FXX Orders 10 Episodes of Jay Baruchel Comedy Man Seeking Woman

FXX has announced that Man Seeking Woman, a comedy starring Jay Baruchel (Goon), has been given a 10-episode series order.

“Simon Rich has delivered a wholly original, hilarious and fantastical view of single life that features an incredible performance from Jay Baruchel,” said Nick Grad, President of Original Programming, FX Networks and FX Productions..  “We feel this is the perfect fit for FXX and are thrilled to pick up the show.”

Based on Simon Rich’s short story collection The Last Girlfriend on Earth, Man Seeking Woman follows Josh (Baruchel), a naïve romantic on a quest for love. Rich wrote the pilot and will serve as showrunner on the project, while the likes of Eric Andre (Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23), Britt Lower (Unforgettable), and Maya Erksine (Betas) will co-star.

Man Seeking Woman will be the first original comedy to premiere on FXX, a network that has previously only housed wayward FX comedies. While It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League have held their own with the network change, FXX needs to show that it’s more than encore programming, movies, and transplanted series, especially after projects previously earmarked for the network (e.g. Chozen) found their way to FX instead. FXX must find some type of network identity to set itself apart from FX and the rest of the television industry as a whole, something that Man Seeking Woman could provide in terms of tone, humor, and ambition; it helps that the network has a fairly full development slate with comedies from Zach Galifianakis, Charlie Kaufman, and Seth Rogen currently in the works, but still, it should be interesting to see what FXX deems worthy enough to be their opening shot in the war for scripted television audience.

Man Seeking Woman is set to premiere sometime next year on FXX.

Will you be watching Man Seeking Woman? Could this be the project that puts FXX on the map and helps the network establish an identity away from FX imports? What type of comedies would you like to see FXX pursue in the future?