LINDSEY BROAD, CHRIS DISTEFANO, MARK GESSNER, RUY ISKANDAR AND ANDREW SCHULZ LEAD THE CAST OF IFC'S NEW HOCKEY COMEDY, "BENDERS"

Series Premieres Thursday, October 1 at 10 pm ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY - June 9, 2015 - IFC has lined up the lead ensemble cast of its upcoming original hockey comedy Benders, premiering Thursday, October 1 at 10 pm ET/PT. Actors Lindsey Broad (The Office, 21 Jump Street), Chris Distefano (Girl Code, The Half Hour), Mark Gessner (Orange is the New Black, The Blacklist), Ruy Iskandar (Gotham, The Blacklist) and Andrew Schulz (Guy Code, co-creator & host of Brilliant Idiots podcast) have signed on to star in the eight-episode series. Creators Jim Serpico and Tom Sellitti are executive producing along with their Apostle partner Denis Leary.

"Adding this series to IFC's programming slate further broadens our 'slightly off' brand of comedy," said Christine Lubrano, IFC's senior vice president of original programming. "For viewers who love both sports and comedy, Benders is a fresh take on what happens when these two genres collide."

Benders follows a team of friends bonded by an irrational obsession with their men's ice hockey team, The Chubbys. Paul Rosenberg (Schulz) is the insecure leader whose involvement with the team causes daily havoc for him and his wife Karen (Broad). Along for the ride are Paul's best friends Anthony (Distefano), the charmer who schemes his way through life; Dicky (Gessner), the wealthy hedge fund manager whose answer to everything is in his wallet; and Sebalos (Iskandar) the slacker on a misguided search for his purpose in life. While their hockey skills may be limited, their passion is not, as evidenced by the chaos their devotion to the game creates in their everyday lives.

Benders is currently in production in New York.

About IFC

IFC is the home of offbeat, unexpected comedies. Series like Portlandia, Maron and Comedy Bang! Bang! air alongside fan-favorite movies and comedic cult TV shows. Owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc., along with sister channels AMC, BBC America, SundanceTV and WE tv, IFC is available to more than 73 million U.S. homes and across multiple platforms. IFC: Always On Slightly Off