Independent Film Channel
Encyclopedia
The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is an American cable TV network that airs independent film
and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for the web.
In March 2010, IFC unveiled a newly redesigned logo and a new slogan - Always On. Slightly Off; said slogan reflects IFC's shift from merely airing independent films to airing independent films, cult television series, and specials with an indie flavor and sensibility. This logo change also marked the year IFC began interrupting programs with commercial breaks, which has sparked controversy among its viewers. Despite airing advertisements during their programming, IFC still airs movies and TV-MA rated series uncensored; episodes of some programs rated TV-14, however are censored.
In 2011, IFC debuted its first scripted original programming.
On July 1, 2011, Rainbow Media
was spun off by its parent company, Cablevision; with this spin-off, the company was renamed AMC Networks.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for the web.
History
The channel, which is owned by AMC Networks (a former subsidiary of Cablevision), debuted on September 1, 1994, as a spin-off from then-sibling channel Bravo. Films were originally shown without commercial interruption.In March 2010, IFC unveiled a newly redesigned logo and a new slogan - Always On. Slightly Off; said slogan reflects IFC's shift from merely airing independent films to airing independent films, cult television series, and specials with an indie flavor and sensibility. This logo change also marked the year IFC began interrupting programs with commercial breaks, which has sparked controversy among its viewers. Despite airing advertisements during their programming, IFC still airs movies and TV-MA rated series uncensored; episodes of some programs rated TV-14, however are censored.
In 2011, IFC debuted its first scripted original programming.
Original series
- 360 Sessions
- Bollywood HeroBollywood HeroBollywood Hero is an American television miniseries which aired on the IFC in three parts on August 6-8, 2009. The miniseries was shot in Mumbai and Los Angeles....
- Dinner With The BandDinner With The BandDinner With The Band is an American food reality show hosted by chef Sam Mason. It began as an ON Networks web series in March 2007 but was later acquired by the Independent Film Channel and premiered as a full length 30-min television show on November 24, 2009.-The premise:In each episode, Mason...
- Food PartyFood PartyFood Party is an American television series that airs on the Independent Film Channel in the United States.The show is a pseudo-reality cooking show filmed on an elaborate, technicolored cardboard kitchen set...
- Henry Rollins: UncutHenry Rollins: UncutHenry Rollins: Uncut is an American television series, which airs on the IFC in the United States.The special event series follows musician, author, and spoken-word artist Henry Rollins as he travels to controversial locals including New Orleans, Israel, and South Africa...
- Hopeless PicturesHopeless PicturesHopeless Pictures is an American animated comedy series starring the voice of Friends actress Lisa Kudrow, Seinfeld guest actor Bob Balaban, and produced and broadcast by the IFC. The cartoon follows fictional film producer Mel Wax, voiced by Michael McKean, in a spoof of the Hollywood movie industry...
- IFC Media Project
- Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings
- The Grid
- The Henry Rollins ShowThe Henry Rollins ShowThe Henry Rollins Show was a weekly talk show hosted by Henry Rollins on the Independent Film Channel . The show featured Rollins' monologues, interviews with celebrities and uncensored musical performances. The show was canceled after the wrap of its second season.-Sections:Each episode features...
- The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd MargaretThe Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd MargaretThe Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret is an American-British sitcom starring David Cross, Sharon Horgan, Blake Harrison, Will Arnett and Spike Jonze...
- The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie WoodmanThe Minor Accomplishments of Jackie WoodmanThe Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman is an American comedy television series from World of Wonder Productions, co-written, executive produced by and starring Laura Kightlinger. The series premiered on IFC August 4, 2006...
- The Whitest Kids U'Know
- Z RockZ Rock (TV series)Z Rock is an American television series, which airs on the IFC in the United States.The show is a semi-scripted comedy and is based on the double life of a Brooklyn band, ZO2. By night, they are a hard rock band but to pay the bills, they are the Z Brothers by day, playing kiddie parties...
