FX announced its midseason schedule today. On tap: Archer, Damages and Nip/Tuck (doesn’t it feel like Nip/Tuck is always returning?) in January; a new Louis C.K. comedy, Louie, in the spring; and in March, the much-anticipated (by me, anyway) Timothy Olyphant drama, once called Lawman, which will now be titled Justified.
Looking forward to the show. Not sure, though, that participles generally make auspicious titles. Evidence for same: two producers on Justified have past credits for… Kidnapped. [Update: Evidence to the contrary, via my Twitter feed: Undeclared and—assuming this counts—Lost. Then again: Stacked.]
Excerpts from the release after the jump:
FX’s midseason schedule features a lineup of new and returning original series, kicking off 2010 with the final season of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® award winning drama Nip/Tuck on Wednesday, January 6; the new animated comedy Archer debuting on Thursday, January 14; and the third season of the Emmy and Golden Globe award winning drama Damages on Monday, January 25. FX’s new drama Justified (formerly Lawman) starring Timothy Olyphant debuts in March, and the new comedy Louie, starring Louis C.K., will launch in the spring.
Nip/Tuck, The Final Season, premieres on Wednesday, January 6. The final nine episodes of the groundbreaking series’ seventh season will air consecutively on Wednesday nights at 10:00 PM ET/PT. The series finale – Nip/Tuck’s 100th episode – will air on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Guest stars for the final season include Melanie Griffith, Joan Rivers, Mario Lopez, Frances Conroy, Donna Mills and Joan Van Ark.
FX will debut its new animated comedy series Archer on Thursday, January 14 at 10PM E/P. Archer is an animated, half-hour comedy set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a spy agency where espionage and global crises are merely opportunities for its highly trained employees to confuse, undermine, betray and royally screw each other. The series features the voices of H. Jon Benjamin as suave master spy “Sterling Archer,” whose less-than-masculine code name is “Duchess”; Jessica Walter as his domineering mother and boss, “Malory”; Aisha Tyler as his ex-girlfriend, “Agent Lana Kane”; George Coe as his aging-but-loyal butler, “Woodhouse”; Chris Parnell as ISIS comptroller and Lana’s new love interest, “Cyril Figgis”; and Judy Greer as Malory’s lovesick secretary, “Cheryl/Carol.” FX has ordered 10 episodes.
Damages, FX’s acclaimed series starring Glenn Close, will premiere its third season on a new night, Mondays, beginning January 25 at 10 PM ET/PT for 13 weeks. The show brings back its award-winning cast with Close, Rose Byrne, Tate Donovan and Ted Danson. Standout series regulars joining the cast are Campbell Scott (Joe Tobin), Martin Short (Leonard Winstone), and guest stars Lily Tomlin (Marilyn Tobin), Keith Carradine (Julian Decker) and Len Carion (Louis Tobin). Damages is produced by Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. The show is executive produced by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, and co-executive produced by Mark A. Baker and Aaron Zelman.
In Justified, which debuts in March (date TBD), Olyphant plays the lead role of Deputy U.S. Marshal “Raylan Givens.” Givens is a modern-day 19th century-style lawman, enforcing his brand of justice in a way that puts a target on his back with criminals and places him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service. Justified was developed by Graham Yost (Boomtown, Speed) and is based on the popular character featured in several books and short stories by famed novelist Elmore Leonard. Yost wrote the pilot and will serve as Executive Producer/Showrunner of the series. Leonard is Executive Producer, along with Sarah Timberman (Kidnapped), Carl Beverly (Kidnapped) and Michael Dinner (Karen Sisco), who directed the pilot episode. Produced by Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions. FX has ordered 13 episodes of the series, which is shot in Los Angeles.
Louie, starring comedian Louis C.K., will premiere in the spring (month/date TBD). Louie is a comedy filtered through the observational humor of Louis C.K. and his daily life as a successful stand-up comedian and newly single father helping to raise his two daughters in New York. His recent credits include Parks & Recreation and the Emmy nominated Showtime comedy special Chewed Up. Louis C.K. serves as executive producer, writer and director, and Dave Becky and 3 Arts are executive producers. FX has ordered 13 episodes which will be shot in New York.
Preceding Archer’s premiere on January 10 at 8PM ET/PT will be the FX premiere of the smash-hit feature The Simpsons Movie. The following week on January 17 at 8 PM ET/PT will be the FX premiere of Superbad. Other movie highlights in early 2010 are Spiderman 3 and Live Free or Die Hard.