Line #3 Series/BetterThings


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/better_things_2.jpg]]
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3	''Better Things'' is an Creator/{{FX\|Networks}} series created by Creator/LouisCK and Creator/PamelaAdlon.
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5	Adlon plays Sam Fox, an [[HollywoodOld aging actress]] and single mother in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, struggling to find work while also raising her three daughters of varying adolescence: Max, an [[BrattyTeenageDaughter angsty teenager]], Frankie a {{tomboy}}ish tween, and Duke, [[TheBabyOfTheBunch the youngest of the Fox clan]]. Also in the picture is Sam's mother Phyllis, with whom she has a complicated relationship.
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7	Its fifth and final season aired in 2022.
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9	!! ''Better Things'' contains examples of the following tropes:
10	* AbortionFalloutDrama: In Season 5 it's gradually revealed Max got pregnant and had an abortion, with Rich by her side. She's afraid to tell Sam, and asks that Rich do it after some time has lapsed afterward.
11	* AerithAndBob: Duke's best friend is named Sorrow. Sorrow's brother is named Push.
12	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: How Sam's daughters often see her. They're often justified in thinking that way (e.g. she talks about Frankie having her period in front of a whole auditorium). Sam's mom Phyllis also embarrasses her often, while also doing so a lot when growing up (by [[HairyGirl not shaving her armpits or legs]], for instance).
13	* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: Frankie is very gender nonconforming, showing no interest in more usual girly things, always wearing masculine clothing and having short hair (until growing it out by Season 4). While that wouldn't by itself mean she's trans as opposed to a tomboy, she also gets punished for going in the boys' bathroom while at school, but says it's just because girls do things which disgust her while in theirs. However, after this her older sister Max expresses incredulity about this, matter of factly saying Frankie is a boy (but later denies having said that). Sam looks shocked after she hears this, but it's then dropped until Season 3, when it turns out Frankie's called Franklin by her friends and her text to Duke self-identifies herself as "your brother" (though in a BlinkAndYouMissIt moment). Later though she wants a quinceañera (Latina rite of passage at 15, though the family isn't Latino, but Jewish). Frankie has not yet said anything more definite about her gender, though this does seem indicative of her being possibly nonbinary at least. In Season 5, Frankie discusses how a friend uses they/them pronouns, kind of [[IHaveThisFriend indicating they're Frankie's too]], to Sam's confusion. This is supported too by Max referring to Frankie as "they" later. Still though neither says Frankie's nonbinary or something else. Frankie also objects to being called Sam's daughter at one point.
14	* AmbiguouslyBi: In Season 3 Sam is pursued by Mer, a younger English lesbian who hits on her repeatedly, convinced that she's not straight. Sam at first says she is, but doesn't dislike this attention either, saying she's always wanted to go through a "girl phase". However, if it's anything more Sam doesn't appear ready to explore possible bisexuality yet and Mer realizes this, backing off after being turned down on a proposition.
15	%%* AmicableExes: Jeff and Sunny, eventually.
16	* AsHimself: Creator/DougJones appears as himself shooting "Monsters in the Moonlight" with Sam. Creator/MikeJudge appears as himself as the creator of "Ching of the Mill."
17	* AsideGlance: [[spoiler:The last shot from the series featuring Sam shows her wink at the audience, to wish us goodbye.]]
18	* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Duke is the youngest of Sam's three daughters, and is treated very fondly by pretty much everyone.
19	* TheBeard: Frankie serves as the date to her gay, closeted friend so his parents won't find out.
20	* BlackSheep: Frankie, unlike her mother, sisters and grandmother, rejects feminine norms entirely, always dressing in masculine clothing and initially having really short hair. This leads to speculation by her relatives that she's a trans boy, but this is unconfirmed. By Season 4 she's relaxed this slightly, with her hair a bit longer, but only just.
21	* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Max is ''very'' dramatic and whiny, which Sam doesn't buy into. Usually.
22	* CallingParentsByTheirName: Sam's kids often call her "Sam". Conversely, she uses "Phyllis" or "Phyl" for her own mom frequently. In their case, it's just because they're a laid-back bunch.
23	* TheCameo: Creator/DavidDuchovny, Creator/DannyPudi, Joe Walsh and Creator/ConstanceZimmer among other celebrities all appear briefly as themselves, since Sam is an actress.
