How cool of an internet-age entertainer is Louis C.K.? Here's what I got in my inbox this morning, as a subscriber to his email updates:
Hi there.
Horace and Pete episode one is available for download. $5.
We hope you like it.
Regards,
Louis
You bet your ass I will, I'm downloading it right now. Behold, the power of direct email marketing.
More about it the surprise release in the New York Times:
Louis C.K. wrote, directed and stars in the show, whose cast also includes Alan Alda, Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco, Rebecca Hall, Jessica Lange, Kurt Metzger and Steven Wright, among others. The theme song is by Paul Simon.
The episode, a 67-minute drama flecked with dark humor, is set primarily in a bar run by Horace, played by Louis C.K., and Pete, played by Mr. Buscemi. Mr. Alda plays the dyspeptic, pre-politically correct Uncle Pete, who tends bar.
The plot — which involves what will become of the bar a year after the death of its patriarch, Horace's father — touches on evergreen themes of intergenerational and family conflict, though the dialogue includes discussions of topical events. Donald J. Trump's decision to skip the Republican presidential debate on Thursday is mentioned, indicating that at least some scenes were filmed very recently.
Have you seen it yet? Tell us in the discussion board.
When I first read the email, I figured I'd missed the pre-release fanfare that always precedes the launch of a new television series, and the same on Amazon or Netflix or what have you. But no, this was a stone cold sneak-ass dump. He "pulled a Beyoncé."
This is insane. #LouisCK just sent me an email just saying there's a new thing, go buy it. And I'm buying it.
Talk about influence.
— Patrick Kontschak (@paddykontschak) January 30, 2016
Whatever 'Horace and Pete' ends up being, this episode was written and directed by Louis C.K., and you can download it for $5 now on louisck.com.
