FX took advantage of the media spotlight at the Television Critics Association gathering in Los Angeles to make some headlines. Deadline reports that the cable network announced to critics on Saturday, August 6th, that the comedy series Wilfred, Louie and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia had all been renewed for another season.
Wilfred, starring Elijah Wood, Jason Gann and Fiona Gubelman, has become the highest rated new comedy series on cable in its first season. The story of an oddball named Chris (Wood) who talks with a dog named Wilfred, that he somehow can see as a man in a dog suit (Gann), has averaged more than 5 million viewers a week since its debut.
Louie, starring writer and stand up comedian Louis C.K just earned an Emmy nomination for C.K as Best Actor in a Comedy Series, a coup for the network which has only recently gained the respect of Emmy voters. Louie, which Louis C.K writes, produces, directs and stars in, has averaged over 3 million viewers per episode in its second season.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was renewed for two seasons, numbers 8 and 9 for the show, making it the longest running comedy series in cable history. The comedy about friends and family who own a bar in Philadelphia and have remarkably off-color, offbeat adventures established a comedy series beachhead for the network that helped execs launch both Wilfred and Louie.
The network rewarded the creators and stars of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, with the two season renewal and a more than 40 million dollar production package that will have their company, RCG, oversee several new comedy projects for the network including FX’s latest cartoon series The Townies.
Wilfred and Louie are each just over half way through their current seasons while season 7 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres Thursday, September 15th on FX. In its first season Wilfred has proven to be an inspired bit of oddball comedy while Louis C.K‘s Louie mixes remarkably funny comedy with moments of truth and pathos that most comedies could not pull off. These series along with the brilliant cartoon Archer and the loony Fantasy Football comedy The League give FX an embarrassment of comedy riches.