Instead of layoffs like many of the other studios are doing, 20th Century Fox Television is instead asking some of its shows to slice off 2 percent from their production budgets.

The shows affected include ABC's "Life On Mars" as well as Fox's upcoming mid-season series from Joss Whedon "Dollhouse." But it's not just genre shows that are getting cut. "Family Guy" and "24," which both air on the Fox network, also will experience some budget trimmings to reduce costs, according to TV Week.

"In these challenging economic times, we've asked all of our showrunners to trim their budgets by 2 percent, an assignment which they have all embraced," a Fox spokesman told the industry magazine. "Everyone understands that revenues are down and these steps are necessary to protect our business."

It's not clear if viewers will be able to notice the budget cuts with the respective shows, but that typically means less location shooting, axing a guest star here and there, and possibly even considering a clip episode. The trimming accounts for about half the cost of a single episode in a standard 22-episode season.

ABC Studios had already asked some of its shows to cut 2 percent from their production budgets.

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