In Praise of LOUIE...

Ok... So...

I (try to) make my living writing for TV, and I have to say that as a fan of the boob tube we have been going through some golden years, especially in Drama (The Wire, Sopranos etc.) and with the emergence of AMC with amazing shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men and the cool looking Rubicon... things are good, and seem to be getting better. Comedy, however is another story...

Things are unbelievably grim in the 22 minute half hour, and other than upstarts like Modern Family and a Curb run every 18 to 24 months nobody is bringing any funny shows to the party. Now, I know there are a lot of people who love Big Bang Theory and 30 Rock(used to love it, but 30 Rock jumped the shark 2 years ago) but the problem seems to me that these shows are just doing more of the same.

For me the problem seems to be a lack of innovation, single camera shows are just doing their best Arrested Development impersonations and every multi-camera show seems content doing their best "Every multi-camera show" impersonation. I thought that was the case until I stumbled upon the funniest and most innovative comedy show, perhaps ever. As the title of this post alluded to, I'm talking about FX's new show "Louie" created, written, staring, directed, and edited by one of the worlds funniest stand ups Louis CK.

Now, Louis' early career has resembled a lot of really successful comics. In that his best work, by far, is the work he'd done alone on stage. Everything else has paled by comparison, always somewhat watered down or tame a truly square peg in the round hole of film and TV. That was until FX stepped up to the plate and handed him 300 grand per episode. And that is not what you think. I mean they write him a check for 300 grand and uses that money to make a show, and they(the network) get virtually no input into the finished product. To put that in some kind of perspective, the kid from "2 and Half Men" makes close to 500 grand per episode. So with complete creative control CK has been able to take the best of himself (his stand up) and find a way to work it into his show, sometimes directly.

But that's not the most amazing thing, "Louie" is without question the most personal TV show I've ever seen, and like most things personal, CK not only brings the comedy, he also brings the tragedy. Just by watching this clip, it's clear there is nothing like it on TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-55wC5dEnc

See what I mean? It goes from some of the most obscene dick jokes to an incredibly poignant story and political statement. When was the last time you've seen that on a sitcom... I'll tell you, never. "Louie" is full of bizarre twists like that. Another example is this past weeks episode. Louie's 85 year old mother comes to visit and reveals that she is now a lesbian and she wants to take Louie and his brother to dinner to meet her new "wife." And when they arrive the new "wife" is an absolutely gorgeous 20 something. Now my explanation isn't doing it justice but believe me it's very funny.

It's hard to get across how excited I am about this show (which was just renewed for a second season, yay), all I can say is this... Every once in a while, as a writer, I see something that makes me say "dammit, I wish I'd have written that," and Louis CK's new show "Louie" now has me doing that every week.