Louis C.K. Dives Into The East River For This Heartfelt Louie Promo

While movie culture allows for a specific kind of anticipation to grow between a film and its potential follow-up, TV doesn’t quite allow for that, as seasons tend to fall into the same pattern year after year. The brilliant stand-up comedian Louis C.K. farted a wrench into those expectations when he announced he’d be taking a hiatus from his acclaimed FX sitcom Louie. But the dark, absurdist comedy is coming back in May, and as expected, FX has been airing some intriguingly abstract promos to remind people who the funniest guy on TV is.

This clip, called “Head Over Heels,” is the most visually appealing of the teasers, and also the first to feature Louie in action. Each of these ads have essentially been little black & white love notes to New York City, full of skyscrapers, city streets and the Brooklyn Bridge. Only now it’s taken to its logical extremes, as Louie jumps from the bridge with while holding a rose, soon swimming away as it hangs from his teeth, followed by a skywriter spelling his name out, with a heart replacing the “o.” I’m willing to wager a guess that Louie won’t spend too much time in the South or overseas in this season.

Personally, I love these spots that don’t rely on borrowed footage from the series itself, as is the norm with most dramas and shows just starting out. Louie is established enough that he doesn’t need to actually give people any jokes, and most of them wouldn’t work as well out of episodic context anyway. I can only sacrifice rubber chickens to the comedy gods he goes purely zany for next season’s ads, like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia did with their faux foreign short films.

In case you missed the two most recent Louie promos, involving a bench and a subway entrance, we have them for you below.

Louie’s Season 4 will premiere on Monday, May 5, with back-to-back new episodes, in which he’ll probably make a mistake that his daughters will have to fix, while trying to find love in all the wrong places…in New York City. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps we’ll see you there.