Better Things
Season 4 SABC3 (*193) 20:30 Comedy
There’s loads of comedy in season 4 of biographical series Better Things, but it’s also going to up the ante on the drama side, says lead star and show creator Pamela Adlon (the voice of Sonya in the adult animated series Human Resources). Her single-mom struggling actress character Sam Fox is going to be dealing with her mid-life crises this season and it’s important to Pam. “Sam struggled in the first three seasons – but that was her life. Now she’s going to go through an interesting crisis phase to test her.”
She gets dragged into the world of online dating by her three daughters who want to see her happy in love, she is robbed of her minivan and there’s worse on the way, says Pam. “One of her old shows is rebooted and there’s no space for her at first. She’s got to line up with other actresses and audition for a role she made famous,” says 55-year-old Pam. “Plus her kids have two new pets that take her by surprise: A chinchilla and a snake… and the girls are making the animals Sam’s problem. Its a headache she doesn’t want!” And that’s just the first two episodes!
Pamela is also the show’s director and producer and she says that seeing Sam squirm under the pressure of life made her even more driven behind the scenes. “This season is about a world of women. We’re telling more stories about a house filled with women and the different life experiences they have,” says Pam, adding, “A lot of tricky things happen because Sam’s daughters are growing up and Sam is facing things like how to give them guidance and direction, and how do you lead them in any direction when they think they know everything.” It’s definitely not easy – but neither is life – and Pamela says that “the comedy definitely shines through as the star – but the drama is our story”.