TV

“Cassius and Clay” throws in towel before FXX debut

FX had announced last year that it was moving its successful animated comedy, Archer, to FXX in 2016 for its seventh season and pairing it with a new animated series, Cassius and Clay, co-created by Megan Ganz and Archer creator Adam Reed.

But Archer‘s FXX premiere remains without a start date so far, and we learned Monday that Cassius and Clay wouldn’t air at all.

Cassius and Clay was supposed to star Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Lake Bell as the voices of Cassius and Clay, two bandits on the run in a dark future version of the South — with other voices provided by Susan Sarandon, JB Smoove, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jeffrey Tambor, Stephen Root, Katy Mixon and Robert Patrick.

At the same time this week, FX Networks announced it had ordered a new untitled animated pilot from FX darling Louis C.K. and featuring his voice plus that of comedy legend Albert Brooks.

What happened?

TV networks sometimes shelve ordered series before ever airing them, despite filming multiple episodes. Sometimes, too, they hold a series for a year or more before airing them (see: FOX’s new animated series, Bordertown). And sometimes, the people making the series can’t make it work like they’d hoped.

Ganz, who’s also a co-executive producer and writer on Modern Family, told The Comic’s Comic it was more a case of the latter than anything else.

“The project was really great but the process wasn’t, through no fault of FX. Sometimes the chemistry is just off. I left the project in October and wished them the best of luck with it. I’m sorry to see it’s officially over. I thought (and still think) it would be a really great show. But I enjoyed working with the writing staff I hired to C&C and I hope I get the opportunity to run a room again. For the time being, I’ve fled to England to regroup and start researching my next project. I hope you and TV are alive to see it.”

We hope so, too!

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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