IFC To Bring Its Digital ‘Comedy Crib’ Programming To TV

Over the past year-and-a-half, IFC has used its digital Comedy Crib destination to distribute a varied selection of independently-minded comedies for streaming audiences. Now, Comedy Crib is coming to TV, and some of its shows will have a chance to air on IFC. The cable channel used its yearly upfront presentation to introduce a weekly, half-hour block of late-night programming sourced from Comedy Crib.

Since its launch, Comedy Crib has featured the talented partners of major comedy organizations like UCB Comedy and Above Average, and on the platform’s late-night TV block, those stand-up and sketch performers will have yet another chance to shine. Their work will be joined by several of Comedy Crib’s original series, which will also make the jump to terrestrial broadcasts.

One of the first shows that will air during the Comedy Crib TV block is Boxed In, a newly-launched web series from creator Amy York Rubin. Rubin, a veteran in the digital space, is perhaps best known for her 2013 program Little Horribles, which followed the life of its queer protagonist. With Boxed In, Rubin is once again tackling gender identity. This time, her main character is a “gay-ish” woman struggling against society’s tendency to box her into specific gender categories (hence the title.)

IFC will fill out the Comedy Crib TV block with content from shows like Portlandia and Comedy Bang! Bang! ““The Comedy Crib has become an important extension of our on-air lineup and a great way to bring new comedic voices and talent to fans, so it makes perfect sense to build this return path to our air for Comedy Crib content and, at the same time, establish a new late-night program on IFC,” said Christine Lubrano, IFC’s SVP of original programming, in a press release. “Many of our signature shows originated as podcasts or webseries before IFC brought them to television, so we see potential in a wide variety of formats and look forward to continuing to experiment and entertain through Comedy Crib and late-night originals on IFC.”

No release date has been announced for Comedy Crib’s late-night block, but as the platform preps its arrival on TV, it will continue to release new web series throughout 2016.