Louie

Series one, episode two
Comedy might just be the most effective way to explore a serious issue. Take tonight’s opening sequence: a shit-shooting poker session between Louis CK and fellow comedian friends which, by way of a little locker-room prurience, becomes an incisive and intelligent dissection of homophobia. With the added bonus of some corking one-liners, of course. The rest of the show can only feel anticlimactic by comparison, but perhaps not in the way you might anticipate. Triggered by his recent divorce, Louie looks up a girl who asked him to ‘whip it out’ way back in high school, presenting a stark contrast to the amiable silliness of last week’s school trip gone wrong. It’s wistful – almost solemn – and indicative of a show that’s still finding its range; but it’s also very smart and avoids easy laughs. Why did it take so long for someone in the UK to snap up this series?