CompleteCoverage: TCA Summer Press Tour 2012
Los Angeles -- FX has renewed Louis C.K.'s comedy Louie for a 13-episode fourth season,
network president John Landgraf announced at the TCA press tour here Saturday.
The cable network has also ordered seven additional episodes
of its new late-night series BrandX With
Russell Brand, which will return in October behind new episodes of The League. Landgraf said they will be making changes to the
format of the show, but is bullish on the comedic host.
"I think Russell is a rare incredibly gifted talent," he told reporters.
In a later session for BrandX, Russell Brand said the show's look and format will be tweaked to more closely resemble a traditional late night talk show with guests every week. Brand also said it would tone down the rhetoric "rather than being so nuts-out anti-establishment," changes that he saw as necesary to fit into the existing late-night landscape.
"A lot of that visual grammar is necessary," Brand said.
"People like that. It works. A lot of the components will remain, but it will transition
to something that's more recognizable."
Landgraf said FX's Charlie Sheen vehicle Anger Management, which is currently
averaging 3.2 million viewers per episode, has exceeded the undisclosed ratings threshold
to trigger the back 90-episode order, though the network won't make that call
until all initial 10 episodes have aired.
"I would say the odds are overwhelming that it will ultimately earn that renewal," Landgraf said.
If it is indeed picked up, Landgraf announced Martin Sheen
will join the cast in a recurring role as Martin Goodson, the father of Charlie's therapist
character.
"That's going to add a new dimension," he said. "As with any
comedy I think it's got more growth in it creatively."
FX has also ordered a pilot for new drama The Bridge, based on the Danish series
of the same name, with FX Productions and Shine America producing. Adapted by Meredith Steihm (Homeland) and Elwood Reid (Hawaii Five-0), the series is about two detectives from the U.S. and Mexico who must work together to hunt down a serial killer.
Drama is a priority for Langraf this year, and he hopes to
launch two more dramatic series in the next 12 months. One of those could be The Americans, a spy drama starring Keri
Russell and Matthew Rhys, which FX hopes to make a pickup decision on soon.
"We're very happy with the pilot." Landgraf said. "We're optimistic
about its series prospects."
