louisc.k.

Louis C.K. took an important step toward recovery in admitting that he was an occasional addict. On 'The Tonight Show' (Weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC), C.K. talked about how much more difficult it is to get high when you're in your 40s.

"When you're 43, if you want to get high you've got to wait until you hurt your back," he explained.

But the beauty of that, is that doctors give you great medicines like Percocet. "When I get Percocet, I am a Percocet addict," he told Jay Leno. "I don't refill it, but during that bottle, if I drop it and you pick it up, I'll suck your **** to get it back!"

Leno wasn't quite prepared for this shocking visual, so he had C.K. repeat it while he was drinking some water so it could get the spit-take it deserved.

'Louie' (10:30PM ET Thursday, FX) isn't one of those shows where you need to give it half a season before you decide whether it's for you or not. The terrific 'Louie' is such a fully formed, cogent expression of comedian Louis C.K.'s distinctive mind that you'll know a few minutes into the first episode whether his sensibility aligns with yours.

Without giving too much away, in the first scene of the season, one of Louie's kids makes a casual statement that is heartbreaking. The kid doesn't know what she's said is hurtful; she's just being honest. There's zero melodrama in the scene, and Louie's reaction to his daughter's statement is funny because it's both realistic and brutally honest.

He doesn't punish the kid at all, but the rawness of his eventual reaction is painfully hilarious. It's a reaction I can picture having myself.

Poor Louie. He can never catch a break. I'm referring to both the show and the character.

Louis C.K.'s FX sitcom 'Louie' was supposed to hit the airwaves in the first part of 2010, but the network has decided to bump the show until the summer, according to a released statement.

The news isn't as bad as it sounds. The network wants to pair the show with the return of 'Rescue Me' in June to give it a better chance at a big lead-in. Would you have watched Louis C.K.'s new show either way?

FX is going to be seeing red this March. That's because Louis C.K., the red-headed star of HBO's former 'Lucky Louie,' is set to star in a new comedy called 'Louie,' according to a report in Entertainment Weekly.

The half-hour 'Louie,' which features both sketches and stand-up, will be based on Louis C.K.'s life as a comedian and divorced father of two, according to a report in Variety. The pilot episode includes two stories: Louie volunteering at his kids' school and a bad date.

FX has announced a couple of interesting new additions to its slate of comedies - The League, about a fantasy football league, and Louie, an autobiographical sitcom starring Louis C.K. (Variety broke the news Wednesday). The League features some talented comedians, namely Paul Scheer (from Human Giant), Nick Kroll, and Jon Lajoie. But it's Louie that I'm most interested in.

Louis C.K. is, hands down, the funniest and most productive comedian working in America today. He has taped his third stand-up special in three years, called Hilarious, which is set to come out later this year or early next year. I've seen him perform the material for it, and it's just as funny as the first two. And he's already dropped most of that material in favor of a new hour of material intended for another special. That's a tremendous pace for any stand-up comedian. George Carlin, the guy who inspired C.K. to do this, is the only other comic I can think of to keep to a schedule like that.

Louis C.K. just shot a new comedy pilot for FX. He plays a stand-up comic dealing with divorce and fatherhood. It's hard to imagine where they come up with this stuff when you consider that C.K. is a stand-up comic and a divorced father.

And, just to push the boundaries of creativity one level higher, FX is calling it Louis. (Strangely enough, rumor has it there's another pilot already called C.K. about an animated chicken working as a trauma nurse at a downtown hospital in a post apocalyptic future.)

One of the top stand-up comics working today and a former writer for Conan O'Brien and Dana Carvey, C.K. has yet to see his own TV projects take off. His 2006 HBO show Lucky Louie never got on the pop culture radar.

Can 'American Idol' really exist without Paula Abdul? Fox thinks so. The show has already scheduled guest judges for the audition rounds, and is expected to find a permanent replacement for Paula by January.

Also in the news today: Virginia Madsen will guest on 'Monk,' while the details of 'Family Guy''s abortion themed episode are revealed.

See more of today's top TV headlines after the jump.

Since programming anything new is probably a waste on a holiday weekend, Comedy Central is programming roughly 4,000 previously aired stand-up specials (okay, just 40, but that's a lot) from some of the biggest names on its rosters, including Dane Cook, Jeff Dunham, Katt Williams, Louis C.K., Lewis Black, Brian Regan, Demetri Martin, Ron White, Lisa Lampanelli, and Jim Gaffigan. They'll also sprinkle in some of their Comedy Central Presents half-hour showcases. It's called the Stand-Up Blowout Weekend.

The first special is at 3 PM - Aisha Tyler is Lit: Live at the Fillmore and end, officially, with Drew Hastings: Irked and Miffed at 3 AM Monday morning. Sunday at 10PM is the network premiere of Dave Attell: Captain Miserable, which originally aired on HBO on December 8, 2007.

Louis C.K. has been challenging himself to do a new hour of comedy every year, for a new special every year. Chewed Up, which originally aired on Showtime last year and makes its Comedy Central debut tonight at 10 PM, is the result of that challenge, his second special in two years (he has already taped his third, which should be out sometime within the next six or seven months). It's also, to use the modern parlance, NSFW. Which means fans might shrink from watching it on a network like Comedy Central.

The strange thing about it, though, is that, looking at some clips of the special, a couple of things are clear. One, the language he uses is essential to the mood and attack of the comedy. And two, the ideas still come across when you bleep out the cursing.