Pamela Adlon, who plays Louis C.K.'s disinterested love interest on Louie (and was routinely the funniest part of Californication), is developing a show with the comedian for FX that's reportedly somewhat similar to Louie.
Better Things—the network's first-ever comedy pilot with a female lead—is partially based on Adlon's life and stars her as a divorced actress/mother of three daughters. Deadline notes that it's an anomaly for FX's male-centric programming. CEO John Landgraf says, however:
I'd consider Judy Greer and Aya Cash and Kaitlin Olson and Katie Aselton to be every bit as much leads on FX or FXX comedies as their male counterparts on Married, You're The Worst, It's Always Sunny and The League. There are certainly no male actors on those shows who are more 'leads' than they are.
Louis C.K. is directing and co-wrote the pilot. During the TCA panel, he and Adlon also discussed that sketchy, difficult-to-watch maybe-rapey scene from the previous season of Louie. Adlon knew the whole encounter (which involved Louie trying to force-kiss her character) would be controversial, but both actors say they approached it with humor:
On the panel, both writer-performers said they saw the scene as funny and not a rape, or attempted rape, scene. (Adlon said after the panel that this was the first time Louis CK has spoken publicly of the controversy).
Before and after the panel, Adlon said that she knew when she read Louis CK's script that it would be controversial but she always saw her character as being in control.
"I was dying when I read it, I thought it was really funny," Adlon said. But even though she was laughing, she was saying to herself, "I think we may be in trouble. I don't know if somebody's going to get mad…I have three daughters and I didn't think it was rape-y."
Louis C.K. also described their fight as "a physical manifestation of what we're going through as a couple." Season 5 of his show premieres on April 9.
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