Risky projects find a new home on FX

After experiencing unexpected, award-winning success with ”The Shield,” the FX net has become the place to be for the Hollywood creative community. Celebs like ”Mad About You”’s Paul Reiser and producers like ”Smallville”’s Mike Tollin are eagerly peddling projects to FX, which hopes to launch at least two original series and four original telefilms each year. Besides Reiser’s half-hour, NYC-based anthology (he’ll exec-produce and narrate) and Tollin’s drama about Miami plastic surgeons, FX is developing a political reality show with R.J. Cutler (”American High”) called ”American Candidate.” Movies on deck include a drama about the Pentagon Papers, with James Spader, and a biopic about Crips cofounder Tookie Williams starring Jamie Foxx. There’s even a chance FX will do a late-night talker with Orlando Jones (”Mad TV”). ”FX has definitely emerged as a chic place to do something more controversial than you could do at the networks,” says Nancy Etz, a senior literary agent at ICM. ”Writers are now thinking if they have something that’s right for HBO, they’d also like to try taking it to FX.” Just spare us ”Arlis$$.”