Funny, real and inspiring. I have loved Pam since Californication. The story is original. I love that men are not saving these women. They are facing the world on their own not waiting for a man to help them. They deal with real world problems in a non forgiving world of social media, changing family structure and the role of women in society is changing. Cannot wait to see where life takes these women.
161 Reviews
Those daughters
eloyas7 April 2019
Those Kids!
ppowell0022 March 2019
I've just recently started to watch and am on season 2. I like the show especially Pamela A. Her bratty kids, however, are too broadly drawn and cliched. I would like to punch them. Is that what the writers were going for?
Fantastically Touching
sagapo_ellas21 January 2017
Although I have been an IMDb member for over a year, I have never felt compelled to write a review until now. Better Things is enthralling, relatable, raw. It's a paradox, as nothing really happens, but at the same time everything happens - it is not one of those series where every episode is packed with new revelations and adventures and dramas. Yet I felt myself impatient to watch the next episode, as each was filled to the brim with those little everyday events that we often dismiss as meaningless, but which have the biggest impact in shaping us as individuals, and our relationships with those around us.
I watched all 10 episodes in one sitting. I rarely do this. I never lost interest, which is rare for me. I did not initially know that Louis CK had written/directed this, as I like to approach a new series with no preconceptions or prior knowledge in order to keep an open mind. It was during the second episode that I suggested to myself that this was extremely similar to Louis CK's style. And lo and behold it was.
If you want constant action, falsified drama and fake laughter, then this is not for you. If you want everyday life presented in a raw, realistic manner, yet which reveals the profound impact of daily events between family members and friends, then this is for you. I do not have children, but I imagine that this is EXACTLY what it is like - and I often ask mothers what it is like to be a parent (research for my decision as to whether or not to have children!!). Children are a pain in the a*s; parents are exhausted; children moan, swear, fight, shout, annoy you. But those little moments make everything fall into place, as you see that children rely on their parents (or mother) for so much more than clothes, food, lifts to school, and a heated home to live in.
This does not feel like an edited, rehearsed series. It feels like I am peering through the window of the neighbour. It is real, and it will reel you in. Absolutely brilliant.
I watched all 10 episodes in one sitting. I rarely do this. I never lost interest, which is rare for me. I did not initially know that Louis CK had written/directed this, as I like to approach a new series with no preconceptions or prior knowledge in order to keep an open mind. It was during the second episode that I suggested to myself that this was extremely similar to Louis CK's style. And lo and behold it was.
If you want constant action, falsified drama and fake laughter, then this is not for you. If you want everyday life presented in a raw, realistic manner, yet which reveals the profound impact of daily events between family members and friends, then this is for you. I do not have children, but I imagine that this is EXACTLY what it is like - and I often ask mothers what it is like to be a parent (research for my decision as to whether or not to have children!!). Children are a pain in the a*s; parents are exhausted; children moan, swear, fight, shout, annoy you. But those little moments make everything fall into place, as you see that children rely on their parents (or mother) for so much more than clothes, food, lifts to school, and a heated home to live in.
This does not feel like an edited, rehearsed series. It feels like I am peering through the window of the neighbour. It is real, and it will reel you in. Absolutely brilliant.
Def try it!
mpf10113 April 2019
I totally understand why some people don't like this. But you'd be crazy not to give it a try. If this is your type of humor, Better Things is as good as it gets, and you can't know without watching a few episodes. Pamela's family couldn't be more different from ours, but my wife and I find it very relatable and delightfully funny. Sorry, this is not an insightful review but rather a heartfelt recommendation. In my Ultimate TV Top 10.
A great show can hit you right in the face and you wont even know it
elgichuhi1 October 2017
FX has gone to great lengths to make sure every show they produce is not only entertaining but unique in a way that you feel you haven;t watched anything like it.Pamela Adlon really pours her soul out in this show.She plays a fictionalised version of herself.A struggling actress and a single mom trying to raise 3 kids on her own. It might sound like a simple premise but its executed to near perfection.It got smart comedy,great writing,great acting and really subtle portrayal of emotion.Give this one a try and I promise you won't regret it
Real Life is funnier than fiction
yossarian1009 October 2016
Great comedy is real comedy, and this is as real as it gets.
Pamela Adlon plays one of the best "Moms" I can remember. She seems tired, dragging a bit....you know....just like real moms. And she's sarcastic in a way that cracks me up. I love her.
