FX’s award-winning drama/comedy series Better Things has returned for its fourth season. The new season premiered with the first two episodes, both of which are now streaming on FX on Hulu.
Better Things follows Sam, an actress and single mother living in Los Angeles with her three daughters. The fourth season kicks off with Sam picking up her two youngest daughters from the airport after an extended visit with their father, which starts a series of events that lead to Sam declaring her own midlife crisis.
The fourth season plays more like a drama with very dry and almost awkward comedy dispersed throughout, as opposed to a straight up comedy. It is loaded with serious, real life problems like divorce and mental health issues and almost clumsily handles them in a way that is neither completely joking nor taking them seriously.
Still, Better Things has a sort of unexplainable charm about it. The characters are all very likeable and in most cases relatable, starting with Sam (Pamela Adlon). Her ability to look on the bright side as her life is crumbling around her will have you rooting for her immediately (if you weren’t already for the previous three seasons). Her daughters – Max, Frankie and Duke – are also very enjoyable characters, each with their own humorous dynamic with their mother.
The characters (Sam in almost all cases) really drive this show because there isn’t actually much of a story to it. For example, explaining the plot of the first episode of season four would be like telling someone about your day. Sam picked her daughters up from the airport, made breakfast and consoled a friend who was going through a breakup. Not a whole lot happens, but because of the characters, you’re along for the lack of a ride.
Admittedly, the second episode does ramp things in terms of story as Sam learns about a reboot of a show on which she once voiced a character and has to audition for her old part. There are still a lot of dark, dramatic tones to this episode but there is also a lot of humor and just an overall positive attitude toward everything, specifically coming from Sam.
If you’re looking for an absolute laugh out loud comedy, Better Things is not what you’re looking for. If you want a relatable drama with a very likeable leading lady, a family dynamic, some humor spread throughout and just a really positive outlook in the face of so much negativity, this is the show for you.
The first two episodes of the fourth season of Better Things are now streaming on FX on Hulu and new episodes will air ever Thursday on FX.