- Onion News NetworkOnion News NetworkOnion News Network is a parody television news show. The show premiered its ten-episode first season on January 21, 2011, at 10:00 p.m. EST on IFC....
- PortlandiaPortlandia (TV series)Portlandia is a television series that debuted on the Independent Film Channel on January 21, 2011. The show, produced by Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel, is set and filmed both in and near Portland, Oregon and features Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen as well as Carrie Brownstein, a...
Re-broadcast programming
- Arrested Development
- Dead Set
- Freaks and GeeksFreaks and GeeksFreaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season...
and UndeclaredUndeclaredUndeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season... - Greg the BunnyGreg the BunnyGreg the Bunny is an American television sitcom that originally aired on Fox TV in 2002. It starred Seth Green and a hand puppet named Greg the Bunny, originally invented by the team of Sean S. Baker, Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano. Milano and Chinoy wrote and co-produced the Fox show. In the show,...
- IdealIdeal (TV series)Ideal is a British comedy-drama, or dark comedy originally broadcast on digital channel BBC Three, created by Graham Duff and produced by BBC Comedy North and Baby Cow Productions. It stars Johnny Vegas as small-time cannabis dealer Moz....
- The Jon Dore Television ShowThe Jon Dore Television ShowThe Jon Dore Television Show is a mockumentary-style sitcom, based on an idea by Jon Dore and John Brunton. The show stars Canadian actor and comedian Jon Dore, of recent Canadian Idol co-host fame. The Comedy Network ordered 13 half hour episodes of the series, which premiered on October 17,...
- Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town
- Malcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
- Modern TossModern Toss (TV series)Modern Toss is a partly animated British comedy programme based on characters from Modern Toss, a profanity-ridden series of cartoon booklets...
- Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
: IFC purchased the rights to show all four series of the program in 2009 and began airing episodes on October 18, 2009. The series was acquired in order to be broadcast along with the documentary Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut)Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut)Monty Python: Almost the Truth is a 2009 television documentary series in six parts that cover the members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python from Flying Circus to the present day. The series highlights their childhood, schooling and university life, and pre-Python work...
, though IFC elected to continue broadcasting episodes after the documentary finished running. American rights to the show are also held by BBC AmericaBBC AmericaBBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
, but that channel has greatly reduced its airings of the show, only airing it in the occasional marathonMarathon (television)In television, a marathon is typically the sequential broadcast of a single or a number of related television programs, most notably reflecting a theme....
and never against IFC's airings. - Action (TV series)Action (TV series)Action is a comedy series about a Hollywood producer named Peter Dragon, who is trying to recover from his last box-office failure. It aired on FOX during the 1999-2000 season. The series was critically praised for its irreverent, and sometimes hostile look at Hollywood culture. Thirteen episodes...
,The Ben Stiller ShowThe Ben Stiller ShowThe Ben Stiller Show was the name of two sketch comedy television shows that aired on MTV from 1990 to 1991, and then on Fox from September 1992 to January 1993. The Fox show starred Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Janeane Garofalo and Bob Odenkirk. Character actor John F. O'Donohue also appeared in every...
, The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
, and Mr. ShowMr. ShowMr. Show with Bob and David is an American sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross... - The BusinessThe Business (TV series)The Business is a Canadian television series, which airs on The Movie Network in Canada and IFC in the United States.The plot of the show centres on Vic Morgan , an adult film director of a low-budget softcore pornographic series similar to Girls Gone Wild...
- The IT CrowdThe IT CrowdThe IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
- The Three Stooges (shared with sister network AMC)
- WilfredWilfred (TV series)Wilfred is an Australian comedy television series directed by Tony Rogers, produced by Jenny Livingston and starring Jason Gann, Adam Zwar and Cindy Waddingham. Created by Zwar, Gann and Rogers, it was based on their award-winning 2002 short film and later adapted to a series...
