Well, the 2016 television comedy schedule just got a whole lot less interesting. At TCA today, FX head John Landgraf announced that Louis C.K. will be taking an extended hiatus before he returns to work on Louie, still the most thoughtful and gut-bustingly hilarious comedy series on television. "He's anxious to take a break from the show and work on other things" said Landgraf, though its worth noting that C.K.'s relationship with FX will continue to be at the top of his priority list. He's currently set as producer of Baskets, a comedy series top-lined by Zach Galifianakis, and Better Things, the recently announced series starring and created by Pamela Adlon, who plays his on-and-off love interest in Louie. When asked to venture a guess about how long we might have to wait for more of C.K.'s adventures in adulthood, Landgraf added "I think Curb Your Enthusiasm is the right analogy," suggesting that the network is planning to continue working with the comic on the show, no matter his schedule.

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Image via FX

Of course, the movies have also been calling C.K.'s name as of recent. He started his career as a writer and filmmaker, and recently proved a rousing supporting actor in American Hustle and Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. The longtime Chris Rock collaborator will next be seen in Trumbo, alongside Bryan Cranston, and will be heard in the hugely anticipated The Secret Life of Pets; he also appeared in the unaired pilot of Happyish, which starred the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. He's also working on I'm a Cop, his next film as writer-director, which he is also set to star in. I suppose all these projects will offer heartening respite from the absence of Louie, but unless these films and series also star Hadley Delany and Ursula Parker, who play his daughters in Louie, this is still going to be  a rough stretch for TV.

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Image via FX