The kids are fresh and unlike most TV kids. They're as real as kids get, too.
In episode 5, Sam's oldest daughter discovers she's wasted her opportunities and worries that her life will go nowhere. Those lines and her delivery made me cry. Sam takes her to try on business clothes and gives her a pep talk, which also made me cry.
Yeah, real comedy is real life.
Better Life might not be for everybody, though. If you're looking for dumb jokes and mindless humor, you won't care for this.
This is one of the best sitcoms I can remember seeing. Outstanding job by all!
Pamela Adlon plays one of the best "Moms" I can remember. She seems tired, dragging a bit....you know....just like real moms. And she's sarcastic in a way that cracks me up. I love her.
The kids are fresh and unlike most TV kids. They're as real as kids get, too.
In episode 5, Sam's oldest daughter discovers she's wasted her opportunities and worries that her life will go nowhere. Those lines and her delivery made me cry. Sam takes her to try on business clothes and gives her a pep talk, which also made me cry.
Yeah, real comedy is real life.
Better Life might not be for everybody, though. If you're looking for dumb jokes and mindless humor, you won't care for this.
This is one of the best sitcoms I can remember seeing. Outstanding job by all!
surprising
pswanson007 April 2019
I find much of Better Things quite amusing, and very realistic, but -- familiar as I am with the volatile nature of the adolescent female -- I still find some of the dialogue written for the girls to be shocking. If I'd ever said to either of my parents even half of what spews out of the character of Frankie, I'd've awakened in the hospital being fed through a tube. There definitely are episodes which make it clear that there is an overload of undiluted estrogen in that house.
Best thing!
stefepaul18 January 2020
Possibly too real for those using television to escape it all. Perhaps shows about zombies better for that crowd. The character of Sam is a committed loving mom who happens to be a true human as well. With strengths and flaws she pushes through life and we feel her force. I hesitate to repeat the word "real" but that's how each daughter feels. The show has truly evolved by the third season and I may have cried more than I laughed.
Hilarious. Raw and yet poignant. Best series on TV
anwahs138 October 2016
This show is one of the best series I've ever watched. I am a huge Louis C.K. and Pamela Aldon fan. It's extremely easy to relate to, real and laugh out loud hilarious about REAL people and the struggles of being a single parent or parent for that matter. It also does a great job of showing the struggles of being an aging actress in an industry that favours youth and beauty over talent. I'm amazed to read other reviews stating that it's not funny? Someone said it was for Feminists. Absolutely, not true. While I would call her a Feminist, she bashes those who have it coming, not necessarily only men. She praises good men and gives the bad ones an earful, so possibly it touched a nerve in some people. Make up your own mind by giving it a watch :)
A lot of great things about this show. However, children unwatchable.
mccallgj7 July 2019
I love that this show is centered on a working mom in her 40s/50s. So much raw, relatable content. It doesn't glamorize the inner workings of day to day family life. But, and it's a big BUT, the oldest children are spoiled and entitled. Sure, that makes for conflict and drama. But it's becoming unwatchable the way she portrays herself as this martyr for enduring her own two older children's behavior. It's beginning to make her an unlikable character for me. It is not endearing to watch her ALLOW her children to be monsters. Aside from that, there's plenty of good stuff there.
Had to stop halfway through season 3
walkerkenbea3 May 2019
I was really enjoying this show, it's direction, how real it felt, and the growth of the main character; but the daughters just ruin it for me. They are so annoying and ungrateful I can't even stomach anymore. Especially the way they wrote the oldest daughter. Just get a headache watching this show now.
Another solid season
sandramoreilla22 January 2019
Pamela Adlon offers much richer characterizations for her trio of young co-stars this year, and it's hard to think of another tv series since Malcolm in the Middle that has had such an ingenious representation of the youngest-middle-oldest sibling dynamic. The writing is indelibly sharp too, as just like Louie the show is as precious as it is hilarious, and it's captured in a way that's simply beautiful on every level. In a year with no new seasons for Atlanta or Louie, FX subscribers that appreciate more subversive comedies with a knack for subtlety will find all they desire here, in Better Things.
Real and raw
iuliana_vasnic27 September 2016
I really love the show because it presents the life of Sammy (a single working mom raising three kids) in a very realistic manner.
