FX: BrandX and Totally Biased Renewed

Get ready to stay up late.

Well, if you don’t do that already. If you do, I guess get ready to stay up later.

FX has ordered an additional 13 episodes each of late-night talkers BrandX with Russell Brand and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, with the new cycle for each beginning early next year.

BrandX, which features Brand in the role of “traditional” talk show host (monologue, celebrity interview, audience segment),will air its final 2012 episode on Thursday, November 29th at 11:30. The show will return Thursday, February 7th at 11:30 in an expanded one-hour format; the two previous “cycles” of BrandX have been half-hour, leading out the FX comedy bloc this summer and airing after Totally Biased currently.

Totally Biased, co-executive produced by Chris Rock, finds comedian Bell extolling on social and political issues, including religion, sex, and race in live guests and taped segments. The show will air its final episode of 2012 on Thursday, November 29th at 11:00; the episode features The Daily Show writer/correspondent and Community actor John Oliver. Totally Biased returns Thursday, January 17th at 11:00.

Both shows mark FX’s attempt to break into the world of late night television; though neither has yet to completely breakthrough, each has garnered a fair amount of attention, given FX an idea of what to expect when launching late programming, and improved along the way. BrandX and Totally Biased will be joining critically-acclaimed animated comedy Archer on the FX winter 2013 schedule, though the latter doesn’t have a concrete premiere date yet. Currently, they’re airing along with the eighth season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the fourth season of The League.

Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell airs Thursdays at 11:00 on FX, with BrandX with Russell Brand following at 11:30.

Have you been watching either BrandX with Russell Brand or Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell? Do you think either have improved since their initial run of episodes earlier this year? If so, will the additional episodes help fine tune their voice even more?