Having written a bunch of more conceptual pieces about kinds of television, I decided that I wanted to write a couple of articles that focused on the careers of people I would consider to be auteurs of the medium. Since Hope Lies on Television has always been about examining the points at which film and television overlapped, I thought it was only fitting to apply one of the most purely cinematic terms - auteur - to television, and I thought that Louis C.K.'s show Louie was about as perfect a place to start as any, since the degree to which he puts himself and his life into the show, and the amount of control that he maintains over every aspect of the series, make it one of the most readily identifiable auteurist shows on television. Plus, the second season starts tonight and that tied in nicely.
I'm really pleased with how this one turned out, particularly in terms of charting C.K.'s career for anyone unfamiliar with him, and I'm looking forward to the next one, which will be on the career of Aaron Sorkin.