I am not parent (let alone a single parent), but after watching the show I feel very connected to them and there is nothing more refreshing than "saying it like it is" on a comedy series.
Do you know/imagine how complex it is (rewarding, funny and hard) to raise 3 girls as a single parent in Hollywood? :)
Well this show hits the nail on the head.
Sammy's sense of humour helps her deal with work situations, raising the girls with love, getting to meet guys
No b*****it kind of show
I am not parent (let alone a single parent), but after watching the show I feel very connected to them and there is nothing more refreshing than "saying it like it is" on a comedy series.
Do you know/imagine how complex it is (rewarding, funny and hard) to raise 3 girls as a single parent in Hollywood? :)
Well this show hits the nail on the head.
Sammy's sense of humour helps her deal with work situations, raising the girls with love, getting to meet guys
No b*****it kind of show
Pamela Adlon ROCKS
Danckersen3 April 2020
One of the best shows I've ever seen. Thank you Pamela Adlon for sharing such beautiful, heartfelt stories. Real characters, flaws and all. I'm watching The Wedding episode set in New Orleans. Can't help but sob. So vulnerable. Thanks QUEEN!
Good show
Evanoil16 October 2016
I was looking forward for seeing this show for a long time and it didn't disappoint me. Again im looking at the score on the site and cant understand how this show couldn't get a higher one. Ofcoure a lot of people don't trust the score and watch whatever they want before making any mind about it but still it can be a little confusing when it comes to the score on site. This one is a good show put together by brilliant comedians to tell a story about a family from a funny point of view and it works perfectly fine if you ask me , yes there still a little drama here and there but if you look at the big picture , this show lacks the mistakes that are done by so many comedy shows out there , no clichés , no stupid jokes , just life from a funny perspective.
Good show but skip the last season.
druhanp13 February 2023
I generally enjoyed the show and it was ground-breaking in many ways. It covers the lives of three generations of women in a family and how neuroses travel through those generations. The main character Sam is an artist and tends toward stream-of-consciousness in her relationship to the world. The grandmother is stiff, proper and British. The daughters are a mix of the two and kind of angry most of the time.
This is not a sitcom. It doesn't go for cheap laughs, it's more natural and the humor flows from human foibles and frustrations. I was worried that the series would be affected by the (deserved) cancellation of Louis C. K., but Pamela Adlon did a fine job of carrying on. She essentially plays herself given the similarities between her and worklife of the characters she plays.
Now to the title of my review. The penultimate season should have been the last. It wrapped up really nicely and I thought that was the satisfying end. Unfortunately, it came back for a hot mess of episodes. Many of the supporting actors had evidently moved on to other projects and were not together for many episodes. The stream-of-conciousness factor took over, leading to a directionless melange of ideas and narratives. In the last episode there was an attempt to wrap it all up in a sunny bow that belied the nature of everything that went before. The final couple minutes were a stab at being inspirational but rang hollow and were really cliched.
It took me a while to get through the last season, which I did more out of curiosity than interest. Too many series go on longer than they should and this is one of them.
This is not a sitcom. It doesn't go for cheap laughs, it's more natural and the humor flows from human foibles and frustrations. I was worried that the series would be affected by the (deserved) cancellation of Louis C. K., but Pamela Adlon did a fine job of carrying on. She essentially plays herself given the similarities between her and worklife of the characters she plays.
Now to the title of my review. The penultimate season should have been the last. It wrapped up really nicely and I thought that was the satisfying end. Unfortunately, it came back for a hot mess of episodes. Many of the supporting actors had evidently moved on to other projects and were not together for many episodes. The stream-of-conciousness factor took over, leading to a directionless melange of ideas and narratives. In the last episode there was an attempt to wrap it all up in a sunny bow that belied the nature of everything that went before. The final couple minutes were a stab at being inspirational but rang hollow and were really cliched.
It took me a while to get through the last season, which I did more out of curiosity than interest. Too many series go on longer than they should and this is one of them.
one true voice
SnoopyStyle26 April 2022
Sam Fox (Pamela Adlon) is an older Hollywood actress struggling with work and raising three daughters, Max, Frankie, and Duke, by herself. She has been a working actor since childhood. On top of that, there's her unstable mother across the street.
