FX may have new and exciting comedies on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean FX CEO John Landgraf has given up hope on Louie.
According to Deadline, the topic came up at the TCAs where Landgraf was speaking at a panel for FX. Landgraf didn’t offer much relief to those hoping to see more Louie soon, but it doesn’t sound like the show is dead in any regard.
“He said publicly that he just has no more Louie to make at the moment about the stage in life he is living, and right now his focus very aggressively is on producing,” said Landgraf. “I think my hope with Louie is that when he enters the next phase in his life — and I have no idea what that means, whether his kids get a little older or he falls in love, whatever — that will give him a pathway towards making more episodes of the show.”
Much of what Landgraf said echoes what Louis C.K. told The Hollywood Reporter on an episode of their Awards Chatter podcast back in May.
“I think the guy that I played on the show — the just-divorced kinda underwater dad/struggling New York comic — I don’t think I have stories for that guy anymore,” said C.K. “But the show is autobiographical, so what John Landgraf and I have always thought is that it may come back with a different set of stories from a different angle a little further down the road. And I don’t know where that’s from yet, so it just depends on if it writes. I think, for me, if I’m gong on TV again doing a single-camera show, it’s Louie. But I don’t know. I have no idea. I needed to not know if I’d ever do it again — I needed to feel that way — so that’s the way I feel right now.”
The Louie hiatus drew comparisons to another widely acclaimed semi-autobiographical comedy series, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Considering that the return of Larry David’s Curb was recently announced, Landgraf was asked if the announcement had any impact on C.K. returning to Louie.
“No, but I know he saw it. And he knows I know he saw it,” said Landgraf. “But ultimately I don’t want him to make more episodes unless he wants to and they can be as good a the ones he’s made. This shouldn’t be a business exercise; it should be something creatively inspiring for him.”
In the long hiatus on Louie, which has so far been over a year since season five, C.K. has kept himself extremely busy. The Golden Globe-nominated C.K. has lent his voice to Max in The Secret Life of Pets, and has created and starred in his self-financed dark comedy series Horace and Pete. C.K. is also producing multiple TV shows, including Amazon’s One Mississippi, FX comedies Better Things and Baskets (recently Emmy nominated for Louie Anderson), and an untitled animated project with Albert Brooks for FX.