FX Press Tour : Wilfred, The Americans, Powers, etc

John Landgraf talked to journalists today for FX's Television Critics Panel.

Here's what he had to say about the original programming of the best non-premium cable channel :

— American Horror Story season 2 (13 episodes), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 8 (13 episodes) and The League season 4 (13 episodes) will all début in October, while Sons of Anarchy season 5 (13 episodes) will, as previously announced, commence on September 11.

— Unlike Louie renewed for season 4, Wilfred isn't renewed yet, but the odds of that renewal for season 3 are great, Landgraf is "very optimistic" that Wilfred will have "a many-year future on the network", and that he didn't announce the renewal because "there are deal issues to work out".

— Landgraf expects Justified to run for "at minimum 6 seasons". Season 4 (13 episodes) will première in early 2013.

— Brand X, the (sort of) talk show with Russell Brand, got an additional 7-episode order, bringing its first season tally to 13 episodes. Episode 1.06 will air next Thursday and episodes 1.07 to 1.13 will air in October/November after The League. Landgraf is happy with the show's creative growth, but he promises there will be creative changes.

— FX is ordering a pilot for The Bridge, an adaptation of Bron/Broen, the Swedish/Danish series. That remake would be penned by Meredith Stiehm, who is also working on a US remake of Engrenages (which has recently been purchased by Netflix). Canal+ / Sky Atlantic are also working on an adaptation of Bron / Broen : Le Tunnel / The Tunnel.

— About The Americans and Powers : no pickup to series yet for either of them. Landgraf is "positive" on the pilot of The Americans. Regarding Powers, Chick Eglee is still doing the rewrite and he's written future episodes with a staff. If they move forward, they will start from scratch. "There's a possibility that some original cast members may return" (Jason Patric wants to look at those future scripts).

— FX is hoping to launch 2 more dramas in the 12 months and he hopes the network can get to 6 or 7 dramas on the air. The network's goal has been to concentrate on comedy for a couple years. "Now we're turning back to drama. I'm excited about that". Currently FX only has 3 dramas : Sons of Anarchy, Justified and American Horror Story. Maybe The Americans and/or Powers will join them in 2013.

— Landgraf would love to find another Louis CK to do a Louie-esque show. The network has gotten calls from a number of people thinking they could do something similar. He references that Jim Jeffries of the upcoming comedy series Legit is a writer and actor, but he's not a filmmaker, so they have a team of 3 people doing the job that Louis CK does by himself. "Louie is great because Louis is great, but it's also great because it's a completely unvarnished show".

— FX could get to 20 original shows plausibly, but the network has no aspiration to fill primetime with all-owned-and-original programming.

— Anger Management isn't renewed for 90 more episodes yet, but the odds of that happening are "overwhelming". Martin Sheen will join the cast as Charlie's father.

Landgraf is happy with the creative direction of Anger Management. He's excited that Martin Sheen's addition will make it "a multi-generational family show". He promises Anger Management will still deal with Charlie's relationships and his patients. "As with any comedy, I think it has more growth in it creatively". Landgraf knows that critics don't love the show, but he thinks the mistake was in comparing it to other FX comedies : "With due respect, its fair comparison is really to Two and a Half Men, Two Broke Girls, Mike & Molly and other multi-camera shows".

— FX has had a few situations where they had felt that creative freedom went too far. Landgraf had big fights with Ryan Murphy on Nip/Tuck, but he's not going to substitute his taste or aesthetic judgment for that of the showrunner. He had massive fights with the Rescue Me team on the controversial rape (ending of episode 3.04) and admits that 7 years on, today, he might specifically prevent the Rescue Me guys from doing that scene. He references at least one Louie episode that had to be trimmed. "We just have this inherent inclination towards letting people make their shows". He wants FX shows to feel hand-crafted, rather than like something from a factory or IKEA.

— Emmy voters don't like Sons of Anarchy because "the show is grungy, blue collar, violent and profane, although you might say that Breaking Bad has those qualities too. I just think Emmy voters don't like it that much. I don't see the Emmys, at this point, giving it any recognition".

— Landgraf wants to have programming to have balance between comedy. Comedy is cheaper. He references the "arms race" to make expensive dramas on cable, with HBO shows like Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire leading the way. FX dramas are losing money on an advertising basis. "I want us to always be active in both genres".

Source.