He might be one of Ricky Gervais’ favourite comedians but please don’t hold that against Louis CK. The sour-faced comedian returns to the UK screens this week for the fifth series of his sitcom Louie – notice the different spelling, it can’t possibly be autobiographical. Can it?

Advance publicity for this series suggested that it might be less dark more “jokecentric”, and there are certainly plenty of laugh-out-loud moments here, from the Comedy Cellar stand-up club opening routine to the closing shouting match pay-off.

Sometimes, however, he keeps you guessing by upending expectations. I was assuming that the hipster busker on the Manhattan corner that the programme regularly cuts away to would meet a sticky end, but it never happens. There is, under the murky, depressive surface, an air of compassion and humanity here. In this episode, at least, Louie ends up seeming like the hero even if that's not his aim.

In between the giggles we find the bearded loner being so bleak he even makes his analyst doze off. So looking for solutions at less than $200 an hour he decides to be more positive and gets stuck into a dinner party hosted by a parent of one of his daughter’s friends. 

He is so committed to mucking in he even makes some delicious-looking fried chicken, but, as one might expect, things do not go quite as planned. It’s fairly classic sitcom mix-up comedy with a few knobs on, but the inevitable moment where things go pear-shaped is made all the more excruciatingly painful because for once our flawed fall-guy has actually been trying to fit in. When it comes to the Comedy of Awkward you can see why Gervais likes Louis CK so much, they are kindred spirits.  

Louie, Thursdays from April 16, 11pm, Fox.