Copyright Deadline
Fox has set its winter schedule for the first couple of months of 2026, and it features quite a few changes. The network is back to four hours of live-action scripted programming, up from two in the fall. That includes new drama series Memory of a Killer and Best Medicine and the return of comedies Animal Control and Going Dutch. Psychological thriller Memory of a Killer starring Patrick Dempsey, which recently underwent a showrunner change, will launch Jan. 26 behind the Season 2 premiere of Extracted. The extreme survival competition is returning to its Monday 8 PM slot, serving as a launch pad for Memory of a Killer. With Murder In a Small Town set to wrap its second season in December, its Tuesday 9 PM companion Doc, which has a full-season 22-episode order, will be joined in January by new drama Best Medicine, starring Josh Charles, an adaptation of the popular British series Doc Martin. Fox’s new medical drama Tuesday block debuts Jan. 6. Returning to its Thursday 9 PM berth on Jan. 15 is the comedy block of Animal Control and Going Dutch, once again following Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen and then Next Level Chef. After an 11-year break, American Dad! will be back on the Fox schedule with its Season 20 premiere on Feb. 22. It will follow Seth MacFarlane’s other canceled-and-brought-back by Fox series, Family Guy, in the Sunday animated lineup. Family Guy will launch its 24th season a week prior for a milestone Sunday featuring Episode 450 of Family Guy and Episode 800 of The Simpsons. Flagship reality series The Masked Singer, which sat out the fall after going down from two to one cycle a season, will be back for its 14th season on Jan. 7 with a two-hour premiere and double unmasking. The Masked Singer will be used to launch the Fear Factor: House of Fear, Fox’s revival of the controversial reality competition which originally ran on NBC and was subsequently revived by MTV. Fox calls the reboot hosted by Johnny Knoxville “more unhinged than ever.” Fox’s newer unscripted hit, The Floor, which is on the fall schedule, is taking a break in the winter and will be back in the spring. Here are Fox’s January : FOX WINTER 2026 PREMIERE DATES RECAP (All Times ET/PT Except as Noted) Thursday, Jan. 1 8-9 PM — Hell’s Kitchen (New Episode) Monday, Jan. 5 8-9 PM — Celebrity Name That Tune (Season Finale) Tuesday, Jan. 6 8-9 PM — Best Medicine (Series Premiere) 9-10 PM — Doc (Winter Premiere) Wednesday, Jan. 7 8-10 PM — The Masked Singer (Special Two-Hour Season 14 Premiere) Wednesday, Jan. 14 8-9 PM — The Masked Singer (Time Period Premiere 9-10 PM — Fear Factor: House of Fear (Series Premiere) Thursday, Jan. 15 8-9 PM — Hell’s Kitchen (New Episode) 9-9:30 PM — Animal Control (Season 4 Premiere) 9:30-10 PM — Going Dutch (Season 2 Premiere) Thursday, Jan. 22 8-9 PM — Hell’s Kitchen (Season 24 Finale) 9-9:30 PM — Animal Control (New Episode) 9:30-10 PM — Going Dutch (New Episode) Monday, Jan. 26 8-9 PM — Extracted (Season 2 Premiere) 9-10 PM — Memory of a Killer (Series Premiere) Thursday, Jan. 29 8-9 PM — Next Level Chef (Season 5 Premiere) 9-9:30 PM — Animal Control (New Episode) 9:30-10 PM — Going Dutch (New Episode) Fridays (On Going) 8 PM-CC ET/5 PM-CC PT — Fox Sports Friday Saturdays (On Going) 8 PM-CC ET/5 PM-CC PT — Fox Sports Saturday Sunday, Feb. 15 8-8:30 PM — The Simpsons (Special 800th Episode) 8:30-9 PM — The Simpsons (New Episode, Season Finale) 9-9:30 PM — Universal Basic Guys (New Episode) 9:30-10 PM — Family Guy (Season 24 Premiere, 450th Episode) Sunday, Feb. 22 8-8:30 PM — Family Guy (Time Period Premiere) 8:30-9 PM — Universal Basic Guys (New Episode) 9-9:30 PM — American Dad! (Season 20 Premiere) 9:30-10 PM — Family Guy (New Episode) Sundays, Mar. 22, 29 and Apr. 5 (Easter Sunday)
