Why Louis C.K. Is Leaving ‘Louie’

Louis C.K. is leaving his revolutionary television show, Louie, behind, and he has recently explained why. In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, and on a recent landmark episode of Marc Maron’s fantastically popular podcast, “WTF,” Louis C.K. first hinted at, and then gave more concrete reasons as to why he’s letting his FX series, Louie, finally lay to rest.

Louis C.K. wrote and directed much of Louie, and of course starred in all of it. While other comics pine for a leading role on a straight-ahead sitcom, Louis C.K. did his own thing from the beginning. More “dramedy” then “comedy,” Louis C.K.’s show hit some hard topics, and most of it was based on his actual life. In the show, he’s divorced and has two young girls. In his real life, he’s divorced and has two young girls. In the show, he’s an up and coming comedian. In real life he’s an up and coming… well, okay – in real life he’s a superstar.

Shortly before his show hit the airwaves on FX, Louis C.K. was one of the most popular stand-up comedians out there. His specials were a must-see, his tour dates were mostly sold out, and his rotations on the nightly talk shows were watercooler material for weeks.

The interesting thing about Louis C.K. is not only his adherence to quality comedy but also to quality entertainment. He’s always had an interest in filmmaking and has done everything in his power to learn as much about the craft as possible. Last year, when Louis C.K. had wrapped on the last season of Louie, instead of jumping at the chance to linger on in what he’d seen as a played-out television show just to get another paycheck, the comedian did the unthinkable.

After being inspired by British television shows that mimicked stage plays, Louis C.K. started writing Horace and Pete. He didn’t know what it would lead to, he didn’t know if it would be on television, or if it would be a film, or what it would be… but he felt the need to write it. As he did, the characters started to come into focus. Louis C.K. knew that he would be in it, but he made a definitive decision that his character would be nothing like he was in real life, or, for that matter, like the character that he plays on Louie. C.K. also made the bold move to fund the project himself.

Steve Buscemi was the next actor to come into the mix after Louis C.K. made a casual phone call to him to see if he would be interested. Jessica Lange and Edie Falco were persuaded to come on board after C.K. approached them at an Emmy appearance. Joe Pesci was originally approached to play the role of Uncle Pete. Joe Pesci declined but gave Louis C.K. continuing advice about the stories and the scripts. Next, C.K. tried to get none other than Jack Nicholson to play the role, utilizing his relationship with Lorne Michaels to give Nicholson the script. What happened next is the stuff of Hollywood legend. As C.K. told Marc Maron, Nicholson called him back, told him the script was incredible but declined the offer. When Louis asked if he could persuade him to change his mind, Nicholson told him the following.

“You know what I did today? I went outside and sat under a tree and read a book. And then I came back inside.”

That was all the iconic actor needed to say. C.K. then said that Nicholson talked with him at length about the script and how great he thought it was.

Next, the idea of Alan Alda as Uncle Pete was brought up. At first, Louis C.K. was reportedly hesitant having Alda play the role, but after meeting with the legendary actor, the comedian realized that he had the opportunity to have an icon in his show and agreed to Alda on the spot.

Horace and Pete was released solely through C.K.s website. So, what did that mean for Louie?

“I think the guy that I played on the show — the just-divorced kinda under-water dad/struggling New York comic — I don’t think I have stories for that guy anymore. But the show is autobiographical, so what [FX president and general manager] 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 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.”

It’s clear that Louis C.K. isn’t finished entertaining us. He executive produced Baskets with Zach Galifianakis, and it’s certain that he isn’t finished making us laugh or making us think. It just probably won’t be with Louie.

[Feature Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Scleroderma Research Foundation]