Country Drive

The episode was written and directed by series creator and lead actor Louis C.K., marking his eighteenth writing and directing credit for the series.[1]

Ellen's storyline was inspired by an old lady whom C.K. overheard using racial slurs. He said, "so I wrote this thing, and then the drive there was the same thing as making dinner for the kids when the sister shows up."[2]

The licensed use of "Who Are You" by The Who would originally cost $300,000, which would consume the entire budget of the episode. C.K. asked permission from the band's guitarist Pete Townshend, who agreed to let them use it for $15,000.[2]

In its original American broadcast, "Country Drive" was seen by an estimated 0.87 million household viewers with a 0.4 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.4 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[3] This was a 23% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 1.12 million viewers with a 0.6 in the 18-49 demographics.[4]

"Country Drive" received critical acclaim. Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A–" grade and wrote, "Like George Carlin or Chris Rock before him, he wants to take hurtful words apart (he's similarly a big fan of "cunt") and figure out why they get under our skin and trouble us so. He’s a casual deconstructionist and “Country Drive” is casually brilliant in its analysis of how language, intent and meaning change and evolve over time."[5]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "Louie struggling to teach his daughters adult values is one of the more reliable sources of both humor and pathos on the show, so 'Country Drive' worked very effectively. You knew the visit to see the great aunt wasn't going to turn out like Louie intended it to, but you didn't know exactly how. But an old lady who turns out to be racist and dies in mid-visit seems about par for the course for our man, unfortunately."[6]

James Poniewozik of TIME wrote, "The two halves of the episode — Louie driving with his bored kids, Louie encounter his great-aunt's racism — really connect as one theme. As a parent, you want to expose your children to all the wonders of the world; but exposing them to the world's wonders necessarily means teaching them about all the world's unpleasantness too."[7] Joshua Kurp of Vulture wrote, "Louie knows this, and instead of bullshitting to his daughters in the same way that parents won't explain where babies come from, he lets them be curious and ask questions, in order to lessen the word's loaded meaning. That's the sign of a good parent — and a great way to end another great episode of Louie."[8]