Loudermilk’s cast deliver heartfelt and hilarious performances to discuss and make light of substance addiction and the recovery process.
Loudermilk is a recent example of why I have a love/hate relationship with streaming services. After hours spent scrolling through the old and mediocre content that makes up the bulk of streaming libraries, I always end up wincing at the dusty abyss known as my wallet, drained of all its worth by ever soaring subscription prices. Right as I’ve decided to cancel my service, I find a new show that is just so unexpectedly fresh and binge-worthy, that I’m urged to stay subbed just a little longer to watch it. I am happy to have finally discovered Loudermilk, and even more happy that it was saved by Amazon Prime and promoted by Netflix before disappearing into distribution limbo.
What is Loudermilk about?
Loudermilk is a television black comedy that follows Sam Loudermilk, a bitterly sarcastic, former music critic and recovering alcoholic, who leads a substance recovery support group. Loudermilk’s harsh yet empathetic attitude along with his quirky support group set up hilarious interactions and situations as they confront the outside world and deal with their personal lives and recovery from addictions.
Loudermilk’s Creation, Production, and Journey Across Streaming Platforms
The Creators
Loudermilk was created, produced, and primarily written and directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort. Peter Farrelly is a veteran of the comedy genre, known for directing slapstick and absurd humor in There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber. Green Book proved his ability to mix comedy and drama, for which he won Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars in 2019. Bobby Mort won an Emmy for outstanding writing in 2013 during his time as a staff writer for the satirical and witty news show, The Colbert Report. In Loudermilk, Farrelly and Mort blend together their critically acclaimed skills in comedy and drama to balance lighthearted fun and serious discussions about substance addiction, and deliver an equally entertaining and thoughtful story.
The creators started with a premise for the main character, Sam Loudermilk, and developed the concept of a support group as they explored its various characters and their personal issues, as Bobby Mort explains (via Uproxx):
We were talking [about] the idea of this character who is kind of at war with the world, [which] always is a very funny concept for a script. So it was the idea of what would be the worst job for a guy like this? Helping people.
[The support group] started off as a smaller part, but there was really a lot of stuff in mind here, with people with issues and problems and we can have fun with them without making fun of them, and explore where we don’t really get to see on TV very often.
For Farrelly, the idea of the support group hit close to home as he’s known people all his life who were in recovery, including family members and his wife. He saw how they turned their life around, but also noted that it was an incremental and humble process. He goes onto say:
I have never met an alcoholic I didn’t like. Ever. Honestly, because there’s a humility to them, too. There’s something about them. They try hard. And there’s an entertainment factor in people who aren’t drinking and people who are trying to quit… I don’t think it always has to be portrayed in such a dark way.
Farrelly believed there is humor to be found in a serious topic like addiction, and can be used to productively present and discuss it without overwhelming negativity (via Deadline):
Most shows about addiction are depressing, and it’s just hard to watch, and the truth of the matter is there’s a lot of love and camaraderie in those rooms, and I hadn’t ever seen that. We wanted to tell that story and make it real… It’s about friendship and helping each other…
Debut and Movement across Networks
Loudermilk‘s first 10 episodes premiered in 2017 on the defunct AT&T Audience Network. Given its premise, Farrelly and Mort struggled at first to find a home for the show. Then executive Shane Elrod from the Audience Network expressed willingness to pick it up on a low budget, for which Farrelly was appreciative (via Uproxx):
I don’t know if I’ve ever had more creative freedom, to be honest. They definitely left us alone. First of all, they read the pilot and said, “Yeah, let’s do 10 ten episodes.” Which is nice, we didn’t have to shoot it first.
Loudermilk aired Season 1 and Season 2 on the Audience Network. After AT&T transitioned the platform to HBO Max, Loudermilk was picked up by Amazon, on which Season 3 was released for streaming. In 2024, Loudermilk moved to Netflix where it’s popularity skyrocketed and where it currently sits as a hidden gem in Netflix’s streaming library.
Loudermilk Characters and Cast
Main Cast
Ron Livingston – Sam Loudermilk
Ron Livingston plays Sam Loudermilk, a recovering alcoholic and jaded music critic who isn’t afraid to speak his truths with brutal honesty to friends and strangers alike. Although most people, including himself, view him as a jerk, he has a soft spot for helping people that attracts genuine friendships and gives his bitterness a redeemable quality.
