Adult Swim announced yesterday that the Childrens Hospital spinoff Newsreaders is returning to the network. A second-season pickup had been rumored for a while, but it’s official now, with plans in place to begin shooting in January. No premiere date has been set, but we can only hope that Ray Wise’s Skip Reming will be featured prominently in the new episodes.
The 15-minute show debuted last January and did well, or to put it in Deadline terms, “was No. 1 in its time slot in key young men demos.” If it’s one thing young men love, it’s parodies of newsmagazines that satirize the over-serious, frequently alarmist tone of similar shows. (From episode one: “Tonight on Newsreaders, we take you inside the world-famous Sneed-Normandy Youth Golf Academy: breeding ground for world-class professional golfers or training camp for al Qaeda sleeper cells?”) No, seriously, they apparently do.
Mather Zickel anchors the show as Louis La Fonda, with support from correspondents Kumail Nanjiani, Dannah Phirman, Beth Dover, and Alison Becker, along with Andy Rooney stand-in Wise. There’s no word yet if they’re all returning, but don’t call the second season a “game-changer.” If you do, Wise pop you right in your word hole, brother.