pamela adlon

Pamela Adlon Describes Directing and Starring in Every Episode of Better Things Season Two: ‘It Was Hardcore’

Pamela Adlon. Photo: Amanda Edwards/WireImage

It sounds like Pamela Adlon may have taken a page out of Better Things co-creator Louis C.K.’s book — that is, the one about assuming total creative control. The Emmy-nominated actress revealed Saturday in an interview with Entertainment Weekly just how taxing — and fulfilling — it was to direct every episode of her semi-autobiographical FX comedy’s second season, which premieres next month. “I shot 40 days, all on location, for 10 episodes — and I directed every episode,” she said. “It was like doing The Amazing Race and Survivor. It was hardcore.” It’s still extremely rare for shows to be helmed by a single director, let alone a female director, and like Louis C.K. in Louie, Adlon appears in virtually every scene of Better Things as well. But with the show being so reflective of her experiences and humor, there’s no reason to suspect that her increased personal stamp won’t turn out in the series’s favor as she takes more ownership. Adlon certainly thinks so, at least. “It just feels so good, and it’s so rewarding — the material is just so rich,” she explained to EW of taking more of an active role. “I can’t f—ing wait for people to see it.”

Pamela Adlon on Directing All of Better Things Season Two