"Anarchy" at the TCA: Kurt Sutter, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal. Credit: Ray Mickshaw

Pretend for a moment that your favorite cable channels are people. The idea isn’t all that weird when you consider that discussing a channel’s brand identity is, in a sense, outlining its personality. HBO, for example, has a closet full of designer suits and couture dresses. AMC also dresses well, but has a hidden life involving hard liquor and drugs.

Then there’s FX. FX has a five o’clock shadow by 10 a.m.  FX is a beer and whiskey drinker, isn’t averse to getting into a scrap now and then, and has a rowdy sense of humor. If you need dirty work done, you call FX. He is the guy you love to hang with, but you’d stop short of inviting him to a formal affair.

That image is both to FX’s benefit and its detriment.  It’s home to some of the brashest, most thoughtfully-written series on television. That tradition began with “The Shield” and lives on with “Sons of Anarchy,” kicking off its third season Sept. 7 at 10.  In January it adds “Lights Out,” a drama about a boxer whose career is in a downward spiral, and “Terriers,” which follows a pair of down-on-their-luck private investigators, arrives Sept. 8.

FX just picked up Louis C.K.’s comedy “Louie” for a second 13-episode season, and is adding “Alabama” to its lineup. The latter take space in space, and was created by “Reno 911‘s”  Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon.

Meanwhile, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is getting a syndicated run on Comedy Central, which could set up its sixth season (starting Sept. 16) to be its most successful so far.

FX has hit its stride, in other words. Yet, it’s becoming rarer for FX’s dramas and casts to be invited to the industry’s most glamorous parties.  “Sons’” Katey Sagal nailed her role in season two, and in the springtime, Timothy Olyphant‘s portrayal of “Justified‘s” quietly simmering U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens seemed to be all that anyone could talk about. The fact that neither received an Emmy nod for their performances is a crime.

This is the curse of having great shows on a network most often associated with the words “raw” and “gritty,” terms that make awards voters shy. “Sons”  is about an outlaw biker club. Emmy can’t have that up there with a meth-cooking teacher, a serial killer and vampires, can it?. What would people think?

But FX president John Landgraf seemed unfazed by the snubs as he introduced panels for his network’s fall series on Tuesday. Landgraf considers himself in the business of promoting what he calls the literature of the common man and common woman, and he’s succeeding in that goal.

Look at the names on the network’s roster: Louis C.K., not only a great comedian but an ace comedy writer and director. Kurt Sutter, executive producer of “Sons of Anarchy,” whose story arcs display a fearlessness otherwise absent in the realm of basic cable or, really, anyplace else on TV.

“Boomtown’s” Graham Yost, the formidable brains behind “Justified.” Shawn Ryan, who has the midseason cop drama “Ride Along” coming to Fox in addition to FX’s private eye dramedy “Terriers,” for which he’s joined forces with screenwriter Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven, Ravenous).  In the world of television literature, they are all amazing authors.

So when the cast of “Sons of Anarchy” was asked for reaction to the Emmy snubs, nobody in the room was surprised when a few F-bombs were dropped — but then, none of the cast seemed too broken up about it either.

“Every year when the Emmys are announced, the stories that come out — half the
stories are about the nominations, and the other half of the stories are about the absurdity of the nominations and the snubs,” Sutter told critics. “So to me, perhaps that suggests that the system is somewhat flawed.”

“Yeah,” said Tommy Flanagan, who plays SAMCRO member Filip ‘Chibs’ Telford on the show. “Emmy, shmemmy.”

Read on for more from FX’s Press Tour day.

– Out of all the series we’ve seen over the past week, “Terriers” may be most pleasantly surprising.  It’s not that we weren’t expecting much; rather, we had no idea what to expect. The title doesn’t exactly tell you anything about the show…which is intentional.

“We are counting on you guys to help tell people what it’s about,” Ryan said playfully.

OK, then. “Terriers” is about two shaggy, stubborn private detectives –  Hank Dolworth, an ex-cop played by Donal Logue, whose weathered face and haggard deportment makes him perfect for the role, and his pal Britt Pollack, portrayed by Michael Raymond-James. The idea is that they’ll take just about any assignment, including cases that get them in situations far beyond their resources and abilities.

“Terriers’” lighter tone may take those who follow Ryan’s work by surprise, but we’re betting it’ll win fans easily once viewers sample it a few times.

– “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” castmates Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVito and Glenn Howerton also paid a visit to the TCA to promote the show’s sixth season, which  premieres on Sept. 16 at 10 p.m. (Missing was Charlie Day, who is busy filming a feature.) On the show’s list of topics to skewer in the new season are gay marriage, divorce and animal rights.

“Sunny’s” cast revels in putting controversial current topics through its own insane prism, but one thing they’ll have to deal with as a matter of necessity is the impending arrival of Olson and McElhenney’s firstborn. Instead of hiding Olson’s pregnancy, they made her character Sweet Dee pregnant as well. Dee will give birth in this season’s finale, which means the infant will be an official member of the crew as of next season.

A longer discussion with Olson, Howerton and McElhenney about how the baby will change things for the Paddy’s Pub gang will be posted soon.

Follow IMDbTV on Twitter for the latest announcements from the network and cable portions of Press Tour.