Scripted series · FX
Better Things
Family gets real.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Pamela Adlon
Sam Fox
52 eps
Celia Imrie
Phil
52 eps
Mikey Madison
Max
52 eps
Hannah Riley
Frankie
52 eps
Olivia Edward
Duke
52 eps
Cree Summer
Lenny
2 eps
Kevin Pollak
Marion
10 eps
Zach Woods
Zach
1 eps
Ilea Alfaro
Actress
1 eps
Rebecca Metz
Tressa
8 eps
Jennifer Blakeslee
Susie
1 eps
Hana Mae Lee
Trieste
1 eps
Coco Leigh
Jennie
1 eps
Sahba Keihani
Setareh
1 eps
Artemis Pebdani
Shak's Mom
1 eps
Devin Crittenden
Alan
1 eps
Mark Feuerstein
Mark Feuerstein
1 eps
David Duchovny
David Duchovny / Teak
1 eps
Lenny Kravitz
Mel Trueblood
1 eps
Danny Pudi
Danny
1 eps
Phil Rosenthal
George
1 eps
Deborah S. Craig
Jen
1 eps
Nancy Linehan Charles
Diane
1 eps
Benjamin King
Charles Kemp
1 eps
Cleopatra Coleman
Dr. Okoye
1 eps
Mather Zickel
5 eps
Rae Dawn Chong
1 eps
Alex Désert
1 eps
Britney Young
Merryl
1 eps
Chris Williams
Modi
1 eps
José Zúñiga
2 eps
Cass Buggé
Frances
1 eps
Michael Hyatt
Ms. Dickler
1 eps
Alysia Reiner
4 eps
Michael Anastasia
Bad Date Man
1 eps
Stella Angelova
Ballet Teacher
1 eps
Rati Gupta
Bank Teller
1 eps
Milla Sofia Press
Paisley
1 eps
Emma Loewen
Megan
2 eps
Henry Thomas
Robin
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Better Things actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Better Things reads strongest on Character Depth, Humour and Emotional Weight.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The story
What it's about
Sam Fox is a single, working actor with no filter trying to raise her three daughters – Max, Frankie and Duke – in Los Angeles. She is mom, dad, referee and the cops.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 52 episodes.
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
201610 episodes
7.2IMDbBest episode · S01E05 Future Fever
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
201710 episodes
7.7IMDbBest episode · S02E10 Graduation
Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
201912 episodes
5.7IMDbBest episode · S03E12 Shake the Cocktail
Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
202010 episodes
7.4IMDbBest episode · S04E06 New Orleans
Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
202210 episodes
7.3IMDb
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S02E10 · Signature episode
Graduation
Sam negotiates the graduation party.
S02E06 · Signature episode
Eulogy
Sam demands satisfaction.
S02E07 · Signature episode
Blackout
Sam does hard things.
S02E02 · Signature episode
Rising
Sam clears her head.
- Directed by Pamela Adlon
- Written by Louis C.K.
S01E05 · Signature episode
Future Fever
Sam has snack and Max thinks about things.
- Directed by Lance Bangs
- Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.
S01E10
Only Women Bleed
Only women bleed.
- Directed by Pamela Adlon
- Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S05E10
We Are Not Alone
S05E09
England
S05E08
Jesus Saves
S05E07
Family Meeting
S05E06
San Francisco
S05E05
The World Is Mean Right Now
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Liz NewmanProducer
- Joanne TollProducer
- Pamela AdlonExecutive Producer
Writing
- Joe HortuaWriter
- Sarah GubbinsWriter
- Gina FattoreWriter
- Ira ParkerWriter
- Pamela AdlonWriter
- Louis C.K.Writer
Direction
- Nisha GanatraDirector
- Pamela AdlonDirector
- Louis C.K.Director
- Lance BangsDirector
Cinematography
- Paul KoestnerDirector of Photography
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- HuluStreaming
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
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Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
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2023
Stay with stories about power, and what it costs the people holding it.
Rick and Morty
2013
Another invented world built with the same seriousness — start at episode one.
FROM
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If the world-building is what held you, this is the next map to walk.
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Another masterpiece of long-form storytelling, chosen to follow this one.
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Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Never stop watching
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