With its summer programming slate already in order, FOX is looking forward to the fall, renewing a quartet of its strongest current offerings. The network announced on Wednesday (April 21) that Golden Globe winning drama "24," admired comedies "The Bernie Mac Show" and "Malcolm in the Middle" and popular freshman drama "The O.C." will be back for a full season next year.

Those four shows join previously announced renewals for "The Simpsons," "That '70s Show" and "King of the Hill."

FOX Entertainment President Gail Berman also announced that late-night sketch comedy regular "MADtv" will be back for three additional seasons.

"We are delighted to bring back 'Bernie,' 'Malcolm,' '24' and 'The O.C.,'" Berman says. "These celebrated and groundbreaking shows are the backbone of FOX's scripted programming and we're pleased that these outstanding series will remain a vital part of our year-round programming mix."

None of the four renewals was a real surprise, with the shows representing FOX's most watched a praised scripted offerings.

"Bernie Mac" has the smallest audience of the four, drawing 7.73 million per week. However, the show has been a solid performer in an array of time slots, currently helping to anchor Monday nights, nabbing an Emmy and multiple NAACP Image Awards along the way.

"Malcolm," which just celebrated it's 100th episode, averages 8.7 million viewers, though those numbers are down from 10.6 million through the same time last season. The comedy remains a reliable Emmy and Golden Globe nominee

Earlier this year, "24" captured its first Golden Globe for outstanding drama and after a rough creative start to its third season, recent episodes have garnered fresh critical acclaim. Despite drawing 9.93 million viewers per episode, the show is still off by nearly 2 million from last season.

Launching at the tail end of the summer, "The O.C." has become a reliable ratings winner among teens and young adults and, thanks to a recent "American Idol" lead-in, its audiences have risen to an average of 9.56 million for the season.

These four renewals leave FOX with only a few shows on the bubble for next season, notably Eliza Dushku's "Tru Calling" and the critically adored "Arrested Development."