This is Why FOX is Putting a LOT of Marbles into “Son of Zorn’s” Basket

The Sunday Night lineup on FOX could be what is at stake here.

In years past, the FOX network has had more than questionable practices on how they promote their animated comedies and it shows in the network premieres. Quite frankly the network hasn’t had a hit animated comedy debut since American Dad! Bob’s Burgers was by no means a sure thing, even with the strong ratings of the first season, by second season FOX was messing around with the show’s time slot by trying out newbies in Allen Gregory and Napoleon Dynamite. Since then, FOX had ordered and subsequently cancelled Murder Police and even Seth MacFarlane’s name couldn’t save the likes of The Cleveland Show or Bordertown from ratings hell.

So imagine my surprise when I see downtown San Diego covered…and I mean COVERED with Son of Zorn, the new animated comedy/live-action hybrid premiering this Fall on FOX, during the course of Comic Con weekend. Yes, it’s a live action/animated hybrid, but make no mistake this thing was being promoted like an animated series the likes of which no other network was even CLOSE to touching and really,other than Conan, no franchise was advertised harder. From the trolleys to the hotels to a big huge rock climbing wall, there was no chance of you NOT seeing Son of Zorn.

And the buck hasn’t stopped with Comic Con, neither. Since I’ve been home FOX has been promoting the hell out of the Fall Sunday Night lineup more than I’ve ever seen most notably with their ‘Four Fathers of FOX’ campaign and even my local billboards in the great state of NJ have been adorned with Zorn’s big head. Add in the multitudes of guest star announcements with the likes of Olivia Wilde, Nick Offerman, and most recently Keegan Michael-Key, and we could have ourselves a bonafide hit come this September.

Actually, now that I think about it, I DO remember a decent Axe Cop push at Comic Con San Diego quite a few years back, but from the looks of it, FOX is putting WAY more effort into it’s standard Sunday Night lineup versus the fledgling Animation Domination HD block of a few years ago. And like Axe Cop, Son of Zorn features a leading animated character wielding a weapon of choice, but while Axe Cop focused more on whacky characters and crazy fight scenes, Son of Zorn seems to be far more pulled-back with more reliance on the type of jokes FOX likes to tell, edgy but not TOO crazy, for the casual fan of The Simpsons.

Son of Zorn could be an important franchise for the future in a number of ways. With The Simpsons we still have a great show, but featuring voice actors like Julie Kavner and Harry Shearer that are well into their late 60s/early 70s and the rest of the cast rife with baby boomers. With Family Guy, we get a franchise that feels more like it’s on auto-pilot nowadays largely devoid of the Seth MacFarlane ‘Golden Touch’ from the comedic genius’ early days. With Son of Zorn, FOX would have a great one-two punch with Bob’s Burgers showcasing focus on newer animated characters that could help the network stabilize a lineup that could be seeing some transition over the next half-decade.

https://youtu.be/7Znbv5JKZXQ