Just after NBC announced it’s putting Community on hold, FX’s Louie is also being placed on an extended hiatus, with no new episodes coming until Spring of 2014. Whereas Community’s delay was initiated by the network, Louis C.K. himself actually requested his show have a late season four debut, so that he can have more time to work on the new batch of episodes. The new season was originally expected to air in Summer of 2013 but will be pushed back to spring of the following year. Here’s what C.K. told reporters:
I want season four to go somewhere new… I’m looking back to when I did the first season and the time I took to do the show and decide which directions to go in and I want that back again. I want a little breathing room… The last three seasons have been a surge of fun stories and it’s been great to share all the stuff and I want the show to keep getting better. I want it to keep being something that comes from somewhere fun and important… I used to shoot, promote and edit all at the same time in June and I think I can do better work if I spread things out.
With the extra time, C.K. says he will likely turn his new stand-up hour into a special. While it’s a shame we’ll have to wait so long for the new season of Louie, it seems like the show will benefit a lot creatively from this Sopranos-sized break. Hopefully, this will be the last critically-acclaimed comedy to announce a delay this week, as comedy fans will be rioting in the streets if Parks and Rec or Happy Endings get pushed back too.