IFC tv Unveils New Programming Slate for 2009/10

Comedy is out front in IFC tv Upfront presentation

NEW YORK, NY April 29, 2009 - IFC tv is presenting a robust 2009/2010 upfront programming slate to advertisers this upfront season, with an emphasis on comedy, including new series, projects in development and acquired series. Building on its original programming strategy as a destination for alternative comedies and unconventional non-fiction, the network has renewed popular series Z-Rock and The Whitest Kids U' Know, and will introduce Food Party and Dinner with the Band, two comedic cooking series which represent IFC tv's first foray into the genre.

"At IFC tv, alternative comedy is quickly becoming a pillar of our brand. Our comedy is non-traditional and unexpected and resonates extremely well with our core base of men 18-34," said Jennifer Caserta, EVP and general manager of IFC tv. "From cooking shows to Bollywood, our new series bring an edgy, comedic slant to traditional genres. We're excited to give our viewers more of the type of comedy that they're increasingly seeking out on IFC tv."

NEW ORIGINAL SERIES

FOOD PARTY Premieres Tuesday June 9 @ 11:15 pm

Food Party is a surreal mixture of puppets, weird special effects, and cooking; part Pee Wee's Playhouse, part psychedelic Martha Stewart cooking extravaganza. Hosted by punk-food princess Thu Tran, and shot in a cardboard kitchen, this extraordinary show takes us on a magical ride as Tran demonstrates cooking with common household ingredients, such as pretzel rods, cheese puffs, eggs, sugar, caramel, apple seeds, and pizza. Each episode instructs the viewer on how to prepare wild gourmet multi-course meals with ingredients you probably have on-hand in your kitchen already.

BOLLYWOOD HERO

Thursday August 6, Friday August 7, Saturday August 8 @ 10:00 pm

An original three-part comedy mini-series starring Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live), Julian Sands (A Room with a View), Neha Dhupia (former Miss India 2002), Ali Fazal, and Pooja Kumar (former Miss India 1995), Bollywood Hero revolves around Kattan, who plays himself in this otherwise fictional comedy that stays true to Bollywood form and includes several musical numbers. Tired of being rejected as leading-man material in Hollywood, Kattan burns his professional bridges in L.A. and ventures to India where he's been promised a starring role in a Bollywood film. While in India, he encounters cultural differences and a system that, much to his shock, is even more challenging and competitive than what he faced in Hollywood. Bollywood Hero is co-produced by Starz Media and executive produced by Chris Kattan and Snackaholic's Ted Skillman and Belisa Balaban.

MONTY PYTHON: ALMOST THE TRUTH (THE LAWYER'S CUT)

Sunday Oct 4 @ 10:00 pm

This six-part series will feature interviews with the surviving Python members, along with archive representation for the late Graham Chapman. This series will study the Pythons up close and in some cases against their contemporaries: rock stars, comedians, actors, politicians, writers, broadcasters, religious groups, Python-haters and potential axe murderers. Every opinion on Monty Python will be brought to life on-screen for the first time with never-before-seen material. Dozens of featured guest interviews will include Jimmy Fallon, Lorne Michaels, Hugh Hefner, Eddie Izzard, Olivia Harrison, Steven Merchant, Dan Aykroyd, Tim Roth, and Seth Green, among many others.

LAUREL K. HAMILTON'S ANITA BLAKE: VAMPIRE HUNTER - 2010

IFC tv announced it has greenlit its first original event telefilm, Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, based on Hamilton's series of best-selling paranormal fantasy novels. Mixing mystery, fantasy, and horror, the film will center on the character of Anita Blake, a street-savvy, down-to-earth vampire hunter with a lousy dating life and a penchant for bringing people back from the dead. Produced by Lionsgate and After Dark Films and adapted by Glen Morgan (X-Files, Final Destination), who also serves as executive producer. The movie begins production this summer.

DINNER WITH THE BAND - 2010

Hosted by one of New York City's hottest young chefs, Dinner with the Band features Sam Mason cooking up his favorite dishes with his favorite independent bands. Viewers will get intimate behind-the-scenes access to some of music's coolest independent musicians, in a jam session that includes not only live musical performances, but Mason's innovative style of cooking.

RETURNING ORIGINAL SERIES

THE IFC MEDIA PROJECT - SEASON 2

Sunday May 3 @ 11:00 pm

Award winning rock band Green Day's new song "21st Century Breakdown" from their new album "21st Century Breakdown" is the new anthem for The IFC Media Project. Hosted by Peabody and Emmy Award winning news correspondent Gideon Yago (CBS News, MTV), this series will continue to bring a fresh, unapologetic, first-hand perspective on a variety of important news stories that were inaccurately reported on by leading news outlets. This season will cover topics on how the media shapes the American worldview including: Conflict In Georgia, Absence of Al Jazeera English in the U.S., Clean Coal Debate, President Obama's Press Relations and much more.

Z-ROCK- SEASON 2

Sunday June 7 @ 11:00 pm - New Casting Announcement

The IFC tv original series Z ROCK is returning in June 2009 for a second season of ten hilarious episodes. The hit comedy series is loosely based on the real lives of its three New York-based stars-brothers Paulie Z and David Z, and longtime friend Joey Cassata who make up the actual rock band ZO2 by night, as well as The Z Brothers, a kids party band by day. Season 2 will continue its satirical look at the trials and triumphs of the rock n' roll dream, giving viewers a back-stage pass into the band's struggles to become rock stars, which are often interrupted by the sobering realities of everyday life. Lynne Koplitz and Jay Oakerson are returning this season respectively as Dina the manager and Neil the club owner. Season 2 will also be jam-packed with guest appearances by funny woman Joan Rivers, Blues Travelers front man John Popper, rocker Dave Navarro, WWE's Chris Jericho, Twisted Sister's lead singer Dee Snider, Jeff Ross, Melissa Rivers, Bethenny Frankel, Bonnie Bernstein, Daryl Hall, JJ French, Jim

Norton, Steel Panther, and Warren Sapp. Z-Rock is co-produced by Starz Media and executive produced by Mark Farrell, Mark Efman and Andrew Gottlieb.

THE WHITEST KIDS U' KNOW

SEASON 4 - 2010

The Whitest Kids U' Know's sardonic, salty humor cracks on politics, gender, race and sex and pushes sketch comedy to a whole new level of depraved genius. This new season of Whitest sketch comedy continues to showcase the raucous and peculiar talents of Trevor, Zach, Sam, Darren and Timmy - as they take on our culture's obsessive fascination with celebrities, infomercials, office culture and potty humor. This season will be aired in the 15-minute format in IFC's AUTOMAT programming block.

ACQUIRED U.S. PREMIERES

IDEAL

Sunday June 7 @ 11:30 pm

Ideal is a half-hour sitcom about the misadventures of Moz, a small-time unfortunate drug dealer living in Manchester. Moz seems to have no ambition outside of his "small business" however his flat is booming with activity from an eclectic array of characters that stop by to chat, purchase, or both. Created by Graham Duff and acquired from BBC Worldwide.

WRONG

Tuesday June 9 @ 11:30 pm

A daring new half-hour sketch show set in a parallel universe; a fantastic world governed by the laws of comedy, not nature, where special effects seen in the movies and on TV are part of everyday life. In this world, superheroes, wizards and dinosaurs are commonplace in the daily merry-go-round of car chases, explosions and disasters. Acquired from BBC Worldwide.

THE JON DORE TELEVISION SHOW

August 2009

Beloved comic and national treasure Jon Dore returns to the line of fire in The Jon Dore Television Show. Exploring bizarre "issues" with the wide-eyed innocence of a very hairy child, the second season of this award-winning, flat out funny series promises to be even more outrageous than the last. Each episode centers on a topic close to Jon's heart. The show features a clever mixture of expert interviews (like chats with Jon's psychiatrist) and scripted scenes.

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 IFC's original series. IFC Media Lab Studios offers financing, professional development and distribution opportunities for aspiring film makers. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.

About 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.