New projects light up TCA: cable networks put original spin on their pitches to critics.(Content)(Twentieth Century Fox Television)

New original projects highlighted the early portion of cable networks touting their fare at the two-week Television Critics Association summer press tour in Los Angeles.

FX renewed freshman comedy series Louie for a second season. FX president and general manager John Landgraf said at TCA the network ordered 13 episodes of the series, which premiered five weeks ago. The series, which follows the travails of a New York single dad/comic, airs Tuesdays at 11 p.m. and is averaging 778,000 viewers, per Nielsen. It will likely return at about the same time next year.

FX's current original programming strategy emphasizes comedy. The home of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia …