Louie

Seinfeld revolved around a stand-up comedian constantly sabotaged by the catastrophic social faux pas of himself and the people inextricably involved in his life, intercut with performance sets by the actual comic. So is Louie. But where Seinfeld was purportedly "a show about nothing," Louie is a show in which from moment to moment, you can safely expect nothing. Not only does Louis C.K. straddle the gaps in social protocol and everyday confrontations we all understand, but also the extremes of comedy and tragedy. It's a gallows comedy, in which we can find ourselves laughing in elation at the both wry and surreal absurdity of one moment, then clenching our chair arms in both tension and incredulity at moments of agonizing pain and even at times a true sense of impending brutality.

There is no continuity from one episode to the next, or even from one vignette to the next. Each episode is comprised of usually two scenarios book-ended by stand-up sets by Louie, which may or may not turn out to be part of one of the scenes. It's the direct inversion by an observant everyman's misanthrope of the TV sitcom. Whereas every sitcom we've ever seen has one essential soundstage, an ongoing play-like farce that runs before two cameras, all the same characters show up and everything not only works out but is just the same as before by the end, each week Louie will give a stream of consciousness an unsystematic narrative silhouette almost invariably a sequence of encounters with characters who enter and exit, yet very few ever return. Some actors and actresses return in different roles. Louie's mother is at one point played by an old woman as an appalling malignant narcissist and in another episode a humble, warm-hearted young working-class woman.

The show is written, directed and edited by its star, and he creates a visually realistic look and atmosphere for his small stories, captured quite cinematically. In the God episode, arguably the boldest, most powerful episode, he injects solemn amber tones, almost I dare say comparable to Gordon Willis' work on the Godfather films. There is a considerable proliferation of long takes in which two characters will share dialogue that sounds and feels no less real than that which we'll share with someone tomorrow. Sometimes, he's bold enough to prolong a single, stationary take in which nothing is being said on-camera, but all the action that affects the character in the shot is occurring off-camera, and in that very single take, we're carried seamlessly and steadily from deadpan absurdity to genuine terror. Then comes the cut: Life goes on; nothing's really that big of a deal. Simply put, each week, C.K. delivers one or two of the most powerful and memorable short films you may ever see.

This show as everything else can be compared to other shows but it is its own in many ways. First of which can be said is kudos to Louis C.K. is he greatly underrated and should be a much more respected star. His comedy is genuine and honest and i know it sounds corny but his show feels very real the dialogue and the situations are how real life i think would be. I've heard it be compared to seinfeld but the only comparison is that there are clips of louie doing stand up, the actual show is nothing like it. Also id like to commend FX on giving it time to grow, they are a very good network for that, same with SUNNY IN PHILLY, that show grew into an excellent show. Shows get canceled to quickly. Anyways to sum up. Louie gets a 10/10, its just my opinion.

Louis CK is a genius and he once again proves it by making this miraculously humorous show.

The humor is of the best kind - dry and effective, and Louie faces some real problems that are common for all of us at one point - aging and going through tough (but hilarious) changes in life... Seeing THAT from Louie's point of view is particularly interesting... The show itself is refreshing new gem in the sea of mediocre popular boringness that we see today on TV.

Anyway, I think that this show is underrated and needs more reviews...

Can't wait for the second season!

Say what you will about Louis C.K. but his talents as a director, writer and actor are truly incredible. The writing in "Louie" is at times hilariously vulgar and other times touching and sad; there are moments of sincere honesty and other times of complete bizarreness. That is one of the ways the show is truly one-of-a-kind - you simply don't know what you'll get in any particular episode. Aside from that, the acting, directing and cinematography are all fantastic in their own right. If you're not ready to commit to the show, watch Horace and Pete (2016) and you'll be running to see more from this man shortly after. Masterpiece Television. 👏

I watched this show for the first time last week after Wilfred (another great new show), and I must say - Louie is wondrously on a WHOLE new level. Where have I been?! Yes, the show is quite explicit, vulgar, and just plain dirty - all of which I'm not a huge fan, but the writing/dialogue depicts the everyday thoughts and issues that are really running in the minds of the rest of us, but we're just too afraid to speak our minds. That's what really amazes/captures me about this show. It is rough around the edges submerged with complex, bizarre, vulgar situations, yet the overall tone of the show is so...simple, mundane. This very stark contrast is not only captivating and mind-blowing, it is very intense and disturbing to the human psyche. It is just a whole new level of comedy. I am thoroughly and mindbogglingly wow-ed.