TBS adds 3 animated series as part of Friday block

ZAP2IT.COM
Three staples of Cartoon Network's late-night Adult Swim block are set to do double duty on TBS, which is launching its own wee-hours comedy lineup.
Animated series "Family Guy," "Futurama" and "Baby Blues" will be part of a new block of programming the cable network called "Too Funny to Sleep." The Friday-night block, which also includes the HBO sketch-comedy series "Mr. Show," is set to debut Oct. 1.
"Now that our prime-time and daytime lineups are up and running full steam ahead ... we're ready to explore a branded late night comedy block with Too Funny to Sleep," says Ken Schwab, senior vice president of programming at TBS. "To get us started, we've chosen 'Family Guy,' 'Futurama,' 'Mr. Show' and 'Baby Blues,' four proven hits with our target adults 18-34 demo."
The three animated series will continue to be part of the Adult Swim slate (TBS and Cartoon Network are both owned by Time Warner). Episodes of the shows in the TBS block, which will start at 1:15 a.m. ET, also won't air opposite their Cartoon Network counterparts.
The "Too Funny to Sleep" block is part of TBS' ongoing effort to rebrand itself as a comedy network under the slogan "TBS very funny." The network has a large roster of sitcom repeats in its rotation and is planning the rollout of several comedic unscripted series in the coming months.