It’s been almost three days since FOX released their 2010-2011 Midseason Schedule and we’re not gonna lie, it hasn’t been easy. Yet after burying our feelings in thin crust Dominos pizza and coming to the conclusion that Network President Kevin Reilly probably isn’t a shapeshifter sent by Walternate to put an swift end to the FRINGE team we’ve come to know and love, something finally occurred to us: It’s kinda, well, maybe possible that the new FOX schedule isn’t all that bad. Find out why after the jump.
“It’s not show friends, it’s show business,” isn’t just a line from a movie [Jerry Maguire], it’s a reality. Which is why, as much as we’d like to take FOX to task for giving FRINGE the old “Whedon” special (read: Friday nights starting January 28) the numbers don’t lie. Suffice to say, after two seasons of consistently hemorrhaging half of its very healthy BONES lead-in, FRINGE is lucky to get moved, rather than outright canceled. And while a Friday night deathslot, err… we mean timeslot is nothing to celebrate, there is always that possibility that should the best show on television you’re currently not watching manage to hold onto a good chunk of its viewers from Thursday, it not only could establish itself as the network’s first bonafide Friday breakout hit since THE X-FILES, but see itself rewarded with a fourth season as a result.
One of the most interesting pieces of intel BONES creator Hart Hanson dropped during his recent foray North of the 49th Parallel — when he wasn’t spoiling the ending of the show or talking about the upcoming spinoff that is — was his one bone of contention with the FOX network. Turns out, the only drawback to having what he calls a “mighty audience that I have yet to drive away,” is that BONES was often bounced around to fill holes in the Network’s schedule and that Hanson, “would have loved to have been after AMERICAN IDOL to see what we would have done [in the ratings].” Now whether or not Hanson had an inkling of what was coming one can only guess. What we do know is that starting January 20th, the show that has seen more timelsots than Charlie Sheen arrests will finally get the rarified opportunity to air after television’s biggest behemoth. Here’s hoping IDOL fans forgot to change the batteries in their remotes.
Now what we know what you’re thinking, what far-fetched silver-lining could the TV Addict possibly have concocted for COMMUNITY and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES’ fans who aren’t quite sure of what to expect when their critically acclaimed, albeit lowly rated series go face-to-face with a menace far more terrifying than THE BIG BANG THEORY’s Sheldon Cooper. Well, brace yourself, because we’re about to blow your mind with the following thought: Airing against AMERICAN IDOL could quite possibly be the best thing to happen to the NBC and CW cult favorites since the invention of that gooey hair gel that does wonders for stars Joel McHale and Paul Wesley’s hair. No really, think about it… did not both shows just get handed a free pass for a third season? After-all, which Network executive in their right mind is going to expect any ratings improvement when you’re up against the reality TV juggernaut that is AMERICAN IDOL. 
