Better Things is one of the most generous, organic and beautiful works of the past decade

Vulture

Pamela Adlon's FX comedy succeeds where And Just Like That fails in shining a full, unfiltered light on the experiences of middle-aged women, says Jen Chaney. "Long before Miranda Hobbes ever went to a Che Diaz comedy concert, another series was telling rich, vibrant stories about a woman of a 'certain age' without getting nearly the same amount of attention for it," says Chaney. "That show is Better Things, one of the most generous, organic, and beautiful works of the past decade and one that embarks on its fifth and final season this week on FX and Hulu. If you haven’t watched before, now is the time... Better Things excels at capturing snapshots of reality as they unfold and finding the honesty, heart, and humor embedded within the everyday. It is touching without being treacly, progressive without being preachy, and funny without hitting punch lines, because its comedy arises from the absurdity of simply existing on planet Earth. This is the rare series that will reignite your appreciation of humanity while also acknowledging that sometimes people suck."

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• Better Things is perhaps TV's most cathartic show: The FX comedy "has a bemusement about everyday life and everyday things, when so much comedy seems cynical about it. It’s comforting to watch a TV series that’s not necessarily escapist, but also not too brutally real," says Kevin Fallon. "It makes you feel a little less crazy about getting through the day when you watch Sam try to get through hers. You’re transported into reality, not out of it. Daily battles are waged with compassion and an open heart, but Better Things doesn’t retreat from the unpleasantness that manages to infiltrate, despite our best efforts. In some ways, everything is placed on an even playing field. What are our family’s finances and what’s going to happen when mom dies and where can we park near the restaurant and also what the f*ck are NFTs? In Sam’s world, they’re all equal, and equally impossible to answer."
• What makes Better Things thrilling is how Sam endures: "The show doesn’t see her transcend her struggles so much as transform them, witchily, into something greater, and more optimistic," says Sophie Gilbert, adding: "In a medium that loves to overemphasize its intentions, Better Things is notable for how much it withholds. Plot threads are dangled and yanked away, sometimes for a season, sometimes forever. Characters remain elusive, explained only in shreds of flashback. (Sam’s most compelling love interest in the series is a married man played by Mather Zickel, saved in her phone as 'Nobody.') Scenes follow one another erratically like fragments of time; images and objects recur without being explained, relying on the viewer to connect them, or not. In Season 5, which debuted on Monday, not much actually happens, but the things that do are threaded together by themes that have bloomed throughout the series."
• Mikey Madison says Better Things "was like my college": “It was my college experience, it was my film school, and my acting school"
• Pamela Adlon gets annoyed when Sam is called a passive parent: "Really?" she says. "That’s what you’re getting from this? I feel like she’s so engaged. She makes lots of sacrifices for her daughters. But other people say, 'She’s so permissive. She lets her daughters speak to her in a terrible way.' Well, you try raising three girls by yourself. Just f*cking try."