3 New Series, 1 Deranged Hour:

HOPELESs PICTURES (10:00pm ET/PT), followed by Greg the Bunny and The Festival (10:30pm ET/PT)

All premiere August 19 as part of IFC's destination night - Film Fanatic Fridays.

HOPELESs PICTURES Hollywood Gets Even Weirder Animated comedy series, 9 episodes, 10pm ET/PT

Written, directed and produced by Bob Balaban, cast includes Michael McKean, Jennifer Coolidge, Martin Mull, Bob Balaban and Jonathan Katz. Cameos by: Lisa Kudrow, John Michael Higgins, Isaac Mizrahi, Jerry Stiller, Paul Dooley, Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman), Nora Ephron, Anne Meara, Paul Weitz and Rob Reiner.

In this wicked animated comedy, Mel Wax (Michael McKean) is the head of a dysfunctional Hollywood indie movie studio, Hopeless Pictures, so named after his deceased parents, Hope and Les. In the land where a studio chief is only as good as his last big flop, Wax struggles to reign in out-of-control, pill-popping Swedish directors and egomaniacal stars, while coping with a vengeful soon-to-be ex-wife (Lisa Kudrow), assorted affairs, his idiot nephew/head of production (Bob Balaban), a hostile takeover and an inept psychiatrist, Dr. Stein (Jonathan Katz). Jennifer Coolidge plays Hopeless Pictures' head of development, Tracy, as well as actress Nina Boroslova.

Mel Wax interacts with real Hollywood players, such as directors Nora Ephron, Rob Reiner, publicist Peggy Siegel, Paul Weitz and Isaac Mizrahi.

August 19 - Episode 1: Mel struggles with issues of self-esteem when he breaks a tooth and can't get an appointment with an exclusive Hollywood dentist. Meanwhile, his wife discovers unfamiliar pink panties in his car. Production in Zagreb is soaring over budget, and reports say that the insane director, Ignatious Millmo, has bitten a heathy-sized chunk from the arm of an extra. Thankfully, Mel's shrink assures him that the good news is that his problems are all real. Cameos by Lisa Kudrow, Isaac Mizrahi and Peggy Siegel.