Fox gets funny; UPN tries 'hate'

Fox, which struggled last fall but zoomed to the top of the ratings behind "American Idol" beginning in January, is looking to carry some of that momentum into the 2005-2006 season.

The folks at Fox are hoping to laugh all the way to the ratings bank. They have 11 half-hour comedies on their fall schedule (12 if you count the animation repeats Sundays at 6 p.m.) while ABC, CBS and NBC have 16 combined.

Once again, Fox has a split schedule. The fall slate features seven new shows; in January Fox will revamp three nights with one new series and the return of "Idol" and "24."

Somewhat surprisingly, the Emmy-winning, low-rated "Arrested Development" was renewed. But it's moving to Mondays and is only on the schedule through December.

Here are Fox's new series:

The War at Home (Sundays, 7:30 p.m.) is a sitcom about a married couple (Michael Rappaport and Anita Barone) battling to control their three teenagers. And the show "goes inside the heads" of the characters by having them talk directly to viewers from a "confessional space."

Kitchen Confidential (Mondays, 7:30 p.m.), based on the best-selling autobiography of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, is a sitcom about a celebrity chef (Bradley Cooper, "Alias") whose early success led to a life of debauchery. He gets a second chance, but it comes with big pressure and a cast of offbeat characters.

Prison Break (Mondays, 8 p.m.) is a drama about a guy who, convinced his brother is innocent of the crime that put him on death row, intentionally gets caught robbing a bank so he and his brother can escape together.

Bones (Tuesdays, 7 p.m.) is a "darkly amusing drama . . . inspired by real-life forensic anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs." Emily Deschanel stars as Reichs' alter-ego, who has "an uncanny ability to read clues left behind in a victim's bones" and is teamed with an FBI agent (David Boreanaz of "Angel").

Head Cases (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.) is a "comedic drama" that stars Chris O'Donnell ("Scent of a Woman") as a superstar lawyer whose life takes a sudden downturn when his wife kicks him out, he has a nervous breakdown and he loses his job. He joins forces with a low-rent lawyer and fellow mental patient (Adam Goldberg).

Reunion (Thursdays, 8 p.m.), which Fox describes as "part character drama and part mystery," tells the stories of a group of six friends from the ages of 18 to 38 — all in one season, with each episode set a year after the previous one.