Fox to Launch Late-Night ‘Animation Domination High-Def’ Block in July

Cartoon block featuring voices of Patton Oswalt, Mandy Moore and others will offer a forum for "experimental and more interesting forms of animation"

Fox will launch Animation Domination High-Def, a late-night offshoot of its Sunday night Animation Domination comedy block, on July 27, the network said.

The block, which will feature the voice talents of Mandy Moore, Ken Marino, Patton Oswalt and others, will run from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Saturday nights.

Also read: Fox Chief Kevin Reilly: We 'Limped' Out of Fall Season

The first season of Animation Domination High-Def will include several 15-minute animated programs, including "Axe Cop," "High School USA" and an as-yet-untitled project from sibling comedy duo Kenny and Keith Lucas, aka The Lucas Brothers.

During a panel on the new animation block on Tuesday, Animation Domination High-Def head Nick Weidenfeld, formerly the head of development for the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, said that the block will provide a forum for "experimental and more interesting forms of animation." He also noted that it's possible that some of the projects could end up transitioning to the network's primetime Animation Domination block.

However, he added, "the stuff that we're making is not the exact same fare as a Sunday night broad comedy show… those shows need to be huge hits."

Featuring a cast that includes Oswalt, "Breaking Bad" alum Giancarlo Esposito and Jonathan Banks, and "Community" creator Dan Harmon, "Axe Cop" is the brainchild of five-year-old Malachai Nicolle and his 30-year-old brother, Ethan Nicolle. The series will follow a superhero who lives on a steady diet of birthday cake and dispenses his own unique brand of vigilante justice. Weidenfeld and "American Dad" vet Judah Miller developed the series, with Matt Silverstein and Dave Jeser of "Drawn Together" serving as executive producers and showrunners.

Meanwhile, "High School USA" revolves around a group of super-positive millennial students as they tackle modern perils such as cyber-bullying, Adderall addiction and embarrassing sexting incidents. "Community" and "TV Funhouse" veteran Dino Stamatopoulos created and is writing the show, which boasts a cast including Vincent Kartheiser of "Mad Men" and "Mandy Moore."

The untitled Lucas Brothers project, which is based on the siblings' stand-up comedy routine, follows the pair as they attempt to run a moving company, dubbed Va¢ation Boy$, after inheriting an old van from their uncle.

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