ST. PAUL - The last time we saw Louie Anderson on a TV series, he was sporting a swimsuit while competing on the celebrity diving show “Splash.” That was nearly three years ago. Starting Thursday, he’s returning to TV with a look that might surprise you. In “Baskets,” the St. Paul native is decked out in drag for his role as Costco-loving, domineering mom Christine Baskets. “Baskets” stars Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover,” “Between Two Ferns”) as Chip Baskets, a man studying at a French clowning school even though he doesn’t speak French. Eventually, he moves back home to Bakersfield, Calif., settling on a job as a rodeo clown. It’s here that he ends up vying for the attention of his mother (played by Anderson), who’s enamored with her adopted twins but not so much with her biological children, Chip and his twin brother, Dale (also played by Galifianakis). “Baskets” was co-created by Galifianakis, Louis C.K. and Jonathan Krisel (“Portlandia”). Fans of Louis C.K.’s “Louie” will recognize the quirky, laugh-cringe spirit of “Baskets.” “Families are complicated,” said Anderson, on the phone from a Beverly Hills hotel last week, where he was getting ready for the cast and crew premiere of “Baskets.”
“Jonathan calls this show ‘serious slapstick,’ ” Anderson said. “We watch stuff with families in them so much - we’re all trying to constantly deal with our own families and fix them. Here’s this family that’s trying desperately to find balance within themselves. It’s a complicated story all the way through, and in my opinion, Christine is trying not to let everybody give up. Because if they give up, she’s going to give up, too.” For Anderson, who grew up in a housing project on St. Paul’s East Side and graduated from Johnson Senior High School, playing the part of a mother wasn’t a huge stretch. After all, he’s been talking about his family, including his mom - Ora Zella Anderson, who died in 1990 - as part of his stand-up act for nearly four decades. Anderson said Galifianakis was looking for someone with a specific voice, leading Louis C.K. to suggest Anderson. “I’ve been playing my mom on stage since 1978,” said Anderson, 62. “I’ve been practicing for this part for 37 years. Christine isn’t my mother, exactly; she’s a little bit more passive-aggressive than my mother was. And she’s selectively protective of her family. That’s how all mothers are, aren’t they? They pick who they want to protect the most.” Anderson said that when he got the part last year, he was sworn to secrecy. “It was a top-secret project,” he recalled. “Nobody knew anything about it. I couldn’t talk about it at all, and I didn’t. That’s pretty good for a Minnesotan.” It would have been easy to make Christine Baskets cartoonish. Instead, Anderson was thoughtful when considering his character’s actions, words and even clothing. With Christine, Anderson perfectly conveys the complexities of a mother/child relationship, including a parent’s impulse to jump in and take control of the child’s life. It doesn’t take long to forget that Anderson is a man dressed in women’s clothes. “I thought the important part would be for me to find two things - the humor in it and the humanity my mom had,” said Anderson, who recently told reporters during the Television Critics Association media tour that he used his mom as the base and then added mean people he’d encountered throughout his life to the character. “Everybody isn’t perfect, including her own children, so I tried to find that. I responded to Zach the way you would as a mother.” After shooting the series, Anderson says “the sky’s the limit” when it comes to his career. “I’m open to doing it all,” laughed Anderson, who hopes “Baskets” gets renewed for a second season. “I’m glad I did the show ‘Splash,’ because I think it reminded people I wasn’t dead. Now I’ve done this. Next, I’d even consider playing a man again.” What: “Baskets,” starring Zach Galifianakis, Louie Anderson and Martha Kelly When: 9 p.m. Thursday Channel: FX ST. PAUL - The last time we saw Louie Anderson on a TV series, he was sporting a swimsuit while competing on the celebrity diving show “Splash.”That was nearly three years ago.Starting Thursday, he’s returning to TV with a look that might surprise you. In “Baskets,” the St. Paul native is decked out in drag for his role as Costco-loving, domineering mom Christine Baskets.“Baskets” stars Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover,” “Between Two Ferns”) as Chip Baskets, a man studying at a French clowning school even though he doesn’t speak French.Eventually, he moves back home to Bakersfield, Calif., settling on a job as a rodeo clown. It’s here that he ends up vying for the attention of his mother (played by Anderson), who’s enamored with her adopted twins but not so much with her biological children, Chip and his twin brother, Dale (also played by Galifianakis).“Baskets” was co-created by Galifianakis, Louis C.K. and Jonathan Krisel (“Portlandia”). Fans of Louis C.K.’s “Louie” will recognize the quirky, laugh-cringe spirit of “Baskets.”“Families are complicated,” said Anderson, on the phone from a Beverly Hills hotel last week, where he was getting ready for the cast and crew premiere of “Baskets.”
“Jonathan calls this show ‘serious slapstick,’ ” Anderson said. “We watch stuff with families in them so much - we’re all trying to constantly deal with our own families and fix them. Here’s this family that’s trying desperately to find balance within themselves. It’s a complicated story all the way through, and in my opinion, Christine is trying not to let everybody give up. Because if they give up, she’s going to give up, too.”For Anderson, who grew up in a housing project on St. Paul’s East Side and graduated from Johnson Senior High School, playing the part of a mother wasn’t a huge stretch. After all, he’s been talking about his family, including his mom - Ora Zella Anderson, who died in 1990 - as part of his stand-up act for nearly four decades. Anderson said Galifianakis was looking for someone with a specific voice, leading Louis C.K. to suggest Anderson.“I’ve been playing my mom on stage since 1978,” said Anderson, 62. “I’ve been practicing for this part for 37 years. Christine isn’t my mother, exactly; she’s a little bit more passive-aggressive than my mother was. And she’s selectively protective of her family. That’s how all mothers are, aren’t they? They pick who they want to protect the most.”Anderson said that when he got the part last year, he was sworn to secrecy.“It was a top-secret project,” he recalled. “Nobody knew anything about it. I couldn’t talk about it at all, and I didn’t. That’s pretty good for a Minnesotan.”It would have been easy to make Christine Baskets cartoonish. Instead, Anderson was thoughtful when considering his character’s actions, words and even clothing. With Christine, Anderson perfectly conveys the complexities of a mother/child relationship, including a parent’s impulse to jump in and take control of the child’s life. It doesn’t take long to forget that Anderson is a man dressed in women’s clothes.“I thought the important part would be for me to find two things - the humor in it and the humanity my mom had,” said Anderson, who recently told reporters during the Television Critics Association media tour that he used his mom as the base and then added mean people he’d encountered throughout his life to the character.“Everybody isn’t perfect, including her own children, so I tried to find that. I responded to Zach the way you would as a mother.”After shooting the series, Anderson says “the sky’s the limit” when it comes to his career.“I’m open to doing it all,” laughed Anderson, who hopes “Baskets” gets renewed for a second season. “I’m glad I did the show ‘Splash,’ because I think it reminded people I wasn’t dead. Now I’ve done this. Next, I’d even consider playing a man again.”What: “Baskets,” starring Zach Galifianakis, Louie Anderson and Martha KellyWhen: 9 p.m. ThursdayChannel: FX
