The Question, Tuesday 9/25/12: Will Sitcoms Be Fox's Salvation?

Last fall, Fox had the highest-profile new show in The X Factor and the highest-profile new drama in Terra Nova. And yet it was their new comedy, Zooey Deschanel's New Girl, that out-premiered the both of 'em. With The X Factor fairly slow out of the gate and their drama Monday looking even more problematic, Fox again looks to Tuesday to provide some much-needed good news. Tonight, Fox gives New Girl the "Grover Cleveland" treatment, airing it non-consecutively at 8:00 and 9:00 to launch two new sitcoms, Ben and Kate (8:30) and The Mindy Project (9:30). Will the sitcoms be Fox's salvation? That's The Question for Tuesday, September 25, 2012.

Fox Tuesday Comedy Averages	Fox Tuesday Comedy Premieres/Finales
2.16 (Raising Hope) 1.40 (I Hate My Teenage Daughter) (Tue) 3.23 (New Girl) 1.44 (Breaking In)	4.8 -> 2.8 (New Girl) 3.1 -> 1.8 (Raising Hope)

There are two new shows in this lineup, but I would argue the results from New Girl are at least as important and unpredictable. If it can't make much of a rally from its ugly spring numbers, this whole night could end up pretty hopeless from the get-go. It seems virtually impossible that the show gets back to last year's pre-baseball numbers, but I remain optimistic that a well-regarded sophomore sitcom can get some bounce-back from the late-season numbers on a premiere night with two other heavily-promoted newbies in the mix. Even on CBS' weak premiere Monday, 2 Broke Girls was able to build on the late-season numbers.

Over/Under for Fox from 8:00 to 10:00: 2.8.

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