I’ve known about Louis C.K. for a while now. I used to be a big watcher of Comedy Central way back in the day when they would show all kinds of clip shows consisting of clips from various stand-up performances. He’s also been on Conan O’Brien’s various shows and has been around for a while. Even so, it took me awhile to actually sit and watch his new series on FX called Louie. For some reason I thought it was going to be kind of gross. And it probably is depending on your views, but there’s a lot more going on than a few gross or inappropriate bits and that’s truth.

I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The series it self follows Louie, a divorced stand-up comedian living in New York City and taking care of his two daughters when they’re not with his wife. Episodes revolve around everything from comedy club hecklers and trying to get a date with the woman who works at his local pharmacy to his awful mother and trying to recapture his youth. These issues are not dealt with with anything nearing kid gloves. In fact, what makes Louie such an amazing show is how gut-wrenchingly honest it is, while still being really damn funny.

I can’t necessarily relate to all of the trials and tribulations that Louie goes through in the first season (which is on Netflix Instant, though not two just yet), but things like balancing fatherhood with non traditional careers and the things that being a dad does to your brain are pretty universal as far as my thinking goes. It’s not really an easy series to explain and I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea (especially if you use phrases like “cup of tea”) but if you don’t mind feeling a little uncomfortable while laughing (and not in a Michael Scott kind of way where he fuels awkwardness) I highly recommend giving the series a shot.