to the dark recesses of Friday night? And what happened the last time you premiered a Whedon show on Friday?

Come on, learn from your mistakes Fox. Next thing you know, they'll air Dollhouse completely out of order and cancel both that and Terminator by mid-March.
What show is a ratings successful show? Terminator hasn't been. Dollhouse is receiving enough complaints early on that most people are expecting it to be canceled.

The biggest surprise here is a House/ 24 Monday night line-up. Bones was expected to go to Thursday night, but I'm a little surprised they aren't repeating last years Bones/House combo that typically had them second, behind only CBS, on Thursday night.

[DBZALLSTAR]

I love 24, and I tolerate American Idol. However, Fox needs to understand that they have shows that are just as good, if not better than 24 and American Idol. Thursday is a night I can accept for Bones, not that I am happy about it. Shame on you, Fox, for putting it up against the likes of Smallville and My Name Is Earl. As for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I saw this coming. I also saw Fox placing Dollhouse on Friday. If both shows end up cancelled, we can definitely feel justified in blaming Fox. Friday is pretty much a death sentence for television shows. Poor Ms. Dushku just can't seem to get a break with her television career when it comes to Fox. I loved Tru Calling and was seriously looking forward to seeing Dollhouse. Fox, if it gets good ratings, even on a Friday, then I expect to see a timeslot and day change. I think Monday would be a good day for it. Have it be the lead-in or follow-up for 24. I liked having Bones and House on the same night. Give them Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I don't give a flying fig about American Idol. it will be successful on any day that it airs. Air that on freaking Friday. Bones and House are two of my favorite shows. I shall not be pleased if they get the axe. Fox, use some sense.:D

[Temple Fugate]

Aw come on, FOX, you've been doing so good these last few years! What's up with the Dollhouse thing? And you moved it for House? That's ridiculous.

You have three tentpole shows: AI, 24, and House. These shows are appointment television. If you put any of them on Fridays, people will still watch them. (Granted, a little less, but they'll still outperform any other show on that night.) If you put Terminator (already a ratings problem) and new show Dollhouse on Fridays, you've effectively already canceled both of them. You may not like Dollhouse, what with its production deciding to take a break or whatever they did there, but at least give it a chance as a 24 lead-in. Imagine if you had put Prison Break's first season on Friday night. You'd never have gotten the ratings to justify giving it more than 13 episodes.

I don't care what you do with Terminator, and I doubt I'll even watch Dollhouse, but speaking as a fan of the late, great John Doe: give Dollhouse a freaking shot.

You know what you need to do? Throw one of your dramas into Sunday. X-Files did great for years there. Put KotH back in the 7:30 slot (you've already canceled it anyway), cancel one of those other shows (hintSimpsonshint) and put Dollhouse or Fringe at 9pm.

In closing, I think we all knew Whedon agreeing to do another show for FOX was a bad idea. I just can't believe it is turning out to be an almost exact repeat of what happened to Firefly.

On another subject, it's awesome to see what was going to be a 3-hour premiere in January 2007 is now a 4-hour premiere for 24. Good call.

[Burgundy Ranger]

Friday isn't the best night, but it gets T:TSSC away from the like-genre Heroes. Actually, Dollhouse has a decent chance at 9:00, since the other options aren't imposing -- the fast-fading Deal or No Deal (hey NBC, don't tell us when someone's gonna win!), Supernanny and the slot CBS hasn't made work for three straight seasons (Close to Home, Moonlight and now Ex List).

As I read in a Zap2It blog, Dollhouse would have met the same fate as T:TSSC -- i.e., KILLED in the Monday 8:00 slot, no matter how good it is, against DWtS and the CBS comedies, as well as CW's only real ratings draw in Gossip Girl. And that would have hurt the ratings of 24, which Fox couldn't allow to happen.

Here's the best point from Daniel Fienberg's blog about Dollhouse and why it's better that it isn't on Mondays:


As brilliant as I can only hope and pray Dollhouse will be, it was always going to be a Joss Whedon show and it was always going to play to a niche audience, even before the reports of creative tinkering began circulating.

Both shows will have the benefit of Fox being more patient with them on Fridays than on Mondays.

[chdr]

Bet you Hole In The Wall will tank, if just for that Sunday 7:00 timeslot.

[bigddan11]

Bet you Hole In The Wall will tank, if just for that Sunday 7:00 timeslot.
Not necessarily. The football season will be over by that point, which means it'll be against AFV, 60 Minutes, and whatever NBC decides to put on at that time, which half the time is Dateline NBC. Hole in the Wall has succeeded on Thursday night against Survivor, Earl, and Ugly Betty. There's no reason it won't do the same on Sunday night.

