Fuck Yeah, Louis C.K.

• Author: Jesse Carp
  published: 2012-04-04 19:23:02

The story of Party Down is all too familiar. Another great show, well written and impeccably acted, that didn’t find enough viewers and therefore prematurely bit the dust. The great cast have all landed pretty much on their feet, several nabbing supporting stints on big shows like Glee, Parks and Recreation or New Girl. And even though Ryan Hansen’s unfortunately titled first post-Party Down seriesFriends With Benefits didn’t last its first year, he’s got another two tries at it this season. 

Deadline announced that Hansen has just been cast in the upcoming, and still untitled comedy from Louis C.K. and Spike Feresten set up at CBS. This co-starring gig for the comedians’ new pilot comes on the heels of his Fox comedy El Jefe, which started production last month. The Fox series stars Hansen as a 30 something who’s finally kicked out of his parents house only to move in with his adoring childhood nanny. Since Hansen’s locked in as the lead on El Jefe, the CBS pilot he just booked is in second position, with him signing on as a guest star with an option to become a series regular. 

Covering his bases is certainly a smart idea, especially with how things turned out for Hansen’s sitcom last season, but I can’t help but wonder if the pilot in second position should be his top priority. The CBS comedy not only boasts big names like Louis C.K. and Spike Feresten (a writer from Seinfeld and briefly a talk-show host), but the story also sounds much more promising. The potential series would follow a group of young artists trying to find creative success in the tough financial climate. Hansen will be the pilot’s co-lead and roommate to Dan Byrd (Easy A), with the former playing a stoner musician and the latter a sardonic and struggling film editor. I hope one of the two pilots lead to a permanent gig for Hansen because he was always hilarious as Kyle on Party Down and deserves a show that sticks around.

• Published Friday, Apr 6 2012, 9:26pm EDT | By Justin Harp

Louis CK has described his critically acclaimed series Louie as a passion project.

The comedian writes, directs and stars in the FX series as a troubled stand-up comic whose life often descends into surrealistic adventures.

In an interview with The Wrap, Louis CK said that he values having creative control over the low-budget series much more highly than starring in a network sitcom.

“For my scale, how I grew up and live my life, I’m making plenty of money. I’ve been paid more, so it’s a voluntary downtick in money for an enormous amount of fulfilment,” he explained.

“It’s well worth it. It only gets more worth it. It would be very hard to go the other way and take a bunch of money for something I don’t want to do.”

Louis CK has agreed to give up some control for Louie’s third season by turning over the editing to Susan Morse, who worked with Woody Allen on films like Hannah and her Sisters and Radio Days.

“I only was willing to give up editing if I could get the best editor in the world, and I think that’s what she is. I wasn’t looking for any editor, I was looking for Susan Morse,” the comic declared.

Louie premiers its third season on June 28 on FX.

The critically acclaimed FX comedy “LOUIE” Season 2 arrives on Blu-ray and DVD with even more uncomfortable moments and hilarious antics on June 19th from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Loosely based upon the life of Emmy® Award winning comedian Louis C.K., “LOUIE” is about a 41-year-old divorced stand-up comedian trying to meet people, raise kids, and score with women.

“LOUIE” Season 2 Blu-ray and DVD comes with exclusive bonus materials and features performances from guest stars including Ricky Jervais Gervais(“The Office”) and Joan Rivers (“Fashion Police”).

Read more: http://tv.broadwayworld.com/article/LOUIE-Season-2-on-Blu-ray-and-DVD-June-19-20120404#ixzz1r7KkxUPh

• 03/22/2012

Louis C.K. has been known to push boundaries with his raunchy stand-up, and now he’s pushing boundaries in a completely different arena — as an entrepreneur. Last December, C.K. released “Live at the Beacon Theater” on his website for $5, and the success of that has inspired other comedians, including Aziz Ansari, who released his own special online this week, to follow suit.

The C.K. special was self-produced and funded, allowing him complete control over its distribution. One of his first entrepreneurial decisions was to make the content accessible — which means it’s also easy to share or pirate — “against well-informed advice,” C.K. said on his website. “I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without any ‘corporate’ restrictions. Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I’m just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can’t stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the video, and let other people find it in the same way.”

So far, the business experiment has paid off, with C.K. making $1 million in sales within 12 days, which he split between production costs ($250,000), bonuses to staffers ($250,000) and donations to charities ($280,000), keeping just $220,000 for himself. And now other comedians are following C.K.’s digital footsteps by applying the small-business model to their comedy acts, skipping the middleman and shaking up the studios and corporations that have traditionally profited from these comedy specials.

On Tuesday, comedian Aziz Ansari of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” released his new special, “Dangerously Delicious,” on his website for $5. Both C.K. and Ansari have made not only ease of use but also fan interaction a priority, by doing a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) (C.K.’s AMA got nearly 10,000 comments) and even solving customer service problems via Twitter. “It seems like this is the thing to do at this moment when so much is changing and nobody’s really figured out how to do anything,” Ansari said. “In this era, the way people consume media, the way people release media has not caught up.”

Also joining the trend is comedian Jim Gaffigan, who will release “Jim Gaffigan: Mr Universe” next month digitally for $5, with $1 of each purchase going to charity. “If no one buys the special or if lots of people steal it, then I suppose I will lose a lot of money and have egg on my face,” Gaffigan said on his website. “But then again I have four kids so I am always losing money and usually have egg or some kind of food on my face so it might just feel normal.”

These comedians are taking a high-risk, high-reward chance on making a profit. And like all entrepreneurs, they’re depending on their fans/customers to prove the model is sustainable. But maybe the connection between comedians and serious business isn’t so unlikely after all. “It makes sense that comedians would embrace something like this,” Ansari said. “Comedians are used to being autonomous anyway.”

Episode description: Leslie and Ben run into Dave (Louis C.K.) while meeting with the Chief of Police. Andy searches for a song to represent Leslie’s campaign.