Ron Livingston was nominated for his role in Band of Brothers and The Conjuring, and appeared in Office Space and Adaptation.
Anja Savcic – Claire Wilkes
Anja Savcic plays Claire Wilkes, a young college dropout recovering from an alcohol and drug addiction. Her sensitivity to others’ emotions and optimistic attitudes make her a compassionate and reliable friend, and reminds Loudermilk to be nicer in his daily life.
Anja Savcic was nominated for her roles in Loudermilk and Big Sky, and recently appeared in Ricky Stanicky and Family Law.
Will Sasso – Ben Burns
Will Sasso plays Ben Burns, an ex-chef and recovering alcoholic who helps Loudermilk with his recovery while grappling with his own temptations. His kindness and friendly personality never fails to cheer up those around him and complements Loudermilk’s abrasive aura.
Will Sasso was nominated for his roles in Mad TV, starred in The Three Stooges, and recently starred in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. You might also recognize him from his lemon videos from Vine.
Recurring Supporting Cast
Brian Regan – Mugsy Bennigan
Jackie Flynn – Tony Rosetti
Timothy Webber – Ed
Ricky Blitt – Hiram “New Guy” Goldbaum
Tyler Layton-Olson – Cisco
Viv Leacock – Stevie
Sam Bob – Cloud
Mat Fraser – Roger Frostly
William Coyne – William
Eric Keenleyside – Father Michael
Danny Wattley – Cutter
Laura Mennell – Allison Montgomery
Benjamin Rogers – Felix Furbush
Loudermilk Recap, Reviews, and Reception
Loudermilk follows the standard sitcom format: cold opening with a funny skit followed by the titles, then a dive into the subplots of each episode in continuity with the overarching main plot of the season.
Season 1
Sam Loudermilk lives with his roommate and sponsor Ben Burns, cleans floors at a bank, and leads a support group for addicts in recovery at a local church. He meets Claire Wilkes when her mother asks him to pull her out of a depressive spiral induced by her father’s passing. As Claire, Ben, and the support group try to fix their lives, Loudermilk juggles his growing feelings for his new neighbor Allison Montgomery, who challenges his bitter tendencies, and old feelings for his ex-wife, for whom he started sobriety.
Season 1 of Loudermilk premiered October 17, 2017 on the Audience Network with its final episode releasing on December 19, 2017. Season 1 was well received, scoring 93% from critics and 86% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, an average of 7.46/10 across its episodes on IMDB, and a 76/100 on Metacritic.
Critics and audiences alike agreed the show was a refreshing take on the genre and had a certain niche appeal with Loudermilk’s “lovable bastard” archetype and overall sarcastic, absurd, and edgy humor, sprinkled with sincere and tender moments. Season 1 of Loudermilk lay the foundations for its characters to really shine in the later seasons.
Season 2
Loudermilk’s story continues as he deals with the repercussions of his father’s return and is forced to handle the ever growing and tumultuous list of problems his support group stirs up.
Season 2 of Loudermilk aired one year later, on October 16, 2018 and ran with weekly releases until its 10th episode aired on December 18, 2018. Season 2 received 97% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and averaged 7.63/10 across its episodes on IMDB.
The audience reception was stellar although the number of ratings decreased, indicating a shrinking yet more dedicated viewership.
Season 3
Loudermilk continues to aid his support group in their personal lives while reviving his writing career, but runs into someone that challenges him to reflect on his critical attitude and past actions.
The entire season 3 of Loudermilk released for streaming December 31, 2020 on Amazon Prime Video. Season 3 was scored 95% by audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and averaged the highest across its episodes on IMDB at 7.79/10. It had the highest and lowest rated episodes in the show (although the lowest seems to have been review bombed).
With each season, Loudermilk took it what it does best and played to its strengths, satisfying its dedicated fans and gaining new ones along the way.
My Favorite Theme: Optimistic Progress
The themes of the show center around the realities of addiction and recovery, how it affects personal life, garnering supportive friendships, and surviving unexpected hardships.
