‘Louie’: Hilarious FX sitcom from Louis C.K.
If you’re not already watching Louie, the hilarious new FX sitcom from stand-up comic Louis C.K., you’ve got a double opportunity tonight — at 10:13 (guest starring Ricky Gervais) and 10:44 p.m. Central time, bizarrely enough.
Besides performing stand-up comedy (he’ll be at The Riverside in Milwaukee on September 18), Louis C.K. has written for David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Chris Rock. He wrote and directed the movie Pootie Tang, and had a brief role on NBC’s Parks and Recreation.
In his FX show, Louis C.K. plays a stand-up comedian named Louie who, like himself, is a recently divorced father of two daughters. Each episode usually incorporates a few minutes of his comedy act relating to the topic at hand.
However, Louie is not Seinfeld. This show is for mature audiences only, with adult humor that is sometimes sparked by some surprisingly dark themes. There is a reason it airs so late (usually 10:01 Central on Tuesday nights; it’s on at 10:13 and 10:44 tonight because Sons of Anarchy will run long).
The uneasiness of its subject matter is one of the things that makes Louie so extraordinary and so funny. Subjects like bullying, drug abuse, molestation by a dentist, and even the excruciating details of Jesus Christ’s suffering and crucifixion have all been featured in storylines this season. Frequently, it’s hard to believe that these issues are unfolding in a TV comedy, but when they do, it’s not just for shock value. Louie takes the original sitcom idea — of comedy arising from difficult situations — and pushes it to a realistic extreme in our modern world.
Reacting to these sometimes harsh realities, Louie is an astonishingly honest character. He’s a slob like one of us — but a slob who’s well aware of his shortcomings and generally tries to deal as fairly as possible with his fellow human beings.
Louie is a pretty loosely structured show. Sometimes there’s a clear story, other times it’s more like a collection of peculiar vignettes. Always, though, there are some very memorable moments. For example, check out a hung over Louie venturing into the culture of a local coffee shop:
There’s ao much that I like about this show — beginning with its theme song, “Brother Louie” (a.k.a “Louie Louie”), a 1973 number one hit fpr the band Stories, re-recorded by Stories singer Ian Lloyd. You’ll find the Stories version of “Brother Louie” at Amazon.com or at iTunes. Ian Lloyd’s re-recording of the song, which sounds very much the same, is also at Amazon.com or at iTunes.
Tonight’s two episodes (10:15 and 10:44 p.m. Central) would be the final two of this season’s 13-episode run. However, Louie has been picked up for a second 13-episode season, and as of this writing, you can still watch previous episodes online at FXNetworks.com.
Louis C.K.’s website is LouisCK.net, and you can follow him on Twitter @louisck.
Louie: Season One
Update: Louie: Season One (DVD/Blu-ray Combo) and Louie: Season One (Instant Video) are both available at Amazon.com.
iTunes: Louie, Season 1 and Louie, Season 2 are both available via iTunes.
Louis C.K.: Hilarious
Louis C.K.’s Hilarious comedy special, filmed at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee during April 2009, is at Amazon.com as Louis C.K: Hilarious (DVD) and Louis C.K. Hilarious (Instant Video).
You can also find Louis C.K.: Hilarious on iTunes.