[The Penguin]

It's times like this that I like to point out that the first season of CSI was on Fridays (plus it was teamed with the sadly low-rated The Fugitive). That show has gone nine seasons, has two spin-offs, has knock-offs both good and bad all over the place and has virtually defined CBS as a network both for its own success and the type of shows that the network airs.

I'm not saying Dollhouse will get all of that or that Terminator will, but Friday is not an automatic deathslot, a marginal show (in either viewer interest or content) is just more likely to die there.

[Master Moron]

Friday isn't the best night, but it gets T:TSSC away from the like-genre Heroes. Actually, Dollhouse has a decent chance at 9:00, since the other options aren't imposing -- the fast-fading Deal or No Deal (hey NBC, don't tell us when someone's gonna win!), Supernanny and the slot CBS hasn't made work for three straight seasons (Close to Home, Moonlight and now Ex List).


Heroes is still airing at 9 in winter, isn't it? If Fox kept Terminator at 8 it would compete against Chuck, not Heroes. I don't understand the idea of pairing House with 24. The shows don't seem compatible at all. One show is a medical drama, while the other is more of an action thriller. Also, if they have to air House on the same night as 24, they should put 24 first since then it wouldn't air opposite Heroes. Of course, I suppose since 24's ratings were down last year they're hoping to give 24 a boost by airing House before it. But, again, the shows are so different that I don't think there would be that much crossover.

By the way, is Prison Break cancelled?

[bigddan11]

Heroes is still airing at 9 in winter, isn't it? If Fox kept Terminator at 8 it would compete against Chuck, not Heroes. I don't understand the idea of pairing House with 24. The shows don't seem compatible at all. One show is a medical drama, while the other is more of an action thriller. Also, if they have to air House on the same night as 24, they should put 24 first since then it wouldn't air opposite Heroes. Of course, I suppose since 24's ratings were down last year they're hoping to give 24 a boost by airing House before it. But, again, the shows are so different that I don't think there would be that much crossover.

By the way, is Prison Break cancelled?
24's ratings couldn't have been down last year since it didn't air last year. Also, House has always aired in the 8/7 slot on FOX. They probably won't move it to a later slot so they don't alienate fans. 24 has always aired at the 9/8 slot, with the exception of season premieres and finales. House will get higher ratings than Terminator has, and they have been getting higher ratings than Prison Break has against the Dancing With The Stars result show on Tuesday, so I don't see it lowering the Monday ratings at all.

As far as Prison Break, FOX hasn't ordered additional episodes for this season, but that doesn't mean it's been canceled. They could go solely to it airing 10-13 episodes a season, so until they announce the summer/ fall shows, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Peter Paltridge]

What is Hole in the Wall and why does Fox apparently hate it?

You don't give any new show a time slot like that if you want your investment to grow.

[Lord Dalek]

8:00-9:00 PM "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (Time Period Premiere)Ladies and gentlemen.... the kiss of death.

[Burgundy Ranger]

What is Hole in the Wall and why does Fox apparently hate it?

You don't give any new show a time slot like that if you want your investment to grow.
It's the most inane, mindless attempt at physical comedy wrapped around a game show ever conceived and it deservedly flops in the ratings in every time slot it gets.

Going back to the week of Oct 13-19 (which is the last time it was on), the Thursday night ratings for the 8-9 hour were:

Survivor (#12 for the week), 4.4
Ugly Berry (35), 2.9
Earl (54) / Kath (62), avg. 2.2
Smallville (80), 1.4
Hole (82/83), avg. 1.25

That ain't successful by any stretch.

[Burgundy Ranger]

Hole in the Wall has succeeded on Thursday night against Survivor, Earl, and Ugly Betty. There's no reason it won't do the same on Sunday night.
See my post above. It finishes fifth on a routine basis. How is that successful. It loses to everything against it, even Smallville.

[bigddan11]

See my post above. It finishes fifth on a routine basis. How is that successful. It loses to everything against it, even Smallville.
What you fail to take into account is actual viewership. Thursday happens to be the second night in terms of viewership behind only Sunday. The ratings are not great, no doubt, but they are constantly remaining steady compared t every other show on Thursday night, and like it or not, it is pretty funny seeing these people try to fit through small holes.

[Djm912]

Bones on Thursdays is good for me. That's really all I can say.

[Old Guy]

It's times like this that I like to point out that the first season of CSI was on Fridays

I think people need to understand how Friday works. See, there's two types of shows. Those meant for a wide/general audience and those meant for a specific demographic. If a show is meant for a wide audience or the young people (pre-teen, teen, college, `20s crowd) demographic then Friday is a horrible night since those people are gonna be out of the house. However, if a show is for the adult demographic or the family demographic (do I have to remind people of ABC's TGIF) then Friday is not a bad night. CSI, which has become popular with a wide audience was (I think) meant for the adult demographic which is why it did well. And well enough to move to Thursday and become a ratings hit.

Now...Saturday is a bad night in general. Everyone (or atleast most people people) are out. Which is why all you get is COPS, America's Most Wanted, and stuff like that.

[Michael24]

I wonder how Terminator will fair against Ghost Whisperer on Fridays, which does well for CBS. Though fortunately, on my CBS affiliate, programming starts an hour early, so I get GW at 7 instead of 8, so I won't have to record Terminator to watch later.

[Old Guy]

I wonder how Terminator will fair against Ghost Whisperer on Fridays, which does well for CBS. Though fortunately, on my CBS affiliate, programming starts an hour early, so I get GW at 7 instead of 8, so I won't have to record Terminator to watch later.

That's right. It'll be tough to compete with Jennifer Love Hewitt's clevage.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2042/2963351872_0ca5f5e50b.jpg

[Michael24]

A big THANK YOU for the picture! :nurse: :D

[Burgundy Ranger]

What you fail to take into account is actual viewership.But I did. That's crappy too.


Thursday happens to be the second night in terms of viewership behind only Sunday.Doesn't matter. A 1.25 on Thursday represents the same number of viewers as a 1.25 on any other night.

On the week I used, Hole got a total viewership of 356,000 homes at 8:00 and 370,000 at 8:30 (probably a Kath-n-Kim-sucks bump).

All four episodes of Fox's Saturday night Cops-a-thon (on the lowest-viewed night of the week) got higher viewership (434K to 563K).

[bigddan11]

Doesn't matter. A 1.25 on Thursday represents the same number of viewers as a 1.25 on any other night.

On the week I used, Hole got a total viewership of 356,000 homes at 8:00 and 370,000 at 8:30 (probably a Kath-n-Kim-sucks bump).

All four episodes of Fox's Saturday night Cops-a-thon (on the lowest-viewed night of the week) got higher viewership (434K to 563K).
Actually, that's not true. They basically figure out the rating by combining the viewership for all broadcast networks that night (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, MyNetwork) and dividing it by the viewership for that network on that night. A perfect example of this is CSI and American Idol. CSI typically finishes #1 in the ratings even when American Idol is going on, but more viewers watch American Idol. This occurs because more people watch TV on Thursday than Tuesday. A 1.25 on Thursday is often below a 1 on any other night than Sunday, where many times it could be closer to a 2, solely because of the number of people watching that night. Also, I should point out that the one sneak peek of Hole in the Wall that was on Sunday actually drew a 3.6 rating, meaning FOX is moving it to a night where they know it will be more successful.

[Temple Fugate]

24's ratings couldn't have been down last year since it didn't air last year.Regardless of which year it aired, 24's sixth season was down in ratings. I don't think it had so much to do with Heroes season 1 than it did with 24 season 6 just doing a really bad job in the plot and pacing departments. Heroes' ratings are trending downward as most genre/serial show ratings do. As long as 24's quality makes an improvement over season 6, it will do just fine.

[Master Moron]

24's ratings couldn't have been down last year since it didn't air last year.

Well, I should have said the last time it was on instead of last year, but I think you know what I meant.


Also, House has always aired in the 8/7 slot on FOX. They probably won't move it to a later slot so they don't alienate fans.

House has not always aired in the 8 o'clock timeslot on Mondays. It used to be Prison Break at 8, followed by 24 at 9. Last year they may have aired reruns on the 8 o'clock timeslot on Mondays, but that was only because of the writer's strike.



24 has always aired at the 9/8 slot, with the exception of season premieres and finales.

And the last time they aired new episodes, they saw their ratings decline due in part to new competition. What's your point?



House will get higher ratings than Terminator has, and they have been getting higher ratings than Prison Break has against the Dancing With The Stars result show on Tuesday, so I don't see it lowering the Monday ratings at all.


I never said it would lower the Monday ratings.


But I did. That's crappy too.

