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Pamela Adlon can鈥檛 fully process what鈥檚 happening.
The second season of her semiautobiographical FX comedy, Better Things, premi猫red last week 鈥� a nerve-inducing situation.
鈥淗ow did I get here?鈥� she says during a recent sit-down in Beverly Hills. 鈥淚鈥檝e been working my whole life as an actor. I never thought I鈥檇 get to this place.鈥�
Better Things, which Adlon, 51, co-created with her longtime collaborator Louis C.K., features Adlon as Sam Fox, a working actor and single mother of three daughters. The first season earned acclaim for its refreshing and hilariously honest depiction of someone trying to figure out how to navigate the pothole-filled roads of parenthood and work and a personal life.
Adlon produces, stars, co-writes and, this season, directs every episode.
We spoke with the New York native about her approach to Season 2, her own growing pains as a parent and the reason for all those toilet shots.
Q: Heading into Season 2, what did you know for sure you wanted to explore?
A: I started thinking about everything last October. All these inspirations just started happening, and I talked to Louis about it. There鈥檚 a lot of changes happening with her kids and who they are as a family. We鈥檒l see more of Sam鈥檚 mom. And we go deeper with characters you maybe wouldn鈥檛 have expected. Then there鈥檚 Sam鈥檚 love life that we wanted to hit a bit harder and make it all as complicated as it really is.
Q: What opportunities did that present, given that Sam is someone who is used to being on her own?
A: She鈥檚 used to being in control of her time and her feelings, because things with her kids and her mother are so out of control all the time. It鈥檚 like also does she have enough space to date with somebody brand new ... Then at the end of the day, feeling like she screwed it all up, and she doesn鈥檛 deserve it. That鈥檚 sad.
Q: In terms of the kids, what was the objective this season? We left off with one of Sam鈥檚 daughters, Frankie (Hannah Alligood), questioning her gender identity.
A: It was just so fun to be able to go deeper and then to not tie things up neatly about Frankie. She鈥檚 so young. You know what I mean? She鈥檚 the way I was. 鈥� Look at all the TV shows I did in the 鈥�80s. Every single part, I was a boy, or playing a boy, or a girl who wanted to be a boy. One of my daughters 鈥� she was, like, a boy for four straight years. Everybody is very like, 鈥淵ou have to get a sponsor; it鈥檚 going to be this way.鈥� No, it鈥檚 not. We don鈥檛 know. And that鈥檚 OK.
With all the girls, it鈥檚 just so amazing to see how they鈥檝e grown and how much range they show. Their performances are just incredible.
Q: What is it like for Sam to reach this stage where her kids are seeking more independence 鈥� and where she鈥檚 trying to figure out who she is outside of them?
A: When your kids stop being your excuse or your only focus and you have to start living for yourself 鈥� I mean, it鈥檚 the only reason I am where I am right now, is because my kids got a little bit older, and they got a foothold, and I had said no to so many things for so many years. And then I finally started really investing time into myself professionally; stuff that I had sacrificed for a long time. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 doing now, and that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 paying off in the way that it is. My daughters understand that. They know how hard I鈥檓 working.
Q: What led you to directing every episode this season?
A: That was just something that Louis encouraged me to do. Halfway through the season last year, it was just plain that I should be doing it. It鈥檚 a very handmade show, and it鈥檚 just easier. It wasn鈥檛 harder, strangely, because I knew what I wanted. I wanted to keep the performances small and real. I never wanted to waste a frame. I know what I like when I see it. And so I was able to artistically and creatively in every way get off by making this whole season.
Q: What served as your inspiration? There are some moments where there鈥檚 no dialogue, or we just hear the music.
A: I wanted to have thoughtful moments and to be able to let them play out. You know how you spend a lot of time in your mind, kind of visualizing things and then rolling memories over and over in your head? That kind of thing. This season felt like there was a lot of momentum, and she was digging in with a lot of things, and then retreating from a lot of things.
Q: Did you learn anything about yourself as an actress from seeing yourself through the director鈥檚 perspective?
A: Yeah. It鈥檚 funny, because I would have to separate myself, because I have to watch the thing as a whole. I would stop and say, 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to give me a minute.鈥� Everybody would be around me going, 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to get these shots.鈥� I would say, 鈥淪top!鈥� And I would look at the actors and say, 鈥淒id you get what you need?鈥� My script supervisor would come over to me and say, 鈥淚 need to speak to the actor, Pamela, now.鈥�
Q: Finally, the toilet shots ...
A: I just have a situation with toilets. I mean, I plunge my own personal toilet at least two to three times a week.
