The final season of “American Idol” looms on the horizon, and the FOX Television network is at the very beginning stages of planning auditions.

A question on the mind of TV critics at the summer press tour was what kind of send-off to expect.

Dana Walden, chair and CEO of the Fox Television Network, said the upcoming season of “American Idol” would be a “farewell of a great performing act,” and observed that the producers of the show were committed to finding the 15th American Idol, and to end on a high note.

The network is still struggling from last year, when the longtime head of FOX’s entertainment, Kevin Reilly, abruptly departed his position, creating a vacuum in the stability of FOX’s leadership.

Walden, joined by Gary Newman in sharing the top positions of executive management, have been in charge since last year’s summer press tour.

The good news for them is that “Empire,” a series that made its debut on their watch, rocketed to the position of the top-rated show on network television.

While FOX is still mired in last place among the four major networks, the success of “Empire” does not allow for a victory lap, but Walden had no problem sharing her belief that this show “sent a shock of enthusiasm and excitement through the halls of our company.”

Another question that comes to mind for critics is whether the broadcast network model is endangered by the ever constant emergence of various new media platforms, from streaming video to Netflix and Amazon jumping at full gallop into the programming business.

If there is conversation about the relevance of the broadcast network, Walden soothed the concerns of all by noting, in reference to “Empire,” that the “most talked about and biggest show of the past season was launched on a traditional broadcast network, so we feel great about that.”

So now the even bigger question is how does a struggling network, which by the way still has excellent returning series like “Gotham” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” find its way back to a competitive posture?

One has to wonder if resurrecting relatively old stars of the past will do the trick. The still-handsome John Stamos, trading on his good looks in middle age, is returning to a series that has some parallels to “Full House.”

As the titular character in “Grandfathered,” Stamos’ Jimmy Martino is a successful restaurateur and man-about-town stunned to learn that he not only has an adult son (Josh Peck), but is a grandfather to a baby daughter.

The comedy premise is that this handsome and suave bachelor has to unlearn a lifetime of blissful selfishness and grapple with his new-found status of having sudden parental duties.

While John Stamos has the charisma to carry out this rather predictable comedic role, two other veteran TV actors may well fare better. Those would be Rob Lowe and Fred Savage, the latter best-known for “The Wonder Years.”

Together, Lowe and Savage star as brothers on different career paths, which come full circle back to the family legal business in “The Grinder,” a comedy that posits that you can succeed in the courtroom with the right amount of theatrics.

Lowe’s Dean Sanderson returns to his hometown of Boise, Idaho, having played the title on his hit TV legal drama “The Grinder.” His brother Stewart (Savage) is poised to take of the family law firm from their father (William Devane).

Despite having no law degree, Dean thinks his TV experience qualifies him to practice in an actual courtroom.

Much to the chagrin of his sibling, Dean shows that his flair for the dramatic leads to some very funny situations in and out of court.

When I hear “Scream Queens,” the thought immediately goes to those sexy B-movie actresses who have made a career in horror films. They would be right for a Quentin Tarantino grindhouse film.

On the FOX network this fall, “Scream Queens,” starring the pretty and talented Emma Roberts, has its horror element, but it is decidedly a black comedy about the girls of a sorority dying for new pledges.

Well, it’s also partially a murder mystery, because Roberts’ Chanel Oberlin, leader of Kappa House, ends up in a showdown with the school dean (Jamie Lee Curtis) about opening the pledging to all students, not just the elites.

When all hell breaks loose on campus with a killer wreaking havoc, the satirical “Scream Queens” takes on the aspects of slasher flick and classic whodunit.

Steven Spielberg is the executive producer of a new series based on one of his futuristic films. “Minority Report” the series picks up 10 years after the demise of Precrime, a law enforcement agency tasked with identifying and eliminating criminals.

Now in 2065, Megan Good’s police detective Lara Vega tams up with Stark Sands’ Dash, a man haunted by fragmented visions, to attempt to stop the murders he predicts. “Minority Report” is a drama of crime and conspiracy, but a timeless story of friendship, purpose and redemption.

Miami is always a great location for crime stories. Set in this sunny coastal Florida city, “Rosewood” has a different take on crime by teaming Morris Chestnut’s Dr. Rosewood, a private pathologist, with tough detective Annalise Villa (Jaina Lee Ortiz).

Together, they uncover clues to help the Miami police department to solve the most challenging cases.

This sounds like the premise of “Quincy, M.E.,” but the late, great Jack Klugman would be no match for Chestnut’s Rosewood in the charisma and looks department.

For a sure sign that a network has no problem trading on former glory for its programming, look no further than the return of “The X-Files” this winter for a six-episode event series reuniting David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as the iconic FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.