24	* CastingGag: It's probably not coincidental that Duke [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane may or may not]] be able to see dead people, as she's played by Olivia Edward, whose father John Edward is famous for claiming this ability (he even has a show based on it).
25	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Phyllis, even before becoming senile, is mostly oblivious to the concerns other people have around her, and mostly stays cheerful despite everything. She has many eccentric tastes and frequently makes odd statements.
26	* CoolBigSis: While Max is a BigSisterBully to Frankie, she’s nothing but sweet to Duke.
27	* CoolOldLady: Phyllis, even if she gets on her daughter Sam's nerves frequently, is really laidback, free-spirited and uninhibited. All her granddaughters adore her, even if she embarrasses them sometimes too.
28	* CountryMatters: Sam and Max get into an argument in Season 4 that culminates with them calling each other cunts (first genuinely, then from amusement).
29	* TheCutie: Duke, being the littlest of Sam's kids, is naturally this. She's the sweetest, an adorable little girl (although she grows over the course of the series, naturally) and is the most lighthearted, innocent character.
30	* DaddyDidntShow: Xander is largely absent, but plans to attend Max's graduation. At the very last moment, he cancels, claiming unspecified "personal complications", to Sam's anger. Everyone else reacts to this with a frustrated lack of surprise after Max is devastated, and do all they can making up for him letting her down.
31	* DeadpanSnarker: Frankie's standard comment on anything else is dry, sarcastic, bitter, cynical or generally "I'm too cool for this".
32	* DisappearedDad:
33	** Xander is somewhat present as he sees his kids occasionally, but more often than not is absent from their lives. This causes no small amount of anger from them and Sam.
34	** Sam's dad Murray died of a heart attack in the past, but his shadow still looms over her. His spirit (real or imagined) also shows up repeatedly.
35	** Phyllis' father was, according to her, barely involved in her or her siblings' lives as well (although he never divorced her mother, given it was not done often in that era).
36	* DistaffCounterpart: To ''Series/{{Louie}}'', which co-creator Louis C.K. also created. Like that show, it's a fictional version of the lead actor's life, with no laugh track and focused mainly on her relationship with her daughters.
37	* {{Fingore}}: Duke's friend Pepper gets a fingertip cut off when Duke accidentally slams her finger in the car door.
38	* FirstPeriodPanic: Duke, after running into her grandma's car while skateboarding, worries that she's been injured as she gets her period until Frankie realizes what's going on and gets her a tampon.
39	* FriendlyTickleTorture: This happens a few different times all involving Sam and one of her daughters.
40	** Duke accidentally swears in front of Sam for the first time and Sam is a bit taken aback but ultimately filled with pride. Still she jokingly decides to “punish” Duke with tickling.
41	** Frankie and Sam have been pranking each other in the lead up to Halloween. After Frankie comes clean to Sam about her biggest prank - that Sam didn’t even realize was a prank until the confession - Sam gets revenge by pinning Frankie to the bed and briefly tickling her.
42	** Sam and Duke are listening to old recordings of Sam’s dad. Duke asks about one of the other voices on the recording and Sam says that it’s her when she was around Duke’s age. Duke quickly says that Sam sounds weird. Sam mocks being offended, tells Duke that ''she'' is the one who sounds weird, and tickles Duke while demanding she take the insult back.
43	* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: Much humor comes from Sam's kids saying things that you don't expect of them, like Duke swearing and Frankie asking a guy Sam dates bluntly about their sex life.
44	* GayBestFriend: Rich is mildly CampGay and Sam's best male friend. He fits the boxes as a funny, lighthearted guy (mostly), whose love life remains entirely offscreen (granted, he isn't a main character).
45	* GenderBlenderName: Sam and all three of her daughters have one. [[spoiler: It becomes fairly notable when Sam starts to question Frankie's gender identity]]. Sam's at least is short for Samantha.
46	* HollywoodOld: As an aging actress in Hollywood, Sam struggles to find substantial roles, usually settling for bit parts.
47	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: A non-romantic example. Sam, played by the 4'11 Pamela Adlon, is best friends with Rich, who is played by the 6'2 Creator/DiedrichBader.
48	* ImmigrantParents: Phyllis is originally from England, but Sam was born and raised in America.
