Fox’s crime anthology “Accused” and Philadelphia-set procedural “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” will get second seasons, the network said Thursday.
The dramas, which are co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment, will air the second seasons in the 2023-24 season.
Both series have premiered with impressive first seasons as the Jan. 22 “Accused” debut climbed to television’s highest-rated drama debut in two years with 14.6 million multiplatform viewers and a 2.5 demo rating among the key demographic of viewers aged 18 to 49, according to Nielsen live plus 35-day figures. The series from executive producer Howard Gordon averages 7.5 million multiplatform viewers, marking a 126% uptick from its live plus same-day figures.
“Alert,” which stars Scott Caan, Dania Ramirez, Adeola Role and Ryan Broussard, premiered to 8.5 million multi-platform viewers and averages 6.7 million multi-platform viewers for Season One, which saw 154% jump from its live plus same-day figures.
“’Accused’ and ‘Alert’ stand out as two of this season’s new broadcast and multi-platform success stories,” Fox Entertainment scripted programming president Michael Thorn said in a statement announcing the renewal. “Looking to 2023-24, we’ll continue to deliver on the powerful storytelling coming from both series, building on our incredible partnership with Sony and further solidifying FOX’s strong slate of dramas, giving our schedule tremendous season-to-season stability.”
“With ‘Accused,’ Howard Gordon has taken the crime anthology to new heights and acclaim, featuring an all-star roster of directors and talent headlining gripping episodes that entertain viewers with a provocative, fresh take on many of the most relevant, timely issues of our day,” Thorn continued. “Scott, Dania, John and Jamie have done an incredible job launching ‘Alert’ and bringing its story into heart-pounding focus, giving us an emotionally intense procedural drama that’s primed for even more success as Carla takes the day-to-day reins, continuing the great work we’ve seen this season.”
Based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning series, “Accused” follows 15 emotional and intense stories of crime and punishment with a brand new cast for each episode that includes the likes of Michael Chiklis, Abigail Breslin, Whitney Cummings, Margo Martindale, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Wendell Pierce, Rachel Bilson, Jack Davenport, Molly Parker, Rhea Perlman, Betsy Brandt, Keith Carradine, Aisha Dee and Jason Ritter. Chiklis, Billy Porter, Marlee Matlin and Tazbah Chavez also directed for Season 1.
“Alert: Missing Persons Unit,” which follows Philadelphia police officers Jason Grant (Caan) and Nikki Batista’s (Ramirez) as they chase clues in life-or-death missing persons search, is executive produced by Jamie Foxx and John Eisendrath. Eisendrath served as showrunner for Season 1 and Carla Kettner is slated to join as executive producer and showrunner for Season 2.
“We are excited to continue our long partnership with Fox to bring more ‘Accused’ and ‘Alert’ to audiences around the world,” Sony Pictures Television president Katherine Pope said. “It’s wonderful to see these timely, poignant stories resonating with viewers, and we want to congratulate the writers, producers, cast and crew on their success. We are incredibly proud of their collective work and look forward to seeing where these series go next!”
