Fx Television Network

WHEN Glenn Close started production this spring on "Damages," the new FX legal thriller in which she plays a wily, high-priced litigator, the veteran performer felt an unfamiliar bout of anxiety. "I found it very, very difficult, because there was no end," Close said of diving into the television series. "In theater or movies, there's a beginning, a middle and an end. And you own your character; you do your research, within the universe of that.

The FX channel is going to be the TV destination for "Monsters vs. Aliens," "Kung Fu Panda" and other DreamWorks animated movies. FX struck a licensing agreement with DreamWorks Animation SKG distributor Paramount Pictures that gives the cable channel the TV rights to releases from 2008 to 2012. Also included in the deal are "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," "Shrek Goes Fourth" and the sequel to "Kung Fu Panda."

A former senior television publicist was sentenced to three years' probation Tuesday for eavesdropping on more than 100 executive conference calls at the FX cable channel after being fired by the company. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Norman J. Shapiro also ordered Steve Webster, 38, of Manhattan Beach to pay $22,607 in restitution to FX parent Fox Entertainment Group for legal costs.

FX has come a long way since "TV made fresh daily." That was the tagline the basic cable network used when it launched in 1994, largely as a purveyor of daytime programs. Since then, the network has gone through a few iterations, most recently emerging as an outlet known for dark dramas. Although FX has aggressively marketed marquee shows such as "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck," it had done little to publicize its new identity until Tuesday, when the network unveiled a lavish new branding campaign.

"Over There," the much-heralded but little-watched Steven Bochco drama about the war in Iraq, won't be picked up by FX for a second season because of low ratings. The series about a U.S. combat unit in Iraq premiered strongly in July with 4.1 million viewers, but steadily declined. FX President John Landgraf praised the show's quality, adding the decision not to renew it was based solely on ratings.

The FX channel is going to be the TV destination for "Monsters vs. Aliens," "Kung Fu Panda" and other DreamWorks animated movies. FX struck a licensing agreement with DreamWorks Animation SKG distributor Paramount Pictures that gives the cable channel the TV rights to releases from 2008 to 2012. Also included in the deal are "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," "Shrek Goes Fourth" and the sequel to "Kung Fu Panda."

FX has given second seasons to both its new dramas, "Dirt" and "The Riches." Each will be picked up for 13 episodes. The cable channel said the shows' rankings compared favorably with its other popular series, "The Shield" and "Rescue Me," among viewers ages 18 to 49, considered a target demographic for advertisers, in a weekly total. According to FX figures, the first season of "Dirt," starring Courteney Cox as a tabloid editor, averaged 3.

If reality television has proved nothing else, it's that people want to be on television, sometimes desperately, and that they have a willing partner in television networks looking for low-cost ratings. Thus far, the nation has seen otherwise ordinary folks sing off-key ("American Idol"), humiliate themselves in front of the opposite sex ("Blind Date") and, of course, spend weeks not bathing in foreign lands ("Survivor").

Morgan Spurlock, who won an Academy Award nomination for his documentary "Super Size Me," in which he lived on McDonalds' food for one month, is expanding on that premise with "30 Days," a six-episode documentary series for FX that he will produce and host. Each hourlong installment will follow a person who is placed in "a living environment that is antithetical to their upbringing, beliefs, religion or profession in an effort to examine real societal differences that Americans face every day."

Producers of FX's "Black.White.," under fire by some of the projects' participants claiming the heavily touted "documentary" series contains several misrepresentations and creative manipulations, tweaked a few of those contested details during its premiere broadcast Wednesday. The cable network show revolves around the black Sparks family and the white Wurgel family, who switch races through the magic of movie industry-caliber makeup.

WHEN Glenn Close started production this spring on "Damages," the new FX legal thriller in which she plays a wily, high-priced litigator, the veteran performer felt an unfamiliar bout of anxiety. "I found it very, very difficult, because there was no end," Close said of diving into the television series. "In theater or movies, there's a beginning, a middle and an end. And you own your character; you do your research, within the universe of that.

FX has given second seasons to both its new dramas, "Dirt" and "The Riches." Each will be picked up for 13 episodes. The cable channel said the shows' rankings compared favorably with its other popular series, "The Shield" and "Rescue Me," among viewers ages 18 to 49, considered a target demographic for advertisers, in a weekly total. According to FX figures, the first season of "Dirt," starring Courteney Cox as a tabloid editor, averaged 3.

The network that brought you murderous cops, sex-crazed plastic surgeons and a pill-popping fireman who all but raped his estranged wife is now in a family way. FX, which made its groundbreaking mark on the television landscape with such dynamic, raw fare as "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me," is entering into milder territory on Monday with "The Riches," a series centered around a married couple and their three children residing behind the gates of a cushy, comfortable community.

FX'S signature dramas have never been easy to watch. Whether it's the execution-style murder of a little girl on "The Shield," the surgical removal of an obese woman from a couch on "Nip/Tuck" or the sight of a burned firefighter who has lost his legs on "Rescue Me," FX has distinguished itself in the television landscape by depicting contemporary life in its extremes.

Producers of FX's "Black.White.," under fire by some of the projects' participants claiming the heavily touted "documentary" series contains several misrepresentations and creative manipulations, tweaked a few of those contested details during its premiere broadcast Wednesday. The cable network show revolves around the black Sparks family and the white Wurgel family, who switch races through the magic of movie industry-caliber makeup.

THE title song of FX Networks' new "Black.White." is both come-on and warning -- "Please don't believe the hype. Everything in the world ain't black and white." It also may turn out to be an unintentionally ironic commentary on the project itself. The six-episode series is being aggressively hyped by the cable network as a provocative and insightful documentary examining race relations in America.

Stanley "TOOKIE" WILLIAMS, a legend in street-gang and law-enforcement circles for three decades, is about to join the long parade of little-known souls turned into TV-movie celebrities. This figures to cause plenty of consternation in family rooms across America, because Williams is the co-founder of the Crips gang and a death row inmate convicted of four Southern California murders.

When Peter Liguori inherited News Corp.'s FX cable channel seven years ago, it was adrift with a hodgepodge of programming. Slowly and methodically, Liguori built FX into the poor man's HBO, with such in-your-face shows as "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck" and the post-9/11 firefighter drama "Rescue Me." On Thursday, Liguori was named president of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Co., replacing Gail Berman, who is expected to become president of Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures. News Corp.

"Over There," the much-heralded but little-watched Steven Bochco drama about the war in Iraq, won't be picked up by FX for a second season because of low ratings. The series about a U.S. combat unit in Iraq premiered strongly in July with 4.1 million viewers, but steadily declined. FX President John Landgraf praised the show's quality, adding the decision not to renew it was based solely on ratings.

FX Networks' entertainment president, John Landgraf, was named Tuesday to the cable channel's top post of president and general manager. Landgraf, 42, had been considered the leading candidate for the job. He will be responsible for all business and programming operations including program development, scheduling, marketing, public relations, research and business affairs for FX and the Fox Movie Channel.