The answer is the same for both shows, and it's a good news/bad news situation for impatient fans.

The two Fox dramas, both going into their second seasons, won't return until the fall. That may feel like a long way away, but both (technically) premiere earlier than they did in their first seasons.

It's only a technicality for "Gotham," which premieres on Sept. 21 this year, a day earlier than last year's debut. It still airs on Mondays, though, so the advance in date is really just due to the imperfection of our solar calendar, with its messy leap-day system, rather than an actual scheduling shift.

It's a significant change for "Empire," though, which debuted as a winter replacement show on Fox's schedule.

Its promotion to the fall schedule is a reflection of its huge success. It nearly doubled its ratings from its first episode, which drew 9.9 million viewers, to its most recent, which drew 17.6 million.

And it didn't even need to do that, since Fox was apparently already happy with its early numbers -- it was renewed for a second season after just two episodes.

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