​The TV Academy is not the only one taking notice of new and emerging types of comedies on television.

The Emmy Awards have expanded its variety category to include sketch series (such as Portlandia, Inside Amy Schumer and Drunk History) as the television industry takes notice of increasingly successful shows of that ilk.

IFC is one of the networks paving the way for these types of shows (Comedy Bang Bang!, The Spoils Before Dying), and just showed its commitment Tuesday with the renewal of Fred Armisen and Bill Hader’s Documentary Now!, a faux docuseries that won’t even premiere until Thursday and has already been expanded to three total seasons. This marks the first time IFC has renewed a series before its premiere.

Documentary Now! stars Armisen and Hader in different roles each episode as they present a new documentary of fake subjects each week, each shot in a different filmmaking style.

Comedy Central also renewed Riki Lindhome and Natasha Leggero’s historical take on reality shows, Another Period, coming back for a second season next year.

Another Period is a parody of reality tropes (a la Keeping Up with the Kardashians) set in wealthy Rhode Island at the turn of the century, with an Upstairs/Downstairs element as they check in with the family’s scores of servants.

Documentary Now! has been receiving significant buzz leading up to its premiere, partly because of its stars Armisen and Hader with the backing of Executive Producer Seth Meyers. The SNL trio debuted the second episode on IFC.com, VICE and VOD platforms before its on-air debut and has already earned more than 250,000 views.

In its renewal announcement Tuesday, IFC added plans to extend Documentary Now!‘s first season by two episodes. The final faux documentary, “Gentle & Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee,” tells the story of a Chicago soft rock band’s rise to fame.

Comedy Central’s Another Period is just about to finish its first season’s 10-episode order, and now plans to return with another 10 episodes sometime next year. The show has been a big multi-platform hit for the network, claiming 4.6 million viewers have watched online clips, adding to 9 million total viewers. Comedy Central praised the show’s absurdity in its announcement on Twitter:

IFC and Comedy Central’s dedication to sketch and alternative comedy comes at a time when broadcast networks fall short of finding a new hit each fall season.

Some comedies have worked well, including black-ish and Last Man on Earth, but with a focus on limited series and dramas to rival Mad Men, cable has been the place to go in recent years for comedy.

IFC and Comedy Central are noticing their place in this niche and reveling in it - and with the departure of Key and Peele and Jon Stewart, Comedy Central is betting big on new alternative comedy voices.

[Image courtesy of IFC]

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