- The Wrong DoorThe Wrong DoorThe Wrong Door is a comedy sketch show, first aired on BBC Three on 28 August 2008. The programme is the first comedy show in which almost all of the sketches have a CGI element. As such, it was produced under the working title of The CGI Sketch Show...
Original documentaries
- At the Death House Door
- Darkon
- Goth Cruise
- Heavy Load
- Indie Sex
- Monty Python: Almost the Truth
- New World Order
Anime
IFC has shown the following anime series- BasiliskBasiliskIn European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance...
- Gunslinger GirlGunslinger GirlGunslinger Girl is an ongoing manga by Yu Aida. It first premiered in the November 2002 issue of the monthly shōnen magazine Dengeki Daioh. The chapters are also being published in tankōbon volumes by ASCII Media Works. 13 volumes have been released in Japan as of April 2011...
- Hell Girl
- Samurai 7Samurai 7is a 2004 anime TV series, produced by Gonzo and based on Akira Kurosawa's highly regarded 1954 movie Seven Samurai. The series was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa and its music was composed by Kaoru Wada and Eitetsu Hayashi...
- Speed GrapherSpeed Grapheris a 2005 anime series created by Gonzo. The series ran for 24 episodes from April to October 2005 on TV Asahi. In 2006, it was licensed for release in North America by Funimation Entertainment and aired on the Independent Film Channel between March 7 and August 15, 2008...
- WitchbladeWitchblade (anime)is an anime series based on the American comic book by the same name. Instead of an adaptation of the original story, the producers decided to create an entire new setup, with all new characters. This co-production between Japanese studio Gonzo and American publisher Top Cow, who owns the rights...
IFC.com
IFC's website is the home to blogs and news about film, music, and politics in addition to content about IFC's series, documentaries, and programming. IFC.com is also the home to a variety of original web series.Web series
- Cutting Ties
- Dead & Lonely
- Four Eyed Monsters
- Funnel of Darkness
- Get Hit
- Getting Away with Murder
- Good Morning Internet!
- Lunchbox
- Like So Many Things
- The Mary Van Note Show
- The Stagg Party
- The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D.
- Trapped In The ClosetTrapped in the Closet"Trapped in the Closet" is a series of songs by American contemporary R&B singer R. Kelly. The song set consists of 22 chapters, which were released from 2005 to 2007. The first five chapters of the set are included on his seventh studio album TP.3 Reloaded, with the first chapter being released as...
- Pushing Twilight
- Young American Bodies
Business operations
- IFC includes the linear channel, IFC.com, and IFC Free, which is IFC’s On Demand cable service, where viewers can watch premieres of IFC's programming in HD before they air on the linear network. Currently, Comcast and some cable providers have added the high-definition channel of IFC to a few select markets.
- IFC's related company IFC Films has entered into several ventures in new distribution models for Video on Demand (VOD) and DVDs.
- In 2005, IFC opened the IFC Center, a movie theater for independent film in New York.
- In 2008, IFC premiered its Media Lab Studios, a section of its website on which users can enter IFC-sponsored film contests, and can view others’ films. Numerous contests are run simultaneously, each with a different focus and guidelines for entries, and are presented by IFC and another sponsor. Recent contest sponsors include Scion, Absolut VodkaAbsolut VodkaAbsolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
, and Red BullRed BullRed Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
.
- In 2008, Rainbow Media Holdings acquired Sundance Channel.
On July 1, 2011, Rainbow Media
Rainbow Media
AMC Networks is an entertainment company in the United States that owns the national cable channels AMC, IFC, WE tv, and Sundance Channel; the regional News 12 Networks, the art house movie theater IFC Center in New York, New York, and the film company IFC Films.The company was originally launched...
was spun off by its parent company, Cablevision; with this spin-off, the company was renamed AMC Networks.
Canceled programs
- IFC was to have released a theatrical-length movie version of Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, but the negotiations for the proposed movie and series have since fallen through.