News / TV

HBO, Netflix, FX drop Louis CK from future programming

Within hours of The New York Times story publishing on-the-record accounts of women recounting incidents in which Louis CK forced them to watch him masturbate, Netflix announced it has dropped plans for the second in a two-special deal with the comedian, while HBO not only unlisted him from its upcoming Night of Too Many Stars fundraising special, but also scrubbed him entirely from its website. His new film, I Love You, Daddy, which had premiered at the Toronto Film Festival this summer, also will no longer be released publicly.

The official statements…

HBO: “Louis C.K. will no longer be participating in the Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites For Autism Programs, which will be presented live on HBO on November 18. In addition, HBO is removing Louis C.K.’s past projects from its On Demand services.”

THE ORCHARD: “The Orchard will not be moving forward with the release of I Love You, Daddy.”

NETFLIX: “The allegations made by several women in The New York Times about Louis C.K.’s behavior are disturbing. Louis’s unprofessional and inappropriate behavior with female colleagues has led us to decide not to produce a second stand-up special, as had been planned.” Five of his previous specials remain available on Netflix, though. His first special for Netflix, 2017, debuted in April. (Separately and previously, Netflix had cancelled an already-recorded stand-up special by Bill Cosby after renewed allegations against him became public)

FX: “We are obviously very troubled by the allegations about Louis C.K. published in The New York Times today. The network has received no allegations of misconduct by Louis C.K. related to any of our 5 shows produced together over the past 8 years. FX Networks and FXP take all necessary actions to protect our employees and thoroughly investigate any allegations of misconduct within our workplace. That said, the matter is currently under review.” Louie ran for five seasons from 2010-2015 and won two Emmys for CK for writing, an Emmy for Melissa Leo for guest acting (in an episode in which she forces Louie into sex) and 19 other nominations for outstanding comedy, writing, directing, acting, casting and editing. He also earned an Emmy for his variety special, Live at the Beacon Theater, which aired on FX after first premiering on CK’s website. He has co-created two current series for FX: Baskets (starring Zach Galifianakis, Louie Anderson and Martha Kelly), which premieres its third season in January 2018; and Better Things (starring Pamela Adlon, his frequent collaborator since HBO’s Lucky Louie), currently in its second season and renewed just last month. CK also had originated a new animated series at FX with Albert Brooks called The Cops, which since moved over to TBS, with an expected premiere in 2018.

UPDATED statement from FX, cutting all ties to CK:

Today, FX Networks and FX Productions are ending our association with Louis C.K. We are canceling the overall deal between FX Productions and his production company, Pig Newton. He will no longer serve as executive producer or receive compensation on any of the four shows we were producing with him – Better Things, Baskets, One Mississippi and The Cops.  

Louis has now confirmed the truth of the reports relating to the five women victimized by his misconduct, which we were unaware of previously. As far as we know, his behavior over the past 8 years on all five series he has produced for FX Networks and/or FX Productions has been professional. However, now is not the time for him to make television shows. Now is the time for him to honestly address the women who have come forth to speak about their painful experiences, a process which he began today with his public statement.

FX Networks and FX Productions remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure that all people work in an environment that is safe, respectful and fair, and we will continue our review of all of these productions to ensure that was and is the case.

FURTHER UPDATES

TBS has announced a halt to production on the upcoming FXProductions animated series, The Cops. “Production on The Cops has been suspended until further review,” the network said Friday. It had ordered 10 episodes to air in 2018.

3 Arts, whose Dave Becky had managed CK, has dropped him, too. “We have terminated our relationship with Louis C.K. We are committed to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our staff, clients and the community at large,” 3 Arts said in a statement. “We are doing a full internal review regarding this situation and are taking additional steps to strengthen our processes and procedures while engaging with our staff to address any concerns about harassment or abuse of power. This behavior is totally unacceptable in all circumstances and must be confronted and addressed.”

So has his publicist, who yes was named Lewis Kay.

https://twitter.com/lewiskay/status/929103704015474689

Here, meanwhile, is how the late-night shows handled CK last night:

Previously: The allegations against Louis CK, and my thoughts on them.

 

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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