Fox basically cancels ‘Mulaney’ even more, swaps it with ‘Bob’s Burgers’

How many times can Fox kick John Mulaney in the shin? This is something that has become a fun little game of sorts for us to play.

First, the network decided to reduce the overall episode order for the sitcom “Mulaney” to ten episodes, down from the original thirteen. This was a move brought on mostly by the show’s abysmal ratings, but the network could at least claim that they were still giving the show a shot.

Now, they are laughing at it while it is on the ground, moving it to the 7:30 p.m. spot that is not even technically primetime. “Bob’s Burgers” will take its place, which is great news for that animated show given the “Family Guy” lead-in. It should deliver a good bit of a better performance here.

Meanwhile, the only thing that Fox is getting out of this in the end is that they are allowing the show to finish its run on TV, and maybe they feel a little bit better about that as a result. This has been a pretty miserable TV season for the network as a whole; they have already made the move to cancel “Utopia” and pull it from the network outright, and their comedy block is disappointing, “Red Band Society” is on life support, and “Gracepoint” is a dud. Even “Sleepy Hollow” and “Bones” are turning in some pretty disappointing returns this year.

While it was only seven or eight months ago we were wondering about whether or not “American Idol” could survive, we’re now starting to think that it may be the best thing Fox has going for itself these days. It suddenly looks like a hit compared to everything else.

Let us know your thoughts to the latest “Mulaney” woe right now with a comment.