this week on tv: BASKETS

Laughter and sadness often go hand in hand. If you are reminded of a happy memory, one that makes you laugh, chances are your brain is also wrestling with the sadness of knowing that you could never experience this memory again. The desire to feel sadness in tandem with pure joy is why we crave nostalgia or why we love to bask in the miseries of others. This Thursday, FX premiered a show that explores this dichotomy through the story of one struggling artist, Chip Baskets, an aspiring clown who moves back to his hometown of Bakersfield, California after dropping out of Parisian clown college. Co-created by Louis C.K., Zach Galifinakis and Jonathan Krisel, Baskets is thoughtful, strange and a little depressing, but well worth the watch, even if just to see how far they can take this.