Great news from FX today.
The presitge network has ordered a fifth season of one of the best comedies on television — Better Things.
In conjunction with the renewal, series creator and star, Pamela Adlon, has signed a new overall deal with FX productions.
Her partnership with FX productions has already achieved one of the most acclaimed comedy series in television with Better Things.
Eric Schrier, President, FX Entertainment made the announcement today.
The agreement covers all scripted and unscripted programming exclusively for FX, as well as potentially other divisions of Walt Disney Television.
Better Things is the story of “Sam Fox” (Pamela Adlon), a single mother and working actor with no filter, raising her three daughters, “Max” (Mikey Madison), “Frankie” (Hannah Alligood) and “Duke” (Olivia Edward) in Los Angeles.
She also looks after her mother, “Phil” (Celia Imrie), an English expat with questionable faculties who lives across the street.
Whether she’s earning a living, navigating her daughters’ changing lives, or trying to have one of her own, Sam approaches every challenge with fierce love, raw honesty and humor.
The series has drawn critical acclaim with Better Things Season 4, as it has with every season so far.
Better Things is incredibly satisfying in its simplicity, I noted in my review of the fourth season.
Through a female lens, Adlon discovers life’s beautiful impurities and precious moments assuring us age isn’t a factor when it comes to happiness.
Better Things has a 100% critics score for Seasons 3 and 4 with an overall series score of 97%.
And the critic didn’t get this one wrong. The average audience score for the series is 84%.
Better Things consistently received love on the awards circuit, as well.
Just today, the Television Critics Assocation nominated the series for two awards, including Outstanding Achievement in Comedy for the series and Adlon’s nomination for Individual Achievement in Comedy.
Adlon was nominated for Emmys for her work as Sam Fox on the series in 2017 and 2018, and she garnered a Golden Globe nomination in 2018 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy.
The more we get from Pamela Adlon, the better.
If you missed the series so far, now’s a great time to get acquainted.
All four seasons are available to steam via FX on Hulu.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.