What I like most about Loudermilk is how it portrays the ups and downs of life, and how real and relatable its characters feel. No one in the show is a perfect person living the ideal or achieving a linear recovery. Rather, they are all just ordinary people dealing with hardships and experiencing the rollercoaster of life, reminding us of ourselves and our closest friends and family. Farrelly elaborated on this outlook (via Entertainment Weekly):
I wanted to deal with people who had substance abuse issues and show them in their real lives and what goes on… a couple steps forward one step back and so on.
Loudermilk has a hopeful optimism about it. For every terrible (but hilarious) thing that happens to the characters, every episode ends on a positive note that reminds us to be grateful in the present, appreciative of any progress towards our personal goals, and to look forward to the next day.
Claire Wilkes’ Journey
My favorite subplot across the seasons was Claire’s recovery, which exemplified this exact idea. When we first meet her, she is in the deepest and darkest of trenches: smoking meth, drinking, dating a bum, and doing anything to cope with the death of her father without any regard for herself. This kind of rock bottom is inconceivable to most, and an escape out of it is even more unimaginable. Claire is initially burdened by this, acknowledging the stark contrast between her current and past life, and the challenges she must overcome to recover. Her slump is temporary as she manages to turn her life around through her own accord and support from Loudermilk and her friends.
[SPOILERS>
Her net improvement is positive, but it’s neither quick nor linear. Though the substances no longer weigh her down, Claire still struggles to mend her relationship with her mother and confront the truth about her father. She gets a job at a record store and a short lived position in a band as the worst tambourine player ever, but yearns for a purpose during recovery. She gets her own apartment, returns to college, and crushes on a boy in her class. She feels nervous about confessing her past and is afraid he won’t be willing to accept her. Her worst fears come true when he rejects for this exact reason, leaving her feeling permanently unlovable as she asks herself: who would ever want to date an addict? But this doesn’t stop her from living her best life. Her closest friends remind her why she’s important to them. As she continues moving forward, Claire succeeds in her classes and is recognized by her professors for her talent and hard work. <SPOILERS]
Up-down-up-down is how real life goes, and that’s how it’s portrayed in Loudermilk. The story is joyfully cathartic, comforting, and relatable. If you’ve ever made a mistake, if things haven’t gone your way, if you view yourself as a total loser, watching Loudermilk will remind you that you’re progress is valuable no matter how small or incremental, that you’re not alone in your journey, that it’s okay to be trying your best every day to be a better person even when you fail, and that failure isn’t the end of the road but one of many obstacles in the grand scheme of things.
Loudermilk’s Revival and Future
Loudermilk got a second life on Prime, but Amazon did not fund another season. While running under the radar in Prime’s streaming library, Loudermilk ranked 828 in streaming shows by the end of 2023. In January 2024, Loudermilk moved to Netflix where it experienced a long awaited resurgence, shooting up to the Top 10 of streaming shows. The creators and cast were pleased with the sudden explosion of the show’s popularity and fan base, as Farrelly recalls (via Deadline):
Over the years, I’d say, ‘Don’t worry, people are going to find this someday.’ I always knew that. I didn’t know it was going to happen last month.
Farrelly expresses his hope and excitement to do another season and has already prepared the next part of Loudermilk’s story:
Loudermilk sells his book, finally, and now we cut back three-four years later, his book has come out… It’s a huge hit, and now Loudermilk’s on top of again. Loudermilk is back to being Loudermilk, and yet, he has to deal with these same guys, his group.
So, he’s got one foot in this celebrity world again, and he’s having lunch with Neil Young, and by the end, he has to rush back to see these guys, and it’s like how do you make that work? And it’s also the slippery slope of stardom, and it becomes Loudermilk meets Larry Sanders because you got real celebrities in there and real rock stars, and it really gets fun.
My dream is to, again, have Netflix pick it up. It’s got a home there.
The creators have a vision for the next season, so Loudermilk‘s future now hinges on any network willing to pick it up. Netflix only owns the distribution rights so it unclear if they are willing to produce the next season. As of March 2025, Loudermilk is available to watch for free on TubiTV. Loudermilk‘s team and growing number of fans remain hopeful for the best.
SUPERWILD 