Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award-Winning Series Debuts on IFC Sunday, October 25
Back-to-Back Airings Every Sunday and Tuesday Nights
New York, NY, October 19, 2009 – IFC has acquired Twentieth Television’s complete three-season library (53 episodes) of the Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award-winning series, Arrested Development, it was announced today by Greg Meidel, President of Twentieth Television and Jennifer Caserta, Executive Vice President & General Manager of IFC. The network will launch the critically acclaimed show on Sunday, October 25 at 10 pm, ET/PT and air two episodes back-to-back, Sundays at 10 pm, and Tuesdays at 9 pm in the network’s "Automat," a four-hour branded block of programming packed with exclusive uncut, uncensored content, including testosterone-infused network premieres, originals, shorts, web shows, anime and more. The addition of Arrested Development on IFC’s schedule comes on the heels of the network’s Python-A-Thon, including the premiere of the six-part documentary "Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut)" and the acquisition of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
"Arrested Development is one of the smartest and funniest shows of the last decade with a hilarious presentation of absurd family dysfunction. It’s a perfect fit for IFC, which viewers recognize as an authority on what’s new, next and relevant in television, film, music, gaming and online, and more recently comedy," said Caserta. "With the addition of shows like Monty Python’s Flying Circus and our original series The Whitest Kids U’ Know, IFC continues to be a destination for unique and unconventional comedies. Adding Arrested Development to our schedule is the next natural step for us in that direction."
Created by Imagine Entertainment and its Academy Award®-winning team of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Arrested Development stars a decorated ensemble cast led by Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Henry Winkler, Jeffrey Tambor, Will Arnett, Jessica Walter and Portia de Rossi. The eclectic show originally aired on FOX from 2003-2006 and follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family and is presented in a pseudo-documentary format, incorporating hand-held camera work, narration, archival photos and historical footage.
Arrested Development garnered widespread critical acclaim for the duration of its run earning a total of six Emmys, one Golden Globe and a spot on Time Magazine’s 100 Greatest Shows of all time list.
About Twentieth Television
A leader in the U.S. program production and distribution arena, Twentieth Television provides a wide array of first-run, network and off-network programming, as well as feature film packages, to the syndication and cable marketplaces. First-run programs distributed by Twentieth Television include "WWE Friday Night SmackDown," the game show "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?," and the court shows "Divorce Court" and "Judge Alex." Off-net shows distributed by Twentieth include "Family Guy," "24," "COPS," "The Simpsons," "Boston Legal," "My Name is Earl," "The Unit," "Bones" and the 2010 launch of "How I Met Your Mother."
About IFC
Operating under the mantra "always, uncut," IFC (The Independent Film Channel) recommends and creates genre-bending content that indulges the alternative culture obsessions of our influential audience and makes it available across multiple platforms: on-air, online and On Demand. In pursuit of what’s new, next and relevant, IFC creates original non-traditional comedies like The Whitest Kids U’ Know and Z Rock and irreverent non-fiction such as The IFC Media Project. IFC’s original programming airs alongside a comprehensive independent film library of award-winning titles and cult classics, as well as content inspired by music, web, gaming, animation, news, culture and more. IFC broadens the audience for independent culture through its exclusive live coverage of notable film and music events like the Independent Spirit Awards and South by Southwest. The network’s On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives audiences the opportunity to watch premieres of all of IFC’s original series before they air on the linear network. IFC Media Lab Studios offers financing, professional development and distribution opportunities for aspiring film makers. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multiplatform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC (The Independent Film Channel), WE tv, Sundance Channel, IFC Entertainment and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading U.S. distributor of independent and foreign film with a unique day and date distribution model, "IFC In Theaters," that makes films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform; IFC Festival Direct features titles acquired from major international film festivals and initially offers them exclusively through On Demand; IFC Productions, a feature film production company; and IFC Center, a state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, an advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, a full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.