The original post: /r/television by /u/grahamecrackerinc on 2025-09-03 00:06:07+00:00.

In the winter of 2013, the news broke that cable network Fox Soccer would be shutting down and rebranded as a “brother service” to the more-popular FX (home to defiant and bold but iconic shows like Sons of Anarchy, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck, The Americans, Justified, Damages, The Shield, The Strain, and the ongoing anthology American Horror Story).

To that end, the name FXX was born. For those of you who saw the launch of the channel, I don’t need to tell you what happened, although it kicked off its’ launch with an all-day marathon of Parks and Recreation.

The promise of FXX was unlimited top-notch quality sitcoms morning, noon, and night. Not only did it acquire FX’s ongoing sitcoms It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Legit, Wilfred, and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, but it filled up its’ schedule with classic comedies Spin City, Mad About You, The Hughleys, How I Met Your Mother, Sports Night, Arrested Development, as well as the short-lived hidden gem Freaks and Geeks and Ali G Rezurrection (a rebranded version of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G Show featuring unaired episodes). They also showed an occasional movie now and then (like Superman Returns, Tropic Thunder, Hall Pass, Adventureland, 30 Minutes or Less, Pineapple Express, Step Brothers, The Twilight Saga, and more).

Two months later, the network acquired the broadcast syndication rights to The Simpsons and launched “Every. Simpsons. Ever.” in August 2014, which consisted non-stop 552 episodes of The Simpsons’ everyday antics in the town of Springfield and the full-length feature movie. The marathon simultaneously became notorious for tripling FXX’s ratings and broke an all-time record for the longest marathon in TV history, which is currently held by the defunct VH1 Classic with their own marathon of Saturday Night Live. The Simpsons also paved the way for the network to experiment with adult animation a year later by launching a late-night block, Animation Domination High-Def (or simply ADHD), which was their own answer to Fox’s Animation Domination after a case of Monster Energy Drink mixed with coke, speed, and ecstasy. The block consisted of High School USA!, Golan the Insatiable, Lucas Bros. Moving Co. (based on the Lucas Brothers’ deadpan comedic antics), Stone Quackers (created by Cartoon Network alumnus Ben Jones), Axe Cop (based on the independent webcomic of the same name about an axe-wielding cop voiced by Nick Offerman), and Major Lazer (inspired by the fictional DJ with the same name and the eponymous EDM supergroup by Mad Decent labelhead Diplo).

A year later, things took a drastic turn. Amid dwindling viewership, ADHD shut down and the live-action comedy programming was phased out in favor of more movie broadcasts and repeats of Raising Hope, In Living Color, and sneak previews of LA to Vegas and The Mick (starring Sunny’s Kaitlin Olson). The network also added Black-ish and Mom to their lineup schedule (both sitcoms from Fox’s rival networks ABC and CBS). In 2017, FXX acquired the animated spy comedy Archer ahead of its’ eighth season. 2019 saw the premiere of the anthology series Cake (produced by LA-based production company SLAQR), which was comprised of both live-action and animated shorts, accompanied by the sound of tomorrow by musical artists of today, such as Portugal. The Man, SOFI TUKKER, Tony K., Saint Mesa, Big Data, Channel Tres, Bea1991, Mega Bob, Eddington Again, and Dorian Electra, among others. The short-form series spawned a spin-off (try saying THAT five times fast) named Dicktown (co-created by John Hodgman & David Rees, both of whom played fictionalized versions of themselves solving mysteries for teenagers in North Carolina). Cake lasted five seasons, whereas Dicktown lasted two. Almost a year later and a week before the pandemic, March 2020 saw the world premiere of the new original series Dave, based on the life and career of rapper Lil Dicky, who’s a legend in his own mind.

A year after the pandemic, FXX rebranded itself entirely to shift its’ focus to adult animation completely, reairing King of the Hill, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show (which left in 2024), Bob’s Burgers, and Futurama. Repeats of Sunny was demoted to late nights on Saturdays from 12 to 3AM, while only two movies are shown in the morning and afternoon. The last original program to air was on the short-lived Little Demon, which lasted one season but neither FXX, its’ creators, or producers (among which include Dan Harmon of Community and Rick & Morty fame) have confirmed or denied its’ cancellation, indicating that there’s room for a second season. Dave was, and as of August 2025, one of the last originals programs FXX had to offer ahead of its’ third and final season. Although its’ own cancellation was not announced until February 2024, both FXX and Lil Dicky mutually agreed to end the show later due to the latter pursuing other projects in mind, leaving Sunny (which had just finished airing its’ 17th season) still going strong.

As much as I love animation as the next guy, I wrote this just to vent and get this off my chest: the state of FXX today is just flat-out depressing and forever trapped in a monotonous rabbit hole. It used to be fun, but it allowed itself to end up like Viacom’s cable networks TeenNick and NickToons (both of which are reairing Nickeloden past and present cartoons like SpongeBob and The Loud House), as well as MTV, which has Ridiculousness on autopilot because “scripted shows are too expensive.” THAT, my friends, is true Ridiculousness (Although the newly-added Big Bang Theory marathons are well worth watching!)

I’m not even sure what I hope to accomplish after I click “Post”. Maybe I’ll get downvoted, maybe it’ll kick off an honest conversation, maybe it’ll even reach FX Networks in LA and cause them to rethink their approach and simply return to form–reair live-action sitcoms five days a week, dedicate Saturdays to animation, and develop more original content without milking the Sunny cow.

Hope you guys enjoyed your Labor Day and shoot down your comments below. Peace!