How Pamela Adlon mined her own 'invisibility' to create one of TV's best comedies
LOS ANGELES — Pamela Adlon has been prepping for the end since the beginning. The "Better Things" creator, star, showrunner, director and producer never assumed her loosely autobiographical comedy about a single mom and working actor raising three kids in the wilds of Los Angeles would charm critics, win a Peabody Award and last five seasons, making her character, Sam Fox, a patron saint of unconventional parenting and symbol of fierce love.
"I ended every season as if it was the last anyway because I never knew if my show was going to get picked up or not," said Adlon, whose series really does end Monday on FX. "That's just my mentality: Nothing is ever promised."
Life is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your pants odyssey with Adlon, a former child actor whose credits include "The Facts of Life," "Grease 2" and "Californication." (She also won an Emmy for voicing Bobby Hill in Mike Judge's animated series "King of the Hill.") Her L.A. office is filled with remnants of "Better Things," which premiered in 2017: artwork from Sam's busy household hangs on the walls,
