The writer's strike may have delayed the fifth season return of Rescue Me until next spring, but Sony Pictures Television and FX will deliver ten minisodes of new, original content of the critically acclaimed series from Denis Leary and Peter Tolan, which will air commercial-free on FX, Tuesdays at 10 PM ET/PT beginning on June 24th.
Each of the five-minute minisodes will feature Denis Leary and the rest of the show's ensemble cast in weekly comedic, standalone episodes, and will be available the day following the FX telecast.
"Fans of Rescue Me have come to expect their favorite show to run during the summer, but because of the delay in production due to the writer's strike that wasn't a possibility," said John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks. "These minisodes are hysterical and will provide fans the opportunity to enjoy the characters they have come to love. The minisodes are designed to keep the series top-of-mind in preparation for next season's 22 consecutive episodes, which will be an unprecedented single-season run of a scripted series on basic cable."
"Denis, Peter, Jim Serpico & their team were enthusiastic about keeping the show salient, and this is a smart way to give viewers their much needed Rescue Me fix this summer," said Zack Van Amburg, co-president, programming and production, Sony Pictures Television. "It's an added bonus that we'll be able to leverage the studio's existing digital network to deliver the minisodes to a vast online audience," added co-president Jamie Erlicht.
The minisodes will feature Rescue Me's regular cast, which in addition to Leary includes: Adam Ferrara, Michael Lombardi, Steven Pasquale, Andrea Roth, John Scurti, Daniel Sunjata, and Callie Thorne. Some of the storylines fans can anticipate are: Sean (Pasquale) struggling to hold up to his fast in the face of great adversity — Lou's (Scurti) homemade doughnuts; the gang discussing their criteria for a good bar; and Tommy's (Leary) erotic fantasies taking a turn for the worse, much to the delight of his ball-busting bunkmates. They will be written by Leary, Peter Tolan, and Evan Reilly, and will be directed by John Fortenberry.
