Mother Nature is a devious programming executive.
A simple rain delay in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series caused a pile-up that confused many viewers and will be rippling through FOX’s schedule for weeks.
With the game between the Giants and Cardinals on hold, but the chance of resumption hanging in the balance, FOX scrambled to fill programming on Wednesday, airing a smorgasbord of offerings including the pilot for “Ben and Kate,” roughly an hour of the previously scheduled episode of “The X Factor” and a chunk of last week’s “The Mindy Project.”
When it became clear that the baseball game would return, FOX abruptly pulled the episode of “X Factor” half-way through the key episode meant to reveal the season’s Top 16. This portion of “X Factor” aired on the East Coast and also, due to a technical issue, aired on the West Coast as a simulcast (in Pacific Time, FOX just aired last Wednesday’s episode).
FOX will now air the entirety of Wednesday’s scheduled “X Factor” next Tuesday (the Thursday episode had already been preempted for baseball). In order to make way for two hours of “X Factor,” FOX has now pulled the new episodes of “Raising Hope,” “Ben and Kate,” “New Girl” and “The Mindy Project” for a later date. “New Girl” and “The Mindy Project” were already preempted this week due to the second Presidential Debate.
If you’re keeping score at home, the Cardinals beat the Giants 3-1.