Next (stylized as neXt) is a 2020 American science fiction crime drama television series created by Manny Coto for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Set to debut as a mid-season entry during the 2019âÂÂ20 United States television season, it was delayed to the fall schedule of the 2020âÂÂ21 television season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and premiered on October 6, 2020. The series was cancelled in October 2020, after two episodes had aired, but the remaining episodes were aired during the series's normal time slot.
The series centers on the efforts of a homeland cybersecurity team to counter "a rogue AI with the ability to constantly improve itself".
On February 5, 2019, it was announced that Fox had given the production a pilot order. The pilot was written by Manny Coto, and codirected by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, with all three serving as executive producers. Production companies involved with the pilot include Zaftig Films, Fox Entertainment, and the Disney-owned 20th Century Fox Television. On May 9, 2019, it was announced that Fox had ordered the pilot to series. A few days later, it was announced the series would premiere as a mid-season replacement in the second quarter of 2020. However, it was subsequently moved to the fall schedule for the 2020âÂÂ21 U.S. television season because of the COVID-19 pandemic and premiered on October 6, 2020. On October 30, 2020, Fox cancelled the series after two episodes had aired. The remaining episodes continued to air during the series's normal time slot, with the final two episodes airing on December 22, 2020.
In February 2019, it was announced that Eve Harlow had been cast in the pilot. It was then announced in March 2019 that Fernanda Andrade and Aaron Moten had joined the cast. Alongside the pilot's order announcement in March 2019, it was reported that Michael Mosley, John Slattery, Jason Butler Harner and Elizabeth Cappuccino had joined the cast.
On May 13, 2019, Fox released the first official trailer for the series.
The series premiered on October 6, 2020 on Fox. Next aired in Canada on Global, simulcast with Fox in the United States. In selected international territories, the series premiered on Disney+ under the dedicated streaming hub Star as an original series, on March 12, 2021.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 64% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 6.33/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "John Slattery is convincing as a charismatic genius, but neXt procedural formula could have used more of the intelligence possessed by the series' rogue AI." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".