FX Brings On Two New Comedies

LOS ANGELES: The League and Louie join existing comedies such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the recently ordered animated series Archer on the FX schedule.

FX has ordered six episodes of The League, a comedy about marriage, male friendship, parenting, suburbia and growing up, set against the backdrop of a Fantasy Football league. The cast includes Mark Duplass, Steve Rannazzisi, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Jon Lajoie and Katie Aselton. The husband-and-wife team of Jeff Schaffer (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld) and Jackie Marcus Schaffer (Disturbia) are executive producers. The show is slated for a November debut.

Louie, starring comedian Louis C.K., has been picked up for 13 episodes to debut in early 2010. The show takes Louis C.K.’s observational humor and puts it into the context of his daily life as a stand-up comedian and newly single father raising his two daughters in New York. Louis C.K. serves as executive producer, writer and director, and Dave Becky and 3 Arts are executive producers.

Archer is tentatively schedule for an October premiere, while the fifth season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia kicks off September 17. All four series are produced by FX Productions.

"All three of our comedy pilots met our highest expectation this year and we are incredibly happy with the execution of The League and Louie," said John Landgraf, the president and general manager of FX Networks. "In picking up these two comedies to go with Sunny and Archer, we believe the time is right to establish comedy as a key component of the network’s slate of original programming alongside what is arguably the highest quality lineup of original drama series on cable television."