FX Greenlights Chris Rock Produced Comedy Series Starring W. Kamau Bell

FX has given the greenlight to a second comedy series to air in the late-night and be headlined by a comedian. The as-yet untitled series will be executive produced by Chris Rock and star stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell, and is set to premiere this summer.

FX gave the series a six-episode order, according to Deadline and will air the half hour show weekly. It will join the previously picked up Russell Brand comedy series, Strangely Uplifting which will also occupy a late-night slot on FX. The summer premieres are looking good for FX, with the highly-anticipated return of Charlie Sheen to television in Anger Management also on the horizon.

The new series will treat us to comedian W. Kamau Bell’s take on politics, sex, race, religion, and politics. Which actually sounds an awful lot like the description of Russell Brand’s show, also said to open the stage to Brand’s commentary on the same topics. Similar premise or not, the two comedians are not likely to create similar shows, but may be complementary to each other in some ways. Chris Rock, who describes Bell as “one of the funniest guys out there”, is no stranger to late-night, as he hosted an Emmy-winning late night self-titled series on HBO back in the 90s. Can we expect Chris Rock-like comedy out of Bell, or will be bring his own personal brand to the stage?

Either way, FX is making a strong push towards the late-night audience, which may well be ripe for the picking, especially during the summer months.