FX Expands Russell Brand Talker to Full Hour, Adopts Live Format

9:53 AM PST 1/30/2013 by Michael O'Connell

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Ahead of the series return in February, the network announces "BrandX" 13-episode order will include twice as much air time.

"BrandX"

FX continues to invest in its new late night presence.

FX Renews Russell Brand's 'BrandX,' 'Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell'

The network announced Wednesday that Russell Brand's talk show BrandX will now be a full hour in a new live format when it returns on Feb. 7. The boost from BrandX comes after the network upped its original order by seven episodes in July, and then ordered a second season of 13 episodes.

TV REVIEW: BrandX

Expanding from the half-hour format, BrandX will still include the comedian and actor's monologue, celebrity interviews and audience segments. BrandX will air originally at 11:30 p.m., putting it in direct competition with broadcast talkers Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno and David Letterman, before moving to 11 p.m. on Feb. 28 when Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell ends its current run.

The move also means that the pre-taped series will now air live from its Los Angeles studio, leaving the notoriously candid host without the aid of edits.

BrandX premiered in June to 1.1 million viewers, 687,000 of them adults 18-49.