Clowning around Season 4 of ‘Baskets’ continues on FX

he wanted to run away from in the first place.

Through every disastrous mishap (becoming a train-hopping hobo, falling in with a homeless clown troupe, getting arrested, etc.), Chip keeps winding up back in his hometown, living and working with his mother, his insufferable twin brother, and getting crushed (sometimes literally) under all of the failures and shortcomings that he can’t seem to escape.

The fourth season of “Baskets” premiered on FX in June, and it’s the first season without co-creator and writer Louis C.K. on board; both the company and show cut all ties with him after he admitted to sexual misconduct. Even without the third member of the show’s creator/writer trio, fans are loving the direction of the show so far. L.A. Times critic Lorraine Ali praised the recent episodes, saying “the chemistry between Anderson and Galifianakis drives the best parts of the new season, but not at the expense of sharp humor, biting irony and plummeting self-worth rendered funny by its sheer hopelessness.”

It makes sense that the on-screen pair works so well together; Anderson and Galifianakis have both said that the former arrives on set already acting like a maternal figure to the younger comedians. In an interview with AOL Build Series on YouTube, Anderson talked about being asked to play the role of Galifianakis’s mother, and how he immediately thought the idea of him as the character was perfect: “I come from a family of 11, so at some point as a kid, you’re somebody’s mother.”

Men playing female roles in comedy doesn’t play the same way today as it did when “Mrs. Doubtfire” came out in 1993, but to anyone feeling a bit put off by the idea, I suggest watching a clip (perhaps a fan-favorite scene of Christine going shopping at Costco). Anderson plays the role so straight and genuine that the real joke of his casting is that it isn’t actually a joke at all.

The newest episode, titled “Common Room Wake” was written by John Levenstein, who has been in the writers room for shows such as “Silicon Valley” and “Arrested Development.” It seems as though FX has produced a comedy writer’s cool kids club of sorts, attracting the funny people behind everything from “SNL” and “The Office” to “2 Broke Girls” and “How I Met Your Mother.” Laugh-out-loud moments are rarer in “Baskets” than your average television comedy, and its modern

American family scenes lean towards a cringe-inducing realism so much that it can feel like the show is asking you to laugh at yourself rather than the screen. That’s the beauty of it, though — bookending sometimes painful-to-watch normalcy with a touch of absurdity and classic physical comedy keeps the viewer on their toes, which has been the whole point of black comedy since its conception.

American author and professor Wylie Sypher said that “to be able to laugh at evil and error means we have surmounted them.” If you’re a fan already, stay tuned, and if you’re interested in surmounting a bit of human error yourself (albeit someone else’s) then tune in to FX on Thursday, July 25, for a brand new episode of “Baskets.”

Videoreleases

Hellboy

Hellboy (Harbour), a demonic but friendly paranormal investigator, is called to England to assist on a hunt for three dangerous giants. After defeating the enormous beasts, Hellboy learns that he is the descendant of King Arthur and that it’s up to him to use the sword Excalibur to save London from a myr- iad of demons, including the recently resurrected evil Blood Queen Nimue (Jovovich), before a portal to hell engulfs the entire city. This film is the third live-action film to feature the Dark Horse Comics character of the same name.

Director:NeilMarshall.Stars:DavidHarbour,MillaJovovich,Ian McShane.2019.120min.Action.