During the Fox executive session, entertainment president Kevin Reilly set critics back on their collective heels with this shocking, truly alarming news:

“Allen Gregory” has been canceled. So have previously announced plans for a “Glee” spinoff.

You were perhaps expecting definitive word on the fates of “Fringe,” “House,” or “Terra Nova“?  Ha. No such luck.

Reilly admitted to reporters attending Fox’s portion of the Television Critics Association’s Winter Press Tour that executives have been actively avoiding coming to final decisions on all of these shows. Really, though, he’s just putting off the inevitable. His office will be bombarded by tons of baked custard mailed by irate “Fringe” fans if (or when) the bad news comes down. It’s going to be a heck of a carpet cleaning bill.

“I’m not quietly doing the soft cancel here, I’m just telling you where it stands,” Reilly continued, pleading with us to refrain from urging the letter writing campaigns to begin.

As much as he could, Reilly attempted to reassure “Fringe’s” devoted fans that he took pride in the fact that Fox did not drop the ball with the show too early, something the network has been criticized for doing to past genre programming. Having said that, he also added that “Fringe” has been consistently losing a lot of money on Friday nights and executives are going to have to take a hard look at whether the numbers are continuing to make sense.

“We’re not in the business of losing money,” Reilly reminded us.

On whether this would be the final season of veteran drama “House,” Reilly explained that he had yet to sit down with the show’s producers, but if this were to be its final season, he was certain executive producer David Shore would bring it to an ending that will satisfy fans.

As for “Terra Nova,” Reilly said the show was “an exciting bet to take,” and pointed out that in the larger scheme of things, it garnered better ratings than most new series. It’s also more expensive, hence his hesitation.

Following this string of non-news, Reilly did have something to tell us about “Glee.” He explained that New Directions’ seniors will be  graduating, but show creator Ryan Murphy will keep them with the show next season and has a few “cool” developments in store. (Meaning there may yet be a spinoff, in a sense. It’ would just be within the existing plot.) Reilly also specifically confirmed that Lea Michele is not going anywhere.

In other news…

–Fox is developing a slate of animated series, shorts and “user-adapted material” in the vein of Adult Swim. This will culminate in a block of Saturday late-night programming anchored by four shows, scheduled for a January 2013 debut. The unit developing this block, headed by former Adult Swim head of program development Nick Weidenfeld and producer Hend Baghdady (“Warren the Ape“), is also developing content for a new digital channel accessible via multiple platforms, including mobile apps, game consoles, Video on Demand and online, start later this year.

–During a panel for his new series “Touch,” Kiefer Sutherland said that he expects shooting on the theatrical version of “24” to begin in late April or early May.

–Fox also announced dates for the 11th season of “American Idol,” which has its two night premiere Wednesday, January 18 and Thursday, January 19.  Hollywood Rounds start on February 9. Semifinalists will be revealed on February 23, performing for the first time on the 28th and the 29th. The first vote of the season is revealed on March 1.

As for “The X Factor,” Reilly said that the show would experience a few tweaks between now and its second season and would not specifically confirm that dropping Steve Jones would be part of the tinkering. He did mention Jones by name, however, which is not a good sign.

–The 500th episode of “The Simpsons“, titled “At Long Last Leave,” airs Sunday, Feb. 19.

This week some of our favorite TV shows are  highlighting the joys of romance in their storylines.

Leave it to “Modern Family” to deftly illustrate all the hilarious ways that love, American style, can go awry. We adore this show.

Read on for the recap of  “Modern Family’s” viewer Valentine as well as our other Wednesday night faves:

“Modern Family”: My Funky Valentine
“American Idol”: Hollywood Round: Part 2
“Criminal Minds”: Public Enemy
“Cougar Town”: When a Kid Goes Bad
“Leverage”: The Three Strikes Job