4 out of 5

Created by: Louis C.K.

What worked in discomfiting fits and starts on Louie works very, very well on Horace and Pete.  Continuing the logical progression in Louie C.K.’s career from sitcom, to cringe-comedy soap opera, to, now, tragic comedy – though “logical” here by no means suggests that I could have predicted this show – H and P pretty much functions like a play: it takes place on one or two open sets, with characters milling between the foreground and background; there’re acts and intermissions; there’s even a theme song by Neil Simon for chrissakes.  And like a play, it very much has its opening, introducing us to its leads bit by bit, its thematic threads, some minor denouements, and a grabbing conclusion, all presented with a flowing, accepting format that would seem to support slight improvisations and embellishments by its wondrous cast.  And like Louie C.K., the show is also very crass, and constantly melds humorous rants via the primary setting’s – a bar – dwellers (often played by familiar-faced comics) with the crushing realism of bar co-owner’s Horace’s (C.K.) failed family relations, his brother Pete’s (Steve Buscemi) encroaching insanity, his father’s (Alan Alda) brittle racism, and his sister’s (Edie Falco) flippant acceptance of her cancer treatments.  Sprinkled atop this are political and gender and social diatribes that may or may not express the opinions of anyone on the show but are certain to spur a raised eyebrow if not a discussion.  The wandering, seemingly plotless approach (we’ll call it “organic”) does take a while to warm to, though: in fitting with the C.K. vibe, it takes a couple of episodes to figure out whether you want to laugh at the show or get truly invested in its dramas, until you accept that there’s not really one-size-fits-all approach, which is what the chummy Louie has been trying to prove to us for years.

There are moments of Horace and Pete that are genius.  And the simple bravery of the approach – produced as a pay-per-episode format and release through the artist’s website – is worth attention.  And ideally, as Louie plans to submit the show for awards as a drama, it can garner attention from the NPR’ers who might otherwise balk at the mightily harsh language bandied about on the show.  Because it’s rough around the edges, but Horace and Pete is also something that feels fully like itself; a true original in the incredibly crowded TV landscape.