3 out of 5

Created by: Marc Maron

covers seasons 1 through 3

Like FX’s Louie with Louie C.K., IFC’s Maron focuses on the life and career of an older comic – Marc Maron – whose angry man shtick has carried him through a few generations of comedy and now fuels a podcast, fictionalized footage of which caps each episode.  Unlike FX’s Louie and Louie C.K., Maron is content to have his show stay clearly as a comedy, leaving out the musings that the very creator-controlled FX series can segue into.  This has the plus of not feeling like the indulegence that Louie occasionally does, but it also can’t match that show’s rawness; Maron even sinks into sitcom stylings as quirky side characters pile up.  This doesn’t make it unamusing (and
again, it’s sort of more accessibly / consistently amusing than Louie), but with the various non-Marc Maron creatives involved in the writing and directing, the “angry Marc’s foibles and today’s lesson” format is never in question, certainly pulling from Marc’s experiences and probably real podcasts, but also much “safer,” which is probably a term Marc would hate.  And these comparisons only really exist because Louie does.  Without that juxtaposition, I’d just say: It’s funny, and an episode that’ll have you smirking in “I’ve been there” recognition as Marc rants in a way you wish you could is always right around the corner.