I Know Just the Feel-Good Show You Must Watch If You’ve Been Down Recently

When starting a new show, there’s always a risk that it’ll be a waste of time. But strangely enough, I can’t remember any show I’ve seen that I ended up hating or even feeling indifferent about.

I think there are two explanations for this: either I am just not a picky viewer, or maybe I have a strong intuition that leads me to the shows I fall in love with again and again. I think I'll go with the second, because there's no other way to tell how I ended up watching Better Things.

A rather underrated show that is not well known to the masses is now definitely in my top three best shows of all time, and there are so many things that make this show a masterpiece. Better Things premiered on FX in 2016. It's a comedy/drama created by Pamela Adlon and Louis C.K., with Adlon playing the titular character.

The show ran for five seasons, but after season 2, in 2017, when a major scandal involving the comedian's name broke, Adlon was forced to spend some time creating a new writing team to run the show on her own after Louis C.K. was removed from the project.

What Is Better Things About?

At the center of the story is Adlon's character, Sam Fox, who is raising her three daughters alone and has to be not only a good mother to them, but also a good daughter to her rather eccentric mother. Add to that her career and you get a life full of permanent stress…

Despite the many problems that come up in Sam's life every day, she somehow manages to get through them. Sometimes she finds help in her daughters, sometimes it's her mother who unexpectedly gives her good advice instead of ruining her day as usual. Sometimes it's just a single word from a stranger that helps her think in the direction she needs to go.

The show has this vibe that I can't even describe in words: it gives you a close look at a life that is so complicated, but you still wish you had it. The little acts of kindness that the characters do to each other in a life full of stress just make you think that everything is… solvable? And the amazing performances by Adlon and the rest of the cast help you fall in love with the show.

There's a line in one of the show's soundtracks that appears near the end of the show: "I'm actually good, can't help it if we're tilted," and I think making that my motto was the smartest decision ever.

Better Things is available to stream Hulu.