Louis C.K decided to take 19 months off his hit FX comedy, ‘Louie’, which returns for a fourth season on Monday, May 5. For most showrunners, and CK is more than a showrunner, by the way, part of the reason they get paid so well is their ability to produce the goods on time. But FX are constantly being rewarded for handing creative control over to CK. 

Louie"Louie" is back for a fourth season

“Yes, the show benefits from superb performances, from series regulars, as well as guest stars like Sarah Silverman and Victor Garber. But it's the writing that puts Louie on the highest possible level of comedy. There simply is no better-written comedy on TV today,” wrote David Wiegand of The San Francisco Chronicle of the show’s apparently triumphant return. 

Positive reviews have seen the show hit the 92 mark on Metacritic, a score usually reserved for the latest episode of Game of Thrones. “Even if the radiant humor occasionally tends a bit toward the local, as in the brilliant season opening involving members of the DSNY, the point of view is so effortlessly relatable in its humble assertions,” says Slant Magazine’s Chris Cabin. 

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“C.K. has no interest in making a conventional comedy -- still doesn't, never did -- but something that is occasionally funny often is not, and he couldn't really give a damn whether you approve of the dramatic shifts or not,” writes Verne Gay for Newsday. “As such, "Louie" also remains something of a solipsistic viewing experience, best savored alone possibly because it's his solo journey through a baffling universe that keeps its inhabits -- Louie in particular -- precariously off-balance.”