Fox Hopes New Programs Will Hook Summer Viewers

Hoping to stem viewers’ annual summertime defection to cable, Fox has cobbled together a warm-weather slate of new series, specials and movies, the first of which airs May 25.

“A full 40 percent of the 16 weeks of summer will be devoted to original programming,” said Peter Roth, president of Fox Entertainment.

Roth, like other network executives, bemoaned the seasonal audience erosion. With their repeat-laden schedules competing against cable’s richer lineup of original programming, the networks’ Nielsen numbers traditionally have suffered in comparison with cable’s during the summer months.

On Fox’s summer slate:

“Roar,” an hourlong action-adventure created by Shaun Cassidy (“American Gothic”) and Ron Koslow (“Beauty & the Beast”), set in Europe in A.D. 400. The show will debut July 14.

“The Ruby Wax Show.” The Chicago-born Wax, known for asking outlandish questions of big-name stars, hosts a wacky talk show, which already is a hit in Britain. It debuts June 9.

“Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction” is a series of hour specials hosted by James Brolin and built on dramatizations of inexplicable incidents. The hook? One segment in each show is a total fabrication while the others are real. It starts May 25.

“These are not failed pilots,” Roth said.

In addition, Fox will air new episodes of Aaron Spelling’s “Pacific Palisades” and a weekly package of clips from “Mad TV” that will air Mondays at 8 p.m.

Fox won’t be alone in airing original shows this summer. ABC, CBS and NBC will offer fresh episodes of such series as “Step by Step,” (ABC), “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” (ABC), “Pearl” (CBS), “Dave’s World” (CBS) and “Chicago Sons” (NBC). CBS also plans to air “Life & Stuff,” a sitcom starring comic Rick Reynolds.