IFC to grow Onion spin-off

US cable channel IFC is bringing irreverent satire brand The Onion to TV, commissioning a 10-part series to launch next year, based on the fake news organisation’s popular online webisodes.

Onion News Network (10×30′) will be inspired by the weekly newspaper and based on the web series of the same name, featuring nonsensical news, comedic headlines and over-the-top debates between the show’s news anchors and guests.

It will launch in the first quarter of 2011 and will be executive produced by Julie Smith and Will Graham, and produced by Area Man Productions. The exec producers for IFC are Jennifer Caserta, Evan Shapiro, Debbie DeMontreux and Christine Lubrano.

The commission marks the second attempt to bring The Onion to TV in a year, coming after Viacom-owned Comedy Central ordered a pilot for a half-hour scripted comedy series based on the Onion Sports Network web series in November.

As C21 reported yesterday, IFC has also teamed up with UK broadcaster Channel 4 for scripted comedy series The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, which is set to launch this fall.

Both shows come amid a new brand direction for IFC, which will be embodied by the new tagline ‘Always On. Slightly Off.’ In addition to the commissions, IFC has also acquired Kids In The Hall: Death Comes To Town and Dead Set, the latter being a satirical zombie horror series that aired in the UK on E4 in 2008.

“Our re-brand and new slate were driven by IFC evolving from being first and foremost about indie film to showcasing programming that’s ‘always on’ the mark, but with a ‘slightly off” indie perspective,” explained Jennifer Caserta, exec VP and general manager of IFC.

“It’s a perspective and attitude we share with our audience, who crave the kinds of unconventional stories, characters, talent, execution and, above all, authenticity, we provide.”