If “tough love” had a face, it would look like Sam Loudermilk. Played with grumpy precision by Ron Livingston (Office Space), Sam is the titular character in Loudermilk, a sleeper hit that bounced around between streaming services for years while quietly amassing a devoted cult following. Now that all 3 seasons are streaming on both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, viewers are curious about the city Loudermilk and his band of misfits call home.
What’s Loudermilk about?
Loudermilk is about Sam Loudermilk, a former music journalist who is as well known for his scathing reviews as he is for his alcoholism. After hitting rock bottom, he retreats from the music world and becomes a substance abuse counselor for a group of outrageous characters including Mugsy (Brian Regan), New Guy (Ricky Blitt), and Ed (Timothy Webber). Will Sasso plays Sam’s adorable roommate (and sometimes sober coach) Ben, and Anja Savcic plays Claire, a young recovering addict he reluctantly takes in at her mother’s request.
Loudermilk was created by comedy veterans Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort, with Farrelly directing the series. The first season was released to the AT&T Audience Network in 2017, and it was renewed for a second season in 2018. But in April 2020 the entertainment world was sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic, and AT&T Audience Network shut its doors leaving Loudermilk without a distributor.
Luckily for us, Amazon swooped in with a sack full of cash (presumably) and bought the rights to the show, releasing the first two seasons along with an unaired third season on Prime. All 30 episodes of the first three seasons hit Prime in the U.S. in March 2021 and, thanks to a licensing deal with Sony Distribution, the show also premiered on Netflix on January 14, 2024. Showrunners have indicated that they have two more seasons sketched out and ready to film, but there’s been no official announcement about a season 4 just yet.
Loudermilk’s city: the uncredited character
While much of the show’s action takes place in a church basement with a circle of recovering addicts sharing their burdens, Sam spends a lot of time wandering the streets of the city where he lives. Which is … where, exactly?
Well, it’s two places. The show is supposed to be based in Seattle, Washington, a fitting enough hometown for a former music critic. But, like many films and shows before it, Loudermilk is actually filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. If you’re in the area, you can even stroll past 2190 Main Street to see the outside of Sam’s apartment, or meander down to 3561 Main Street to glimpse Neptoon Records. Don’t be fooled by all those prominent shots of the Space Needle.
Fingers crossed that we’ll see more of our favorite snarky misanthrope soon! In the meantime, catch up with all three seasons on both Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
(featured image: Netflix)