49	* InformedJudaism: Aside from occasional mentions of being Jewish, rare Hebrew expressions from Sam and her overall somewhat stereotypical demeanor, it's hard to notice the Foxes are a Jewish family (obviously culturally only, as they don't practice Judaism or any other religion). She and Frankie did attend a friend's bar mitzvah, but it's then a plot point too that Frankie's never had a bat mitzvah, while once it's mentioned she's past the age for the ceremony.
50	* InterruptedIntimacy: Sam barges into Frankie's room to give her some presents while she's in bed with a boy. Frankie naturally chases her out in a rage.
51	%%* ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans
52	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Frankie often acts very rude and callous to her mother or sisters. At heart though she does love them, but takes out all her teenage issues on them this way. When pressed or something's wrong, she immediately drops this façade to help them. Max to a lesser extent can also be a rude teenager with her mom. Both confess their love to her when she complains of this and they stage a mock funeral in her honor though, even crying while saying how she's the best mother either could hope for.
53	* JewishMother: Sam likes to play up being one at times, guilt-tripping her daughters on not appreciating her and getting far more involved with their lives than they'd often like (it rarely works, unless she's really serious about this).
54	%%* JitterCam: The show does this a lot.
55	* LingerieScene:
56	** Season 3 opens with Sam in a dressing room, where we see her in her bra and panties.
57	** Max, Sam's eldest daughter, is seen several times in her underwear or a bikini.
58	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane:
59	** In "White Rock", Duke notices a woman in an EtherealWhiteDress [[spoiler:who could either be the spirit of either her late, great-aunt, or a suicidal woman who once lived in the area. Whether she's real or just Duke's imagination manifested from hearing about these women]] is left ambiguous.
60	** Later, Duke and even Sam begin to see Sam's dad Murray (Duke's grandpa) who's been dead for years. This could mostly be chalked up to imagination. In one case a large impression is left there on Duke's bed where she said he was sitting as well which is not easily explained. A medium they call in also claims to feel masculine energy (but if he has real powers is also unclear).
61	* MiddleChildSyndrome: Frankie starts to show this during Season 2 as a rebellious BlackSheep DeadpanSnarker (who's possibly trans but at the very least is very gender nonconforming) and this is taken up to eleven in Season 3 when [[spoiler: her frustration at Sam's refusal to explain why she left Xander and raised the girls alone prompts her to run away.]]
62	* MsFanservice: Max, who's a very beautiful girl, is shown in several scenes wearing only her underwear or a bikini, along with her equally good-looking female friends.
63	* NomDeMom: Sam's daughters all go by her surname instead of their father Xander's.
64	* NoPeriodsPeriod: {{Averted}} almost immediately, as Sam given an entire talk about periods in the second episode (she's frustrated by still having hers as well).
65	* NotActuallyHisChild: In Season 4 Sam learns her maternal grandfather was not the man she had thought he was biologically. He'd actually been [[CheatingWithTheMilkman a milkman]] who'd lived near her mom's childhood home in England. Phil, her mom, is flippantly indifferent, saying they're all dead anyway so who cares?
66	* ObnoxiousInLaws: Phil and Marion's wife Caroline don't get along. At a housewarming party for Marion and Caroline in "High man, bye man," Phil asks for a photo featuring only the biological members of the family, with Caroline being the only one not related by blood.
67	* ParentalSubstitute: Rich has been a surrogate father to the Fox girls since their dad is largely absent. He's often mistaken for their dad, along with being the emergency contact, chaperoning their school trips etc.
68	* PhoneaholicTeenager: Sam often complains her kids (particularly Max and Duke) are on their phones too much.
69	* {{Portmantitle}}: "Batceañera", from Frankie's combination bat mitzvah and quinceañera, as she decides to do both (she's Jewish, though not a Latina, but likes Latino culture-their Latino friends are all for it).
70	* RapidFireNo: In "Blackout", an AlmostKiss with a friend's ex leads Sam to pull off an absolutely epic one, going on for almost ''two minutes''.
71	-->'''Sam:''' ...We calm down. We calm down because [[PunctuatedForEmphasis this. Is a very. NO.]]
72	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
73	** Jeff tells Sam he is going to give one to Xander after he unexpectedly shows up to Frankie's "Batceañera." However, [[spoiler: the speech ends up coming from Rich, who tells Xander that he has