Louis C.K. Clarifies He is Not Broke, Has Plans for 'Horace and Pete'

"I own a complete series. It's an enormous asset and it's mine forever," says the comic.

Louis C.K. says reports of him being in the poor house have been greatly exaggerated.

During an interview on Bill Simmons' podcast on Wednesday, the comedian talked about his web series, Horace and Pete, and said that while creating and producing the show put him in debt, it's not as though he is penniless.

"I'm so not broke," C.K. told Simmons. "It's kind of crazy to see how wrong it gets and to see how far that wrongness spreads."

During an interview with Howard Stern earlier this month, C.K. said his series, which sprung online without notice in January and concluded April 2, left him millions in debt. Well, that is true, he told Simmons, but most TV shows carry debt, he clarified.

"I didn't lose money, I invested money," said C.K. "I own a complete series. It's an enormous asset and it's mine forever."

The comic said he wanted to conduct an experiment of sorts and find out how well the show could take off without help from the media.

"I wanted to see how it would spread word of mouth," he said. "You can't make a show without losing some money first."

But now the series is making money as people are discovering it through C.K.'s interviews about his process for making the show, which stars himself and Steve Buscemi.

"While we're siting here, it's selling and selling and selling," he said. "So far to date, my advertising budget is zero. For most people in the world, it doesn't exist yet. It's just sitting there."

But C.K. does have further plans in mind for the show.

"And then hopefully we'll get Emmy nominations, which I'm going to push for. And then we'll sell it to Netflix or somebody else or Hulu," he added.

There are 10 episodes in total available for purchase on C.K.'s website. The comedy-drama is set in a family-owned bar in Brooklyn.

C.K. told Simmons he assumed media outlets went over the top with his comments to Stern because that story was more "clickable" than the reality of the situation.

He also said the series was not "canceled," but rather came to an end.

"It's like saying that Raiders of the Lost Ark was canceled when they wrapped it ... or saying that The People v. O.J. Simpson was canceled," he said. "There's an ending to the story."