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(Cbr) You may not know The Birthday Boys, but you’ll definitely recognize quite a few of the faces on "The Birthday Boys," the sketch comedy group’s TV show that returns for a second season tonight at 11:30 on IFC. The Birthday Boys — Jefferson Dutton, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hanford, Tim Kalpakis, Matt Kowalick, Mike Mitchell and Chris VanArtsdalen — started as a stage show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, and caught plenty of high-profile attention over the years; notably Bob Odernkirk and Ben Stiller (who have a shared history on sketch comedy with Fox’s short-lived but fondly remembered 1992 series The Ben Stiller Show). Odenkirk and Stiller serve as executive producers on "The Birthday Boys" TV show, with Odenkirk appearing frequently in the show’s first season. This year, though Odenkirk retains a presence on "The Birthday Boys," his schedule (including filming "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better...

When IFC ordered a series from Los Angeles sketch-comedy group the Birthday Boys, the septet wasn’t starting from scratch: Not only did it have eight years of performance experience under its belt, but it also had Bob Odenkirk—a man whose face belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of sketch comedy—as a collaborator, frequent star, and executive producer. That said, television remained a new frontier for the Birthday Boys, and the 10 episodes they made last year—now available on Netflix—provided a crash course in TV production for them. Ahead of the season 2 premiere of The Birthday Boys tonight at 11:30 Et on IFC,...

Yes, Bob Odenkirk is returning to the world of weekly sketch comedy series. Nope, it’s not in the form of Mr. Show. (Though, if you said that, you’ve got guts… the guts of a man who’s fired!). Odenkirk and Ben Stiller — who teamed up in the early ’90s on Fox’s short-lived, Emmy-winning The Ben Stiller Show — are the executive producers of The Birthday Boys, which premieres Oct. 18 at 10:30 p.m. on IFC. Look for Odenkirk to appear regularly on the show as well. (And, of course, on the Breaking Bad spin-off featuring Saul Goodman. And on Fargo.

"The Birthday Boys," a new IFC sketch series from the Los Angeles-based troupe of the same name, will premiere on the network on October 18th at 10:30pm. The half-hour series, which has been given a 10-episode first season run, comes from executive producers Bob Odenkirk and Ben Stiller, who have some experience in matters of comedy. Odenkirk, in fact, seems to be using the time available to him now that "Breaking Bad" is ending to really get back to his "Mr. Show" roots -- he's not only a writer on the series, he's set to appear in every episode in the first season. The "Boys" are Jefferson Dutton, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hanford, Tim Kalpakis, Matt Kowalick, Mike Mitchell and Chris VanArtsdalen, who've made a name for themselves performing at La's Ucb Theatre and the Just for Laughs Festival. "We're happy to finally give Bob Odenkirk and Ben Stiller the platform for their big break,...

The Ben Stiller and Bob Odenkirk-produced sketch series "The Birthday Boys" has been given an Oct. 18 premire date on IFC. Odenkirk, the "Breaking Bad" star who's character, Saul Goodman, may get his own spin-off, is the honorary eighth member of the Birthday Boys, a sketch group whose members include Jefferson Dutton, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hanford, Tim Kalpakis, Matt Kowalick, Mike Mitchell and Chris VanArtsdalen. The first season will feature ten half-hour episodes. "We're happy to finally give Bob Odenkirk and Ben Stiller the platform for their big break," The Birthday Boys said...

IFC has ordered two new comedies to add to their roster: "The Spoils of Babylon," starring Will Ferrell and produced by Ferrell and Adam McKay, and "The Birthday Boys," a new sketch show starring a popular Los Angeles comedy troupe produced by Ben Stiller and Bob Odenkirk.

"The Spoils of Babylon," which will be made in partnership with Funny Or Die, will be a parody of an "epic" mini-series about a war-torn oil dynasty, in the vein of "The Thorn Birds" and "Winds of War." Ferrell collaborators Matt Piedmont and Andrew Steele are also co-producing and co-writing, and Piedmont is directing.

Ferrell will play Eric Jonrosh, the author of the (fictional) story on which the mini-series is based. (If that's confusing, imagine that George R.R. Martin had a presence in "Game of Thrones.") The rest of the cast has yet to be announced.

"This is a crazy and maybe even a stupid idea,...