IFC Developing 8 New Series

IFC is developing eight new series  -- including scripted comedy, reality and animation -- that epitomize its “always on, slightly off” identity. Creative talent on-board include Thom Beers (Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch), Alan Spencer (Sledge Hammer!) and an animated comedy from director David Wain (The State, Role Models).

Wain’s Cartoon Show follows a large cast of iconic cartoon characters as they struggle to produce a daily variety TV show. The comedy is produced by Augenblick Studios. Produced by Augenblick Studios. Executive produced, developed, and written by Wain, Ken Marino, Jonathan Stern, Aaron Augenblick and Chris Burns Created by Augenblick and Burns.

Beers will EP Whisker Wars, a reality show set in the world of competitive facial hair growing. The series, from FremantleMedia’s Original Productions, will follow the hirsute contenders from the National Beard and Mustache Championship in Bend, Oregon to the World Competition in Norway. Beers and Phillip D. Segal are EPs. Jeff Conroy is the co-executive producer.

Spencer is developing an untitled action series about a psychotic criminal juggling a criminal enterprise and an active social life. The project is a co-production with Canada’s Just For Laughs Muse Comedy Productions, executive produced by Spencer, Michael Prupas and Bruce Hills.  Produced by Jesse Prupas and Evi Regev.

Additional scripted series in development include: Chosen Guns, a send-up of the well-trod police procedural genre with a group of loser cops at Brooklyn’s ethnically diverse 90th precinct. Produced by Principato-Young Entertainment (Reno 911), executive produced and written by Brennan Shroff and Lonny Ross. Pat Proft (Police Academy, Naked Gun) serve as a consulting producer; Hard ‘N Phirm’s Musical Timehole is from the musical comedy duo Hard ‘N Phirm (Chris Hardwick and Mike Phirman).

IFC is also developing a single-camera scripted comedy based on Matt Yeager and Jeff Skowron’s web series Greg & Donny, winner of IFC’s Out of the Box award at the 2010 New York Television Festival. The series follows the two friends stuck in the Western Pennsylvania town they grew up in.

“This development slate represents our long-term commitment to comedy programming that is sharp, cool and twisted,” said Debbie DeMontreux, IFC’s senior vice president of original programming.

Additional series include Hero House, a reality show about real-life heroes cleaning up troubled neighborhoods; produce by Red Line Films; executive produced by Peter Franshella, Aaron Rothman and Al Szymanski. And an untitled non-fiction series produced by Reveille starring filmmakers and comedians Rhett & Link as they road-trip across America to produce commercials for local businesses using local talent. Think the ubiquitous local furniture store ads featuring the store’s owner and his family.

New series will vie for space on the schedule with IFC’s The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret as well as Onion News Network and Portlandia, scheduled to bow next year.