New York -- It was a coming-out party of sorts for IFC, the
AMC Networks-owned cable channel, which hosted its first-ever upfront event
here Tuesday evening at the off-Broadway theater New World Stages.
The last year was IFC's first as an ad-supported network, so
president Evan Shapiro and executive VP/general manager Jennifer Caserta took
the opportunity to tout their target audience of tastemakers they dub
"responsible rebels."
Unsurprisingly, the series that has helped define the
network in the last year, Portlandia, has been renewed for a 10-episode third
season to return in January 2013. To whet fan's appetites in the interim, the
net has also ordered an hour-long Portlandia: The Brunch Special to air in
summer 2012 and another 30-minute special to air around the holiday season.
Joining Portlandia on the schedule in January 2013 is Out
There, an animated series from the animation director of South Park about the
adventures of a trio of boys coming of age in small-town America. Coming later in
the third quarter of 2013 is Maron (working title), a scripted version of
comedian Marc Maron's life, best known through his "WTF" podcast. IFC has ordered
10 episodes.
IFC also announced the premiere dates for the
previously-announced new talk show Comedy Bang! Bang! hosted by Scott Aukerman
and new game show Bunk; both will bow Friday, June 8.
On tap for the fourth quarter of 2012 is a second season of
Whisker Wars, the Thom Beers-produced reality series about the world of competitive
beard growing, and a new installment of R. Kelly's hip hop operetta Trapped in
the Closet.
Dubbed "Upfront-landia" after its breakout series Portlandia,
the upfront event was hosted by Bang! Bang!'s Aukerman and Reggie Watts, and featured a
mock-round of Bunk and a musical performance by Portlandia's Fred Armisen and
Carrie Browenstein. After the presentation, guests mingled and sampled food
stations with sliders, sushi and pasta as the network's talent mingled with the
crowd.
