Louis C.K. Lands New Sitcom Deal

As you may have already heard, Louis C.K. and co-writer Spike Feresten have had their 13-year-old sitcom pitch picked up CBS, after the network passed on it back in 1999. The show - originally called Boomtown, though that's likely to change if the show goes to air, considering it's a name that's been used by another series, and wouldn't that be confusing - centers on a group of twenty-somethings trying to achieve their dreams in rough economic times. (Here would be where I would insert some glib comment about the fact that the economy always seems to be an issue in anything that Hollywood produces, but I'm better than that, really.)

I'm happy for C.K. The man has a huge amount of talent, and his work deserves to be seen by as many people as possible, and CBS would be the place to go to achieve that. But I'm also worried by this news because, well, it's CBS, and they're not really known for producing shows with a lot of artistic creativity. I have to wonder if C.K. - who's used to the larger freedoms granted to him by cable networks like HBO and (especially) FX - will be able to take this show through the network gristmill without losing his original vision. This has nothing to do with the FCC standard imposed on networks - as Alyssa Rosenberg points out, a lot of C.K.'s views on life can still air legally - just that I don't think the network would be willing to air such dark and nuanced material on the level that I know he's capable of producing.

And oh, did I mention that this show was a multi-camera sitcom? Because we all know how well Lucky Louie turned out. Fortunately, co-creator Feresten worked as a writer for sometime on Seinfeld, so there will be at least one voice in the room that knows how to make multi-cam work, and C.K.'s storytelling skills seems to have improved since his days at HBO, so I don't think that would be a problem. In fact, I would love for the two of them to create a traditional multi-cam that actually works, and to possibly bring about a revival of the formula. Let's just hope CBS doesn't fuck it up first.