FX Chairman John Landgraf took the stage at this week TCA Winter 2023 press tour to highlight a variety of programming coming to the network, from hit series to new projects.
The twice yearly event is hosted by the Television Critics Association (TCA), during which channels and streamers present the latest programming news to the media.
Here’s a breakdown of what the FX network has in store for its viewers in the upcoming months:
The Bear
FX’s critical and viewer favorite “The Bear” is set to return early this summer, and the network has increased the second season from 8 episodes to 10.
Series creator and EP Christopher Storer remained mostly tight-lipped as to what fans can expect from the show’s second season, but said:
“It almost feels like Season 1 was sort of, ‘Let’s catch up,’ and Season 2 is sort of like where the show properly begins, once we’ve met everyone and seen their backstory.
In terms of Season 2, you’re gonna see them build a restaurant. They think they’re starting from a healthy place like a lot of other businesses but it just creates the same amount of problems and the same amount of headaches every day.
So we see them have to step up in different ways. In some ways, they’ll regress but hopefully, they’ll ultimately come back together to open this thing by a very specific date.”
The show’s star Jeremy Allen White won the Golden Globe earlier this week for best actor in a comedy, and he and the show are currently nominated for several other awards.
Justified: City Primeval
A continuation of the beloved FX series, “Justified: City Primeval” is inspired by the late Elmore Leonard’s crime novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit,” and is scheduled for a summer 2023 premiere.
The FX limited series finds U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (played again by Timothy Olyphant) still living in Miami, to which he relocated in the original series’ finale.
The show takes place eight years after the ending of the original (which wrapped on April 14, 2015 after six seasons). Raylan is balancing life as a marshal and part-time father of 14-year-old Willa (played by Olyphant’s real-life daughter, Vivian).
However a chance encounter on a Florida highway sends him to Detroit, where he crosses paths with Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook), aka “The Oklahoma Wildman,” a violent sociopath who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and wants to do so again.
The cast for “Justified: City Primeval” also includes Aunjanue Ellis (“Lovecraft Country”) as legal eagle Carolyn Wilder, Adelaide Clemens (“Rectify”) as Mansell’s girlfriend Sandy, Marin Ireland (“Sneaky Pete”) as a Detroit cop, Norbert Leo Butz (“Bloodline”) and Victor Williams (“The Affair”) as Detroit detectives, and Vondie Curtis-Hall (“For the People”) as a bar owner.
Alien
FX Boss John Landgraf provided an update at the TCA event on the long-in-the-works series, “Alien,” based on the movie franchise.
First announced in 2020, Landgraf said the series, written and directed by Noah Hawley, is set to begin pre-production in the near future once Hawley finishes with the fifth season of “Fargo.”
The story will take place before the time of Ripley, and is described as the first “Alien” story set on Earth.
“It takes place on our planet. Right near the end of this century we’re in — so 70-odd years from now,” said Landgraf.
The series will star Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, Joe Keery, Lamorne Morris, Richa Moorjani, David Rysdahl, Sam Spruell, Jessica Pohly, Dave Foley, and Nick Gomez.
Mayans M.C.
Landgraf announced that “Mayans M.C.” would end with season 5 on FX during his TCA Winter 2023 presentation.
Created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, the series is a spin-off series of the network’s hit “Sons of Anarchy,” and follows a motley crew of Latin men who found a family in the motorcycle club charter Santo Padre on the California and Mexico border.
Season four ended with the return of Tig (Kim Coates) from “Sons of Anarchy” which could set up a SAMCRO-Mayans crossover for the final season.
Dave
FX’s “Dave” will return for season 3 on April 5 at 10pm ET/PT with two episodes on FXX (and it will stream on Hulu the next day), and series star and co-creator Dave Burd joined Landgraf to talk about the show during the TCA Winter 2023 presentation.
He said in the third season, Dave headlines his first-ever tour, while looking for love along the way. But as he and the gang crisscross America, they discover firsthand how diverse the cultural landscape of the United States really is – and how often fame puts pressure on love and friendship.
Burd also announced the third season would feature big name guest stars including Demi Lovato, Don Cheadle, Killer Mike, Machine Gun Kelly, Megan Fox, Rick Ross, Travis Barker, and Usher.
“That’s just a fraction and the fraction I haven’t named, will blow you away,” said Burd.
American Sports Story
From creator Ryan Murphy comes a new anthology series, “American Sports Story,” which will focus on a prominent event involving a sports figure, and re-examine it through the prism of today’s world, telling that story from multiple perspectives, similar to his “American Crime Story” anthology series.
The first installment is based on the podcast “Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc” from the Boston Globe and Wondery.
The limited series charts the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores his identity, his family, his career, his suicide, and the legacy they’ve left in sports and American culture.
Landgraf said the series is heading towards production, but did not elaborate further.
American Crime Story
Speaking of Murphy’s “American Crime Story” anthology, Landgraf said season four is also headed towards production but didn’t offer further details.
Last year, Murphy had said season four would center around the legendary Studio 54, with the focus on Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, who in 1977 turned their Midtown Manhattan disco into an international mecca of nightlife for the rich and famous and commoners alike.
It was renowned for its lavish parties, music, sex, and open drug use, but was brought down just a few years later by tax fraud.
Dear Mama
The FX docuseries “Dear Mama” is set to premiere on Friday, April 21 at 10pm ET/PT, with the first two episodes, and will stream the following day via Hulu. The remaining three episodes will air weekly in the Friday time slot.
The limited series’ five episodes dives into the personal relationship between iconic rapper Tupac Shakur and his mother Afeni.
“Wherever possible, we tried to find archival footage that hadn’t been seen so there’s a lot that we have in the five parts,” said director Allen Hughes during FX’s TCA presentation.
“There’s also audio that’s never been heard. And not just some of his acapellas and vocals, there is a lot of stuff of Tupac from his baby years that had never been seen. For Tupac superfans, I believe that two of the most important things in the project is the never seen before. But most importantly, you get to understand why he made certain decisions.”
Here is a teaser that was released for “Dear Mama”:
The New York Times Presents
For those who enjoy news docuseries, FX released information on the next two episodes in the “The New York Times Presents” series during the TCA Winter 2023 presentation:
“The New York Times Presents: Sin Eater,” a two-part documentary about infamous Hollywood P.I. Anthony Pellicano, premieres Friday, March 10, at 10pm ET/PT simultaneously on FX and Hulu, with the two parts airing back-to-back.
“The New York Times Presents: The Legacy of J Dilla,” a documentary feature about prolific musician, producer, and visionary J Dilla, premieres Friday, April 7, at 10pm ET/PT simultaneously on FX and Hulu.
Are you a fan of any of these shows? Looking forward to any of the newly announced ones? Let us know in the comments.