The arrival of Horace and Pete has made life without Louie a lot more tolerable. Its existence essentially begs the question: “Could this have filled Louie‘s slot instead?” It turns out, it probably could’ve, but Louis C.K. was having no part of it.
FX Networks CEO John Landgraf was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter and one of the topics that came up was C.K.’s new show. He told the publication that he wasn’t caught offguard by the launch of Horace and Pete. Why? He was already in the know. While he was initially taken aback by C.K.’s plan of self-finance and drop without warning on his website, Landgraf admired the multi-talented comedian’s gumption.
“Honestly, what do you say to someone who is that audaciously ambitious? Someone who says basically, ‘I want to do everything. I want to be head of marketing, head of publicity, I want to do your job, I want to be the investor, I want to write it, direct it, produce it, star in it, I’m going to go raise the money, get the cast.’ You stand back in awe and say, ‘Go for it, my brother.'”
Go for it, indeed. The series has been greeted with mostly positive reviews since its debut, and the question was raised if FX would like to serve as a second window for the show. It was a scenario Landgraf projects as unlikely in the immediate future.
“Not at the moment. I watch it and I like it and I email him about it as a friend. The nature of the way things work now is that if Horace and Pete gets Emmy nominations for any of the fantastic cast or for the writers or the directors or the show itself, the nominated network will be LouisCK.net. It goes to the entity that aired it first, so ultimately a lot of the brand value of the show has accrued to Louis, as it should, because he made it and distributed it himself.”
Louie is currently on extended hiatus as C.K. attends to other projects. Projects like Horace and Pete lessen the sting a bit and give fans their regular dosage of C.K.’s signature misanthropic wit as they wait for Louie‘s return.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
