Louis CK is Finally Back on FX

It's been more than a year and a half since there's been a new episode of "Louie" on FX, but that long, dark drought is about to come to an end when the series returns for its fourth season on May 5. Louis CK has taken his time crafting new episodes of his depressive-comedic show, but beginning this week, viewers will be treated to 14 of them over the next several weeks.

The new season of "Louie" will play out over seven weeks, with two episodes airing back-to-back each week, until the finale on June 16. That's an extremely short run considering how long fans have been waiting for new episodes, but it fits the show's style. Despite the fact that each episode is only a half hour long and usually extremely short on plot, each one represents a ton of work on the part of Louis CK; he writes, stars in, directs and edits every episode himself, so it's not surprising that he's not terribly prolific.

In fact, the dribbling out of new material is perfectly appropriate for the model that the series is following. Although, observers try to cast "Louie" as unclassifiably unique, the show is cast very much in the mold of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Like David, Louis CK roots his comedy in anger and self-loathing—even though his character comes off as quite a bit more likable than David's—and like "Curb," "Louie" stubbornly refuses to follow traditional narrative structure. And like David, Louis CK gives fans more of the series when he feels like it, not before.

CK took time off to "recharge" between seasons 3 and 4 of "Louie." Let's hope that when the brief fourth season of "Louie" flits by, Louie's batteries get back to full strength a little quicker than they did last time.