Louis C.K. welcomes guest stars to 'Louie'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

Louis C.K. of FX's "Louie" met the press here over the weekend -- or "met" via closed circuit from some spot in upstate New York because he was about to pick up his daughter from camp -- and talked about recurring guest stars on the show. (That's always an interesting topic for "Louie," where guest stars are many and varied.) What of Parker Posey, who played an eccentric love interest in a recent and memorable story arc?

"Parker," he said, was "amazing," adding cryptically that "She kind of comes back a couple of times, sort of. . . . It's in a weird way, you do see her face a few more times."

Meanwhile, F. Murray Abraham also joins the show as Louie's deeply odd uncle (he was in the show before, though in a different role). "I just love him . . . so I wanted another crack at him, and as soon as I started writing this uncle character, I knew it was him."

JEFF PROBST, PARTY ANIMAL? No: That does not compute, but then why will he have a "party room" on his new syndicated talk show? (starting Sept. 10, WNBC/4). And what is a "party room," anyway? "It serves many purposes. The first is our set was designed to be an extension of my living room," he says. "I don't have quite that living room, but it's the idea where you feel comfortable enough to kick off your shoes. We then brought in the backdrops of nature to kind of embody the adventures I've had on 'Survivor,' because that's a big part of my life. The party room is an extension of that."

It's for guests and audience members and -- no -- alcohol will not be served.

BELL-RINGER W. Kamau Bell, a popular San Francisco-based "sociopolitical" comic with a real bite, will bring his bark to FX Aug. 9 (at 11 p.m.). The show ("Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell") is billed as comic commentary on current events, with Bell's own take. But the man behind the screen is the big name here: Chris Rock, who is executive producer. Says Bell, "I call him 'Foul Mouth Yoda.' . . . He helps me sort of steer clear of the potholes that maybe they hit on 'The Chris Rock Show' or he hit in his career."

Rock -- who won't have an on-screen role -- says: "It is definitely Kamau's show. I always say the secret to being a good producer is to hire your boss. I chose to work with Kamau because I figured, you know, in three weeks, a month, or whatever, he probably won't need me. If, six months from now, he needs me to make a bunch of decisions, I picked the wrong guy."