Louis C.K. Helped Pamela Adlon Get Past Writer’s Block Creating ‘Better Things’

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On Tuesday afternoon, at FX’s Television Critics Association press event, Louie writer and Better Things co-creator/star Pamela Adlon opened up about the creative process behind her new show and how her own life has influenced the show’s plot.

Better Things is, in a way, a semi-autobiographical story. It follows the story of Sam, a woman who struggles to find time for herself (and keep her sanity) while raising three daughters by herself and working as an actress. Like Sam, Adlon is a former struggling actress and single mother who has had to raise her three daughters in the absence of her now-divorced husband, so the role is deeply personal. Adlon even wore her father’s sweater in the show’s pilot episode. What’s more, Sam’s parents are meant to emulate Adlon’s; “My mom is a little 80-year-old lady from Cheshire and I knew I wanted to have a real English person to play my mother,” she said of the casting, describing her mom as “formidable and then a little fluff.”

While the show has finally come together, Adlon admits that fleshing it out wasn’t exactly easy. “When I was first coming up with ideas for the show it was really hard for me,” Adlon said of the early days of the show’s conception. “I was blocked, and talking to Louie about it. I could come up with ideas for him all day long, but when it came to me I was stopped.”

If there’s any one person that you want in your corner as an adviser when writer’s block strikes, it’s Louis C.K. The comedian’s advice obviously paid off, because the Emmy-nominated actress’ show is set to premiere on September 8th and is already receiving considerable hype. Adlon and C.K. make an excellent writing team, and Adlon promises that her show will provide something genuine and new to the television landscape.

“I feel that everything is funny in my life and there is a lot of funny in the darkness…I don’t like anything that’s dark without heart,” she mused. “It’s not comedy or dramedy. It’s The Incredible Feeling Show.”

Better Things premieres on September 8th on FX.

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler
Bill Tressler
Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.