Fox sets fall premiere dates; ‘Empire’ is back Sept. 23

Fox opens its 2015-16 TV season with the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20, which leads into weeks of season and series premieres, the network said Thursday.

As previously announced, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Andy Samberg will be host of the awards show.

The network has slated several favorites and a bevy of new programs for September, including “Glee” creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s latest anthology “Scream Queens,” the John Stamos-led comedy “Grandfathered,” Rob Lowe’s “The Grinder” and futuristic crime drama “Minority Report.

The network’s hit series “Empire” unveils its 18-episode Season 2 on Sept. 23, returning for another helping of soapy music-biz drama. The premiere picks up three months after the shocking arrest of Lucious Lyon. While he’s incarcerated, his sassy wife, Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), and her allies carry out desperate machinations to take over the family business before his release. As the family members battle one another, a “bigger external threat emerges that could force them to unite,” the network said in a statement.

Fox’s new Miami-based medical procedural “Rosewood” has its premiere that night.

“Gotham,” DC’s Batman prequel, returns Sept. 21 with its second season and leads into the network’s series premiere of “Minority Report,” the TV adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s hit 2002 film.

“Scream Queens” begins Sept. 22 with a two-hour premiere. Fox’s new comedies, “Grandfathered” and “The Grinder,” premiere the following Tuesday, Sept. 29.

The Sunday lineup will still be devoted to live-action and animated comedies, with new seasons of “Bob’s Burgers,” “The Simpsons,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Family Guy” and “Last Man On Earth” beginning Sept. 27.

Absent from this year are the once-mighty “American Idol,” Zooey Deschanel’s “New Girl” and Mindy Kaling’s “The Mindy Project.”

“Idol” will return for its final season in 2016 and Season 5 of Deschanel’s ensemble comedy is expected to have a mid-season debut in January alongside “The Guide to Surviving Life,” a new ensemble comedy starring Jack Cutmore-Scott.

“The Mindy Project” jumped the network and will have its 26-episode Season 4 debut run on Hulu, the streaming service announced in May.

The complete list of premiere dates is below, with new shows in bold.

Sept. 20

8-11 p.m. LIVE ET 67^TH Primetime Emmy Awards (5-8 p.m. PT)

Sept. 21

8-9 p.m. “Gotham”

9-10 p.m. “Minority Report”

Sept. 22

8-10 p.m. “Scream Queens”

Sept. 23

8-9 p.m. “Rosewood”

9-10 p.m. “Empire”

Sept. 27

7:30-8 p.m. “Bob’s Burgers”

8-8:30 p.m. “The Simpsons”

8:30-9 p.m. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

9-9:30 p.m. “Family Guy”

9:30-10 p.m. “The Last Man on Earth”

Sept. 29

8-8:30 p.m. “Grandfathered”

8:30-9 p.m. “The Grinder”

9-10 p.m. “Scream Queens” (regular time slot)

Oct. 1

8-9 p.m. “Bones”

9-10 p.m. “Sleepy Hollow”

Nov. 6

8-9 p.m. “MasterChef Junior”

9-10 p.m. “World’s Funniest”

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