The bleak fall season for Fox has turned into one of the most sweeping setbacks in network television with Fox’s decision to cancel its entire Friday night lineup.
That means a quick demise for “Harsh Realm,” the new science fiction series from Chris Carter, creator of “The X-Files.”
The other Friday show being killed off, a police series called “Ryan Caulfield, Year One,” had only two weeks to prove its worthiness. Last week the combination produced the lowest results ever for Fox on a Friday night.
Still, it surprised many in the television industry that Fox would make the call so quickly, especially after canceling Carter’s other series, “Millennium,” last spring.
More crucial for Fox now may be what happens with “The X-Files.” New episodes of that longtime Fox hit will begin at 8 p.m. Sunday. But its future in the longer term remains in doubt. Neither Carter nor the show’s star David Duchovny has a contract beyond this season.
Amid all this gloomy news, Fox got its first burst of sunshine in a long time Tuesday when the ratings for the season premiere of “Ally McBeal” arrived. The show even beat “Monday Night Football” among many younger adults.
