The momentum behind comedian and actor Louis C.K.'s career just seems to roll forward. His show which airs on FX, "Louie," picked up two Emmy nominations for its first season. Its second season got even more attention and critical acclaim (which will likely result in more award nominations, if not wins).
Then C.K. self-produced and released his latest stand-up special "Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater" in December and the results were positively world changing. In handling all the financial aspects of the special's production personally, Louis was able to market his product directly to his fans for a cheap price of five dollars and even had enough goodwill credit with the Internet community at large that he was able to avoid having his profits zapped by online pirates. Apparently asking nicely is a good way to keep people from stealing one's material.
The special did so well, in fact, that the comedian was able to recoup his expenses, pay bonuses to his staff and also give away a sizable sum of money to several domestic and foreign charities. On an appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" last month C.K. gave full disclosure of the financial side of the special, from what he kept to the bonuses to the charitable amounts. This "above board" and honest approach also was a big key in helping stave off piracy.
As if that wasn't enough for C.K., CBS just announced that it has picked up a pilot for an untitled comedy show created and written by Louis himself. The show's focus will be around a group of young artists struggling to make it big in their chosen career paths. The show will be executive produced by C.K., Gail Berman, Spike Ferestein and Lloyd Braun.
This will mark yet another tie between C.K. and the medium of television. Over the years Louis has worked quite a bit on television. He got a big break early in his career when late night icon David Letterman brought him onto his writing staff for his "Late Show." He also served as a writer for another late night titan, Conan O'Brien, during the very first years that O'Brien hosted "Late Night" on NBC.
When it comes to starring in his own shows, Louis actually had two other shows before the smash hit "Louie." "Oh, Louie" was a multi-camera sitcom that C.K. has gone on record as absolutely hating, and even parodied the situation in an episode of "Louie" in its second season. Then in 2006 he did another run at a multi-camera sitcom, but this time on HBO. The show's content could be more mature, and the show was actually well received by critics, however the show was canceled in its first season.
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