Fox's Fall Was a Flop, So What's Plan B? Starts With an 'A,' of Course

The wild-card feature is back, allowing the judges to pick some of the semifinalists. They've stripped away a lot of the glitz, including "Idol Gives Back" week in which A-list celebrities like Christina Aguilera, Jack Black and Miley Cyrus push the Idolettes aside, put on their Caring Face and plug their latest movie, CD or whatever in the name of charity.

They've slashed the number of broadcasts in which lousy auditioners will be mocked in order to make the show more upbeat and aspirational -- the promos, too, you've probably noticed.

Meanwhile, in amongst the "Idol" broadcasts, Fox will launch the rest of Liguori and Reilly's slate of new scripted series, a slate that is not the kind of populist television -- like "Idol" -- that would attract broadcast-size audience. Instead, it's a slate that speaks to Liguori and Reilly's love of their dark nichey days at FX.

They are shows like Joss Whedon's new "Dollhouse." The one-hour drama is about a really hot chick who's part of an underground group and who each week has her personality wiped out at a secret facility called the Dollhouse, so she can, for money, assume another personality to help out the wealthy, the powerful and the well-connected. And have a lot of sex. Where I come from, we called them "hookers." Whatever.

Also on the horizon, a one-hour musical comedy series called "Glee" from "Nip/Tuck" creator Ryan Murphy, about a teacher who heads a high school's glee club that used to be at the top of the show-choir world but which a series of scandals have turned into a "haven for misfits and social outcasts." Want to bet it gets a post-"Idol" time slot?

"I've had one of my best experiences of my career with Ryan Murphy doing 'Nip/Tuck,' " Reilly told trade paper the Hollywood Reporter. "We're excited to re-create that experience here."

And, very likely, the ratings, too.

Tomorrow, CBS: broadcast's best-kept secret.