Pamela Adlon is this character. This is a semi-autobiographic show and Adlon is brilliantly realistic. These are compelling characters. There is some fun and plenty of poignancy. This show does have one giant elephant in the room and his name is Louis C. K. Louis is a producer and helped Pamela develop the show. In the end, she is the one and only voice that matters. That helps one ignore Louis' name in the credits. Maybe he'll salvage his career in the future. For now, this is a great personal show on its own and it's worthwhile TV.
Pamela Adlon is this character. This is a semi-autobiographic show and Adlon is brilliantly realistic. These are compelling characters. There is some fun and plenty of poignancy. This show does have one giant elephant in the room and his name is Louis C. K. Louis is a producer and helped Pamela develop the show. In the end, she is the one and only voice that matters. That helps one ignore Louis' name in the credits. Maybe he'll salvage his career in the future. For now, this is a great personal show on its own and it's worthwhile TV.
Love it! it just feels like real life with no sugarcoating
yohibadash11 April 2020
The first seasons of this show are pretty brilliant in my opinion. It just has a sense of "real", like im not watching a TV series but rather real life situations that the main character has to deal with and she feels like an actual person rather than just a character on TV. I love how there is no sense of time or continuation in most episodes. Its just random day to day stuff. I believe most women could relate to things she is going through.
The only reason i gave only 6starts is that in the later seasons her 3 girls become SO ANNOYING beyond worlds its almost impossible to watch any scene with them without getting pissed off or happy that i dont have any children of my own, seriously, all of them are annoying as hell and there is no explanation even in the last season why duke is being such an a-hole. This basically ruined the show for me... no one likes ungreatful brats.
The only reason i gave only 6starts is that in the later seasons her 3 girls become SO ANNOYING beyond worlds its almost impossible to watch any scene with them without getting pissed off or happy that i dont have any children of my own, seriously, all of them are annoying as hell and there is no explanation even in the last season why duke is being such an a-hole. This basically ruined the show for me... no one likes ungreatful brats.
Funny moments but not enough to save it
BigEddOnCampus19 May 2022
The show has some funny moments in each episode but my god this show captures every reason we just need to flush L. A away. Majority of the characters just like real life think they are significantly better than everyone else when in reality they are the most toxic people you can encounter on the planet, and not in a good seinfeld/iasip kinda way. The only character that isn't a nutcase is the gay guy but even he had his moments in season 2 or 3 with the dating drama, same for duke mostly good but has her moments. Its also weird that they want you to agree with frankie on her progressive ideology yet she is literally the meanest and most toxic child i have ever seen in a tv show. Im only 19 and don't have any kids yet but if i ever have some and they act like sams kids im getting a one way ticket to somaliland.
Love this show. "Better Things" is just that!
annedonnelly16 November 2016
Have always loved Pamela and absolutely Love, Love, Love, Better Things!! She is one of the more underrated actresses and I don't think it was until Lucky Louie and Louie that we really got to see her shine. She is one of my favorites and I know there is no way you can't love her. She is truly original and this show is perfect exactly as it is, raw, real, and relatable times ten. The daughters seem true and believable and seem to have a natural love/hate relationship with their mom as we all did at their ages. The writing is smart and the acting seems unrehearsed giving the show an edge of unpredictability that is endearing. I am hoping enough people give the show a chance to keep it on the air. You go girls! Anne
Great writing
barbarawalker49411 January 2020
I love this show and can't wait for season 4. Although it really bothers me that these girls are not taught to respect their mother and apologize when necessary.
I want to know what the boy statue at the top of the stairs is for and why they make it an effort to rub his head. It's driving me nuts not knowing.
I want to know what the boy statue at the top of the stairs is for and why they make it an effort to rub his head. It's driving me nuts not knowing.
Fun fact
anneavnby17 March 2020
In episode 1 og season 4 the mother is wearing a hoodie in the kitchen while she's cooking. It says "Bevar Christiania" on the front. That's danish for "Save Christiania". Christiania is a so called "free town" in Denmark's capital Copenhagen. Thumbs up to the writers/producers!
Why have I not watched BT before??
Critic_For_Life19 June 2020
Love this show. Maybe her kids are a tad annoying but now I get it- it's family , not everyone's family but it's the best Sam can do for her girls who mean more than anything in the world to her. Funny and yet it has its real moments. Highly recommend. Very talented cast, every one of them. Keep it going Pam Adlon- you keep it real. Nice touch dedicating the series to your daughters, btw.
I love this show but this season suuucks
amy31731727 April 2019
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