From women to people of color to those struggling with addiction, the series often feels like it is playing Whack-a-Mole with different groups to whom it could punch down. That being said, its final completed episode, “Clown Time is Over” (which went unaired during its initial run), failed for a different reason—its jokes are simply dull.
Throughout Lucky Louie’s prior episodes, the show has struggled to toe the line between using a dated style to express contemporary ideas and genuinely espousing a retrograde attitude. Although some moments, like Rich’s misogynistic jokes, have at least had the awareness not to directly align the viewer with the sentiments being conveyed, others, like the racist caricature in “A Mugging Story,” have seemed flat-out backwards.