IFC Bringing Web Shows to New Primetime Cable 'Automat' Block

Web shows making the leap to TV… we’ve seen this tried before; see quarterlife and In The Motherhood to name a few. This time, it’s not just one show getting featured, but a whole roster of web standouts. Starting this fall IFC (the cable network) will debut a primetime viewing block called Automat, to feature content developed for IFC.com, along with other original series. Beginning September 30th, the block will run on Tuesdays from 8PM to midnight, aiming for a young, mostly male demographic with its edgy, short-form focus. The Automat block will be followed at midnight by a male-targeted feature film.

The new block takes its name from an antiquated form of fast food restaurant in which food was presented in vending machines (though served on plates) filled from the kitchen in the back. [Though still popular in the Netherlands, the last of the old Automats closed in the US in 1991. BAMN, an Automat in New York’s East Village, opened in 2006.]

Web series from IFC.com getting called up to the new primetime block include:

• The Mary Van Note Show (quirky series about one girl’s quest for love)
• Young American Bodies (three seasons currently online)
• Wilfred (Australian comedy series about a pot smoking dog)
• Getting Away With Murder (Webby-nominated series about a young hitman)