Doesn't matter. A 1.25 on Thursday represents the same number of viewers as a 1.25 on any other night.

On the week I used, Hole got a total viewership of 356,000 homes at 8:00 and 370,000 at 8:30 (probably a Kath-n-Kim-sucks bump).

All four episodes of Fox's Saturday night Cops-a-thon (on the lowest-viewed night of the week) got higher viewership (434K to 563K).

I think you put a comma in the wrong place. If any show on Fox got less than a million viewers it would get pulled immediately. You probably mean 3,560,000 and 3,700,000.

[bigddan11]

House has not always aired in the 8 o'clock timeslot on Mondays. It used to be Prison Break at 8, followed by 24 at 9. Last year they may have aired reruns on the 8 o'clock timeslot on Mondays, but that was only because of the writer's strike.
You're reading things wrong again. I said House has always aired at 8/7. I never said it has always aired at 8/7 Monday night. When House first started, they aired it at 8/7 Tuesday night. When American Idol started, they typically moved it to 8/7 Thursday. This year it will be 8/7 Monday, but it has always aired at 8/7.

[Burgundy Ranger]

I think you put a comma in the wrong place. If any show on Fox got less than a million viewers it would get pulled immediately. You probably mean 3,560,000 and 3,700,000.
Yeah, you're right. I'm reading a chart that leaves off the last set of 000's.

Only three shows of the 100 got less than a million viewers, and I think they're all on MNTV.

[Master Moron]

You're reading things wrong again. I said House has always aired at 8/7. I never said it has always aired at 8/7 Monday night. When House first started, they aired it at 8/7 Tuesday night. When American Idol started, they typically moved it to 8/7 Thursday. This year it will be 8/7 Monday, but it has always aired at 8/7.

Actually, I distinctly remember House airing after American Idol its first year. But, I don't even know what your point is. Mondays at 8 is not the same timeslot as Tuesday at 8 or Thursday at 8. House fans aren't going to say "All right. At least they kept House's original timeslot", because they didn't. They're going to say "Damn it. They moved House." Unless you're trying to say that House is a family show and it should air in the family hour or something.

[bigddan11]

Actually, I distinctly remember House airing after American Idol its first year. But, I don't even know what your point is. Mondays at 8 is not the same timeslot as Tuesday at 8 or Thursday at 8. House fans aren't going to say "All right. At least they kept House's original timeslot", because they didn't. They're going to say "Damn it. They moved House." Unless you're trying to say that House is a family show and it should air in the family hour or something.
They had an encore of House on Tuesday after American Idol during it's first season, but the premieres were still at 8/7 Thursday. What I'm saying is they have had consistent ratings on Tuesday and Thursday with House at 8/7, and it is more likely they will have the same viewers available to them on any night as long as it is at the same time. Actually, since they won't have MNF to contend with, they have a better chance on Monday than on Thursday to gain more viewers for House.

[Master Moron]

They had an encore of House on Tuesday after American Idol during it's first season, but the premieres were still at 8/7 Thursday. What I'm saying is they have had consistent ratings on Tuesday and Thursday with House at 8/7, and it is more likely they will have the same viewers available to them on any night as long as it is at the same time.

Why do you say that? The night is far more significant than the time. People may only be home certain nights of the week or may watch things on other networks on different nights. I mean, if you really think that the time is more significant than the night, then they should air House on Friday at 8:00 and lead into Terminator or Dollhouse.

[bigddan11]

Why do you say that? The night is far more significant than the time. People may only be home certain nights of the week or may watch things on other networks on different nights. I mean, if you really think that the time is more significant than the night, then they should air House on Friday at 8:00 and lead into Terminator or Dollhouse.
When you actually do a little research, you find this is the order for most people watching TV:
1) Sunday
2) Thursday
3) Monday
4) Tuesday
5) Wednesday
6) Friday
7) Saturday

With this knowledge, they have more people they can draw from on Monday night. The biggest competition on Monday is the CBS comedies, because Monday Night Football has ended by that time. Dancing With the Stars, which they still will be head-to-head with, does air, but there has been some discussion to moving it to 9/8, and they aren't going to lose audience to a show they are currently against. NBC has been declining every week, so many of the fans aren't going to be lost to them either. Yes, some people have specific nights they are off, but FOX realizes this, which is why they release the schedule two to three months in advance, so they can program their DVR/ VCR to record it.

