Channel Surfing: Better Things - "Pilot/Sam"

Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
The past week has been big for FX comedies. Along with the second week of You're the Worst, it featured the debut two highly audacious new series. The first was Atlanta from Donald Glover. Next up was an equally disconcerting series in Better Things: a show that shows the complexities of motherhood not as a grand sitcom, but as a nonstop vehicle for frustration. Leading the pack is frequent Louie collaborator Pamela Adlon, whose grouchy voice is perfect for the vignettes that make up the first episode. She plays Sam Fox, who has daughters that are both in their rebellious teenage years, and in their naive preteen years. While there's some bonding, it's mostly a candid excuse to show how Sam is unable to find solace in the single mother racket.
The opening segment alone is enough to set the tone for the rest of the series. As her daughter cries while sitting on a mall bench, Sam asks a neighboring spectator that she's crying over expensive earrings that she has at home but wants from the store now. It's an awkward moment, but one packed with unexplained signs that Adlon's writing comes from deep and personal experience. As things continue, the role of motherhood is explored both in an extroverted fashion as Sam and her teenage daughter discuss why sexual behavior needs to be hidden from parents. It evolves into introverted as Sam refuses to do risque scenes for fear that her daughters will see it. There's constant struggle for her to have an identity outside of being someone's mother.
While there have been shoddy mothers on TV before, Better Things has a strange and refreshing candidness that is only afforded on cable's loose censorship laws. Over the course of the episode, she manages to speak volumes of truth that likely appeal to loving mothers whose frustrations can only be screamed into a pillow. She is a fully fleshed out character and even if the average moment doesn't last for more than a few minutes, she manages to connect them in a longing sense to be good at her job, both figuratively as a mother, and literally as an actress. True, it does have scant traces of Louie, but it would be a disservice to stop there. It's got the acidic wit of Adlon along with a melancholic tenderness that plays out as she texts people, hoping to find an escape from her miserable life.
Better Things in some ways is more accessible than Atlanta, if just because of Adlon's magnetic personality. Having been around behind the scenes for decades on Louie, Recess, and notably King of the Hill, she has a weathered vibe that adds to the show's appeal. Even if the show is for all other purposes aimless, she has a compelling character at the center of everything who within a half hour of introduction feels more real and shocking than any mother. It's not because she goes all Mommie Dearest and abuses her daughter, but more of the little things - such as her daughter walking in as she's preparing for some personal time alone. There's always a hurdle and the show realizes that so perfectly.
Most of all, it helps that Better Things is a perfect vehicle for Adlon because of how funny she has been before doing similar shtick. Thankfully, she has the intimate understanding and the writing skills to back up anything that feels familiar. It is unsure if Better Things will become one of FX's greatest series, but it definitely makes for an exciting pair with the differently ambitious Atlanta. It helps that both of these shows fill the cries of audiences wanting more diverse programming. Neither feel manufactured just to shut them up. They feel personal and raw with purpose. For that and many more reasons, Better Things is yet another promising new series that has kicked off the Fall season with ease.

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