FX and FXX to Have More Original Shows

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FX and FXX are already great sources of excellent TV shows. Of course you have The Americans, then Justified, American Horror Story, Louie, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Archer. Their lesser known shows like Wilfred, Legit, and Chozen may not share the same spot light with Justified, AHS, or even Archer, but I guarantee that they are all extremely good shows. If by any chance, you haven’t seen any of them, I highly suggest that you watch the pilots right now.

With an impressive arsenal of unique programs, you’d think that FX and FXX will just stop and just release a new program every year or so, but no. They are doubling their original programming from 11 to 20 for the next year.

They’ve also acquired The Simpsons for a whopping $750 million dollars. The Fox hit cartoon show will debut on FXX in August with a 12 day marathon. “It will be the longest continuous marathon in the history of television,” John Landgraf, FX Networks CEO said.

The Americans has also been renewed for a 3rd season. “We look forward to it being on our schedule for quite some time,” he said, later adding that he was “confident in the [show’s] long-term prospect.” The live numbers of the FX spy show has dipped but the DVR numbers remain strong. The American’s DVR numbers are “unlike anything I have ever seen,” Landgraf said. “Live viewing is essentially just 20% of whole.”

One of their original shows, Fargo, has already premiered with great numbers and also critical acclaim. Langraf says that Fargo is “so good I can’t close the door” on another installment. “If it comes back, it will once again be located in North Dakota or Minnesota but telling a different story with different characters.” However, “the bar is high, it has to be an extraordinarily good story.” Fargo is likely to stay on FX, however, in the near future, all theatrical movies and mini-series will be moved to a rebranded FXM. “You want [limited series] to be seen by as many people as possible,” Landgraf said. “I want them eventually repositioned on FXM, but they will be incubated on FX.”

The FX executive used FXX as an example of how it started with established shows before creating an original program. FXX will premiere its first original show from SNL and 30 Rock alum Tracy Morgan. The comedy show from Morgan is set to air on January 2015, a year and a half after FXX’s launch. Langraf called producing 10/90 comedy series at 2x the pace of network sitcom “a daunting challenge,” and while their model is yet to produce  a hit for the network, it gives “a lot of original programming at a very attractive price,” that makes up for the dearth of off-network offerings.

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