From creators/executive producers Jared and Jerusha Hess, Napoleon Dynamite is an animated series on Fox, based on the hit film and following the comic adventures of America’s most awesomely awkward teenager and his offbeat family and friends, as they navigate small-town life in rural Idaho. With the original cast of the film (including Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Sandy Martin and Diedrich Bader) back to voice their roles, the first set of episodes also features an impressive guest cast with Amy Poehler, Jennifer Coolidge, Sam Rockwell and Jemaine Clement.

While at the TCA Winter Press Tour, Jared and Jerusha Hess sat down with Collider for this exclusive interview and talked about how the animated series came about, how excited the cast was to reprise their roles, how freeing it was to be able to do anything with the story in an animated version, and that Jared is doing about half a dozen different voices himself. They also talked about what their next projects might be, and Jerusha talked about her directorial debut, Austenland (based on the novel about a woman obsessed with the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, who travels to a Jane Austen theme park in search for her perfect gentleman), starring Keri Russell and produced by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

Midseason is just around the corner, and now Fox is chiming in with their premiere dates for new and returning series. First of all, let’s just get this out of the way, the reality competition giant American Idol will return for its eleventh season on Wednesday, January 18th and 8/7c and Thursday January 19th at the same time.

Now let’s get on with the real series starting with Kiefer Sutherland’s return to Fox with Touch from Heroes creator Tim Kring debuting on Wednesday, January 25th at 9/8c. That’s a prime slot right after an airing of American Idol too. However, the series run won’t actually start until Monday, March 19th at 9/8c. For more premiere dates and times for shows like Alcatraz, Breaking In, The Finder, Napoleon Dynamite and returning shows like New Girl and Glee, hit the jump.

Seven years after it became a breakout hit and cult classic, Napoleon Dynamite is being resurrected as an animated show on Fox in 2012. The new series will feature voices from the original cast, including Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Diedrich Bader, Jon Gries, Tina Majorino, Sandy Martin and Haylie Duff. These cast members, along with executive producer Mike Scully, were at Comic-Con to screen never-before-seen footage from the show and, after the panel, everyone participated in roundtable interviews with the press.

Bader said the script for Napoleon Dynamite is “still to this day, one of the two top scripts I’ve ever read,” the other one being the script for Office Space. Bader also said the animated show is just as hilarious as the movie. “We’ve continued the world of Napoleon. It’s very specific to that sense of humor. It’s extremely important that Jared and Jerusha [Hess] are on there, but also to have a really sympathetic writer like Mike Scully. It’s been fun. I get to play a bunch of different characters that I wouldn’t normally be cast as, like a Liger. Normally, that wouldn’t be in my roundhouse.” Check out what else he had to say about working on the new series after the jump:

In what looks to be a good sign for the new animated series, Fox has apparently already ordered more scripts for both Napoleon Dynamite and Allen Gregory. While the adaptation of the quirky feature film of the same name received an order for seven more scripts, the Jonah Hil-produced series snagged an order for six more scripts. However, Vulture is careful to note that this is not the same as a full fledged order for more episodes. Likely Fox is still waiting on the ratings to turn up after the shows premiere in the fall before making that decision. However, with animated shows, since they take longer to produce, ordering the scripts in advance just makes sense. If you haven’t yet seen anything from these two new animated series, check out our previous post on Fox’s uprfronts presentation for clips and details.

Hot off the heels of NBC releasing full trailers for their new slate of series set to debut next season, Fox has unveiled trailers for their new series. All in all, the most promising pilots based on the trailers seem to be Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi series Terra Nova and the Zooey Deschanel-fronted comedy New Girl (if only because of the inordinate amount of cuteness that Deschanel brings to every scene).

On the other hand, the Jamie Pressly-starred sitcom I Hate My Teenage Daughter looks painfully unfunny, and Napoleon Dynamite is simply a re-tread of territory that’s completely outdated. J.J. Abrams’ Alcatraz looks promising, but its similarities to NBC’s contrived (and now cancelled) The Event give me a bit of pause. Judge for yourself after the jump with the trailers for these series plus Jonah Hill’s animated show Allen Gregory and the Bones spinoff The Finder.

Fox has stepped up to the plate to announce their TV schedule for 2011-2012 which includes a slew of new comedies and dramas, and one new unscripted series if that sort of things tickles your fancy. Fox’s new series includes Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi adventure series Terra Nova, Zooey Deschanel in New Girl, Jamie Pressly in I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Jonah Hill’s new animated series Allen Gregory, an animated revival of Napoleon Dynamite, J.J. Abrams’ anticipated new series Alcatraz, the series The Finder from the creator of Bones, and Kiefer Sutherland’s return to TV at Fox with Touch. Oh, and if you care, Simon Cowell’s The X Factor is also coming to Fox.

After the jump you can check out Fox’s new schedule along with the official series synopses and first images for all the brand new series hitting the network.

Despite the buzz from last night’s Banksy-directed opening to The Simpsons, animation on Fox is pretty much dominated by Seth MacFarlene. However, Fox has just ordered two animated series outside of their go-to animation creators MacFarlene and Matt Groening as Vulture reports the network has ordered an animated series based on the surprise hit film Napoleon Dynamite and another animated comedy series called Allen Gregory featuring Jonah Hill.

Details on both of these new series can be found after the jump.

Writing and producing partners Jared and Jerusha Hess, who are also husband and wife, have made a career out of championing the underdog. With their quirky sense of humor and their inspiration from the unlikeliest of places, the duo’s success with “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre” have carved them a niche in Hollywood that they are quite happy with.

At the press day for “Gentlemen Broncos”, the Hesses talked about working with special effects for the first time and assembling the cast for this film about an outsider with big dreams trying to achieve what he wants to do in life. Continued after the jump: