Review: Why Better Things Is One of the Best Shows on Television Right Now
For someone who rose to prominence thanks to the power of her voice, Pamela Adlon is remarkable at being silent.
The actress, who won an Emmy for voicing a preteen boy on King of the Hill and has been a key creative force on Louie, brings her whole self to Better Things. (The comedy’s second season begins Thursday on FX.) And while the series will get your attention for the antic, frazzling comic sensibility—Adlon’s character Sam, a single mom, is besieged constantly by the demands of her three children as well as her aging mother—it’s in the quiet moments where the show finds a center not quite like anything else currently on the air.
Since the first season, Sam, always under a fair amount of strain, has grown more frustrated. Her three girls (Mikey Madison, Hannah Alligood, and Olivia Edward) are growing into further moodiness and her mother (Celia Imrie) into further senescence. She’s not afraid to unload: yelling at a date whom she’s slept with but doesn’t really like, botching a weekend away with a man she seems to like a bit more. Crucially, it’s men for whom she saves her deepest ire. No matter how challenging her relationships with her daughters or her mother, they’re also sustaining.
As a performer, Adlon can play many notes. But she tends to like dischordant ones. In moments where a harried sitcom-mom would go big, Adlon chooses contemplation. In one remarkable moment in the season premiere, Sam reacts to ...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Daniel D’Addario Tags: Uncategorized Television Source Type: news