LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The WB has officially bumped up its second fall series to a summer bow, as the Frog announced this week it plans to debut "Blue Collar TV" on Thursday, July 29 at 8:00/7:00c.

"Collar" joins "Studio 7," which airs Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c starting July 22, as the latest early launch. Both series have eight-episode orders and are expected to continue into the fall should ratings merit.

The WB plans to double pump "Collar" with encores also airing Fridays at 9:30/8:30c. Repeats of "Reba" will fill the Thursday, 8:30/7:30c half-hour starting July 22.

In addition, Emmy-winning director Paul Miller has signed on to helm all eight installments of the series. Miller took home the award in 1999 for CBS' broadcast of the Tony Awards and worked with the show's executive producers Adam Small and Fax Bahr on FOX's "Mad TV." Miller's partner Kimber Rickabaugh, whom together run RickMill Productions, will also serve as a producer on the series.

The news was confirmed via press release this afternoon:

GET READY AMERICA: "BLUE COLLAR TV" SET TO PREMIERE ON THURSDAY, JULY 29

MEGA-SUCCESSFUL COMICS JEFF FOXWORTHY, BILL ENGVALL AND LARRY THE CABLE GUY TO HEADLINE A TALENTED ENSEMBLE CAST TO TAKE SKETCH COMEDY WHERE IT HAS NEVER GONE BEFORE

The WB's BLUE COLLAR TV, starring Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry The Cable Guy, will premiere on Thursday, July 29 at 8:00-8:30 p.m. ET, it was announced today by David Janollari, The WB's President of Entertainment. Encore runs of the fall series will air Fridays at 9:30-10:00 p.m. ET for the remainder of the summer.

The three comics, who were on The Blue Collar Comedy Tour -- the second-highest grossing comedy tour ever, which spawned "Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie" (more than 2.5 million DVDs sold) -- along with an ensemble cast including Brooke Dillman, Ashley Drane, Ayda Field, Heath Hyche, Peter Oldring and Gary Anthony Williams bring their outrageous humor to The WB.

Each episode of "Blue Collar TV" will begin with a themed stand-up routine from Foxworthy, poking good-natured fun at all the things middle America holds dear. With subjects ranging from everyday family life to being naked, each episode will skewer modern life through sketches and pop culture parodies with a decidedly blue-collar perspective, told through the eyes of Fax Bahr and Adam Small, who created both "Mad TV" and "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment."

From Bahr/Small Productions and Parallel Entertainment in association with Riverside Productions, Inc., distributed by Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Fax Bahr ("Mad TV," "In Living Color," "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment"), Adam Small ("Mad TV," "In Living Color," "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment"), Jeff Foxworthy and J.P. Williams.