Monday, September 19, 2011

1621 - Louie: season one

I was late to this series, and I've got a whole other season to catch up on still.  But that's the best thing about discovering a new show that you love - that there's this treasure trove of goodness for you to just dive into - and that's exactly how I feel about this show.
It's hard to explain what this series is about.  For those that don't know Louis CK is a stand-up comic, and in my opinion, one of the most intelligent, hilarious, and heart-breaking that there is.  There is an emotion behind his comedy that just resonates with me - it's like listening to a kindred spirit.  A lot of his stuff is about family and things revolving around that - and his signature style is that he's a bit rough an inappropriate, but you know that it all comes from a place of love.
It's a difficult show in terms that there aren't really structured episodes - it became slightly more structured near the end of this season, but it's mostly watching Louie do some stand-up and then there are these scenes/skits/whatever-you-want-to-call them that help illustrate the point.  Those scenes are hilarious mostly because they come from a place of frightening honesty.  There is a level of comedy going on here that I think could make most comedy writers jealous.  It's pretty inspiring stuff, and you know that it all comes from a place in his life that's more often than not, painful. 
It's even more impressive to know how much work Louis puts into this show - he writes and directs each episode and edits a fair share of it as well.  I'm really excited to see the next season of this.  I'm even more excited knowing that it's network FX, is on it's way to Canada.  Here's hoping they're looking to make the same quality of show here.  If you're a fan of stand-up comedy, especially Louis CK's, then this is something that you don't want to miss.

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