I never said the time was more important than the night either, so don't put words in my mouth. I said they have always aired it at this time, and they aren't going to change that because their viewers know they'll find it at that time, but not always on that day. They have advance schedules and commercials to inform them of the changes, which fans of the show know will happen in January because it has happened every year since the show began thanks to American Idol. As it is though, some shows will work on any night. WWE SmackDown! is an example of that. It was originally on Thursday, but many networks aired it Saturday, and now it is on Friday. The ratings for it went up when it was moved to Friday because it has less people watching that night, but it kept its audience.

[Master Moron]

With this knowledge, they have more people they can draw from on Monday night. The biggest competition on Monday is the CBS comedies, because Monday Night Football has ended by that time. Dancing With the Stars, which they still will be head-to-head with, does air, but there has been some discussion to moving it to 9/8, and they aren't going to lose audience to a show they are currently against. NBC has been declining every week, so many of the fans aren't going to be lost to them either. Yes, some people have specific nights they are off, but FOX realizes this, which is why they release the schedule two to three months in advance, so they can program their DVR/ VCR to record it.

All of that would still be true if they aired Terminator on Monday at 8 and moved House to Fridays at 8. I'm just not really following what your argument is. Why is moving House to Monday and Terminator and Dollhouse to Friday a good idea? Yes, fans of House will follow that show wherever it goes, but it's doubtful that fans of House will stick around for 24 since those two shows are very different. 24 has its own established fanbase that will tune in and it doesn't need the House lead in. It would make much more sense spread their hits out so they could boost their ratings on all nights. I mean, why would they expect Terminator and Dollhouse to get good ratings on Friday? Terminator is bombing on Monday and Dollhouse hasn't even premiered yet. If they put 24 on Monday and House on Friday they could potentially boost the ratings of Dollhouse and Terminator and have both Mondays and Fridays be successful.

[bigddan11]

All of that would still be true if they aired Terminator on Monday at 8 and moved House to Fridays at 8. I'm just not really following what your argument is. Why is moving House to Monday and Terminator and Dollhouse to Friday a good idea? Yes, fans of House will follow that show wherever it goes, but it's doubtful that fans of House will stick around for 24 since those two shows are very different. 24 has its own established fanbase that will tune in and it doesn't need the House lead in. It would make much more sense spread their hits out so they could boost their ratings on all nights. I mean, why would they expect Terminator and Dollhouse to get good ratings on Friday? Terminator is bombing on Monday and Dollhouse hasn't even premiered yet. If they put 24 on Monday and House on Friday they could potentially boost the ratings of Dollhouse and Terminator and have both Mondays and Fridays be successful.
Again, it is viewership. Since Friday has fewer viewers, they would probably lose viewers by moving House to Friday. On the other hand, Terminator's numbers have been equivalent for most Friday shows, so it will probably retain most of its viewers despite being on a new night. Dollhouse basically got the shaft for two reasons: 1) production has been slow and 2) it was the only night available for it, next to the Sunday at 7/6 slot that they gave to Hole in the Wall.

[Draft]

There's actually a lot more change than initially thought, but here are the main points

-Fox really is unsure of how 24 will do so they're hoping House will help bring viewers to watch it again
-Fox really is happy with the ratings of Fringe, that they want to put American Idol in front of it to give it a huge ratings boost (they'll have to do a recap episode f they want it to succeed tho imo)
-Fox really is unhappy with Til' Death, which doesn't even get the measly 7:30PM Slot on Sunday. I bet we won't hear from it til' Summer or when Hole in the Wall fails (Unless they want to air Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader or Don't Forget the Lyrics)
-Fox really is worried about how Dollhouse will do, espeically with the pilot re-shoot. Hopefully it'll do well with Sci-Fi show Sarah Chronicles in front of it and Battlestar Galatica preceding it on Sci-Fi

[The Penguin]

As far as Prison Break, FOX hasn't ordered additional episodes for this season, but that doesn't mean it's been canceled. They could go solely to it airing 10-13 episodes a season, so until they announce the summer/ fall shows, I wouldn't worry too much about it.Prison Break won't go with a short season. I can't remember where I read it now, but the winter finale of Prison Break on Dec. 22 will be episode 16. While Sarah Connor started with 13 episodes, I'm pretty sure Michael and company started with the typical 22. It's included in an article on TVGuide.com that includes a casting spoiler so I don't want to post the article out of respect for those folks, but TVGuide.com posted today that the show's remaining six episodes will air next year....

As mentioned on Fox's midseason schedule press release, after airing its midseason finale, Prison Break will return in 2009 to finish up its fourth cycle.