'Better Things' Season 2 Spoilers: Episode 2 to 5 Titles Revealed for Pamela Adlon's 'Cinematic' Season
The second season of "Better Things" on FX premiered on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 10 p.m. The first episode back showed that Sam (Pamela Adlon) was unhappy with her daughter Max's (Mikey Madison) new boyfriend, but she couldn't be the villain in the teen's life.
Thus begins another year of parenting challenge for the show's heroine. The succeeding Thursday episodes entitled "Rising," "Robin," "Sick," and "Phil" will have the single mom struggle with getting sick, making new friends and deciding life-altering choices that could impact her three kids.
An upcoming episode will also have Sam drowning in pity as her daughters forget her birthday. Another episode will show Sam's mom, Phyllis (Celia Imrie), and her worsening illness and there is no one else helping Sam take care of her.
Adlon, who is also tasked to direct all 10 episodes of "Better Things" season 2, told Entertainment Weekly that this will be a "cinematic" year for the show.
"I never want to waste a frame. I always look and see what I've got," Adlon said. "This season is quite cinematic, and just any opportunity that I would have to...like, I call it casting my car."
Working behind the camera, as well as in front of the camera, might be a bigger challenge for Adlon as the show's star. She's also a writer along with Louis C.K. but Adlon said that this is why her parenting dramedy series feels so personal because she's behind every detail, much like a handmaid item.
"The more it comes together, and the more we piece things together, when you start getting the feeling...oh, it just makes me crazy!" Adlon told The Hollywood Reporter.
Critics mostly loved last season's debut and it looks like the verdict remains the same for season 2. Time stated that it's one of the best shows on TV today, while The Atlantic described "Better Things" as nearly perfect.