Upfronts 2012: IFC Orders Marc Maron Series, Animated Comedy for 2013

Net also renews ‘Portlandia,' ‘Whisker Wars' at first-ever upfront event

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/20/2012 9:36:01 PM

New York -- It was a coming-out party of sorts for IFC, the AMC Networks-owned cable channel, which hosted its first-ever upfront event here Tuesday evening at the off-Broadway theater New World Stages.

The last year was IFC's first as an ad-supported network, so president Evan Shapiro and executive VP/general manager Jennifer Caserta took the opportunity to tout their target audience of tastemakers they dub "responsible rebels."

Unsurprisingly, the series that has helped define the network in the last year, Portlandia, has been renewed for a 10-episode third season to return in January 2013. To whet fan's appetites in the interim, the net has also ordered an hour-long Portlandia: The Brunch Special to air in summer 2012 and another 30-minute special to air around the holiday season.

Joining Portlandia on the schedule in January 2013 is Out There, an animated series from the animation director of South Park about the adventures of a trio of boys coming of age in small-town America. Coming later in the third quarter of 2013 is Maron (working title), a scripted version of comedian Marc Maron's life, best known through his "WTF" podcast. IFC has ordered 10 episodes.

IFC also announced the premiere dates for the previously-announced new talk show Comedy Bang! Bang! hosted by Scott Aukerman and new game show Bunk; both will bow Friday, June 8.

On tap for the fourth quarter of 2012 is a second season of Whisker Wars, the Thom Beers-produced reality series about the world of competitive beard growing, and a new installment of R. Kelly's hip hop operetta Trapped in the Closet.

Dubbed "Upfront-landia" after its breakout series Portlandia, the upfront event was hosted by Bang! Bang!'s Aukerman and Reggie Watts, and featured a mock-round of Bunk and a musical performance by Portlandia's Fred Armisen and Carrie Browenstein. After the presentation, guests mingled and sampled food stations with sliders, sushi and pasta as the network's talent mingled with the crowd.