‘Louie’ Going on ‘Extended Hiatus,’ Will Return Whenever Louis C.K. Feels Like It

As fans of Louis C.K. and FX’s Louie have experienced since the third season, the revered comedian’s creativity and hectic schedule occasionally place longer gaps between seasons than fans would like. Bad news, we’re afraid, as Louie may take its longest “extended hiatus” yet, even as Louis C.K. remains in business at FX.

As revealed by FX boss John Landgraf, the most recent (truncated) Louie Season 5 may be the last of the series for some time, as Louis C.K. takes time to pursue other projects. He’ll at least pitch in on comedic partner Pamela Adlon’s just-confirmed Better Things, while Landgraf also alluded to a third project in the works. Via EW:

Louis is anxious to take a break and work on other things. I think [Curb Your Enthusiasm] is the right analogy. So, the truth is, I really don’t know [when the show will return]. He’s made 61 magnificent episodes of television, and we did an overall deal with him a couple of years ago and that has proven incredibly productive.

There’s actually at third [C.K. produced] series in the hopper that’ll get announced pretty soon that I think is also equally compelling. It’s really going to be his choice. He could decide to take as six-month hiatus … he could decide to take a two-year hiatus and we could be where HBO is with Larry David, announcing periodically that subsequent seasons will air.

C.K. previously took between 2012 and 2014 to deliver the super-sized Louie Season 4, while a reduced order for Louie Season 5 helped deliver the most recent run this past year. Will 61 episodes close out Louie altogether, or might the comedian return before and “extended hiatus” grows too extended?