LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- FOX wants to give viewers as many opportunities as possible to catch its new drama "Prison Break."
The network has already scheduled an encore of the show's August 29 two-episode premiere ("Pilot"/"Allen") for Thursday, September 1 at 8:00/7:00c with a replay of its third episode ("Cell Test") slated for Tuesday, September 6 at 9:00/8:00c.
Now you can add a marathon on FX to the list. Said broadcast, due to air on Sunday, October 23 (exact time TBA), will feature the first seven episodes of the series. The marathon will help serve as a build up to "Break's" post-MLB playoff return on Monday, October 24. ("Break" will be pre-empted by baseball on October 10 and October 17.)
To review, here's a breakdown of all of "Break's" airings over the next few months (all on FOX unless specified):
Monday, August 29 at 8:00/7:00c - Episodes 1 & 2
Thursday, September 1 at 8:00/7:00c - Episodes 1 & 2 (Encore)
Monday, September 5 at 9:00/8:00c - Episode 3
Tuesday, September 6 at 9:00/8:00c - Episode 3 (Encore)
Monday, September 12 at 9:00/8:00c - Episode 4
Monday, September 19 at 9:00/8:00c - Episode 5
Monday, September 26 at 9:00/8:00c - Episode 6
Monday, October 3 at 9:00/8:00c - Episode 7
Sunday, October 23 at TBA - Marathon of episodes 1-7 on FX
Monday, October 24 at 9:00/8:00c - Episode 8
Episodes 8-13 then are expected to run consecutively through November 28, the final Monday of the November sweeps period. It's not clear however how FOX plans to handle the series following its initial 13-episode run. With "House" and "24" due to take over Monday nights beginning in January, "Break" would have to move to a new night in 2006.
Meanwhile in other FX-related news, struggling comedies "Starved" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are once again on the move. After a week in the post-"Rescue Me" slot on Tuesday nights, "Starved" will shuffle back to Thursdays at 10:00/9:00c this Thursday (August 25) while "Philadelphia" will remain on Tuesdays at 11:00/10:00c. Encores of their respective pilot episodes will follow each broadcast this week.
"Philadelphia's" move to Tuesdays has paid off thus far as its August 16 installment drew 1.3 million viewers, up 54.76% from its previous Thursday broadcast (840,000). The series opened to 1.42 million viewers on August 4.
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