LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- FOX has given its recently launched Animation Domination HD block a boost, ordering six additional quarter-hours of "Axe Cop" and "High School USA!" bringing their season totals to 12 episodes each.
"I thought to roll out 12 gives us a little more of an anchor," Nick Weidenfeld, the network's head of Animation Domination HD, told me during the block's cocktail reception at the TCA Summer Press Tour. "We're just starting. It's also way better for production because we can get invested in those shows."
He added that all their shows will begin with six-episode orders, which are essentially their pilots. "The best part of this process from a production standpoint is that if things start to feel like they're gaining traction while you're making them, you can continue. It's very flexible because all the talent is in-house."
Joining the lineup in January will be "Golan the Insatiable" (about "a mighty godlord from an alternate universe who arrives in the small town of Oak Grove, where his only friend is a 10-year-old goth girl") and "Lucas Bros. Moving Co." (about "identical twins who start a moving company whose customers are often apprehensive to hire such a scrawny duo").
Weidenfeld adds that he hopes to preview both shows this fall to give viewers a taste, not to mention add some variety to the block. April then will see the launch of two additional series, details of which will be released in the near future.
Beyond that, with "The Cleveland Show" departing this year (which the network still insists is an "indefinite hiatus," not cancellation) and "American Dad" relocating to TBS in late 2014, there's a potential primetime vacancy in the not-too-distant future. "It would be very exciting," Weidenfeld admits. "We exist because Kevin [Reilly] wants to create more content, to have one of these things rise to prime. Their development department is still working and doing stuff. If something came threw us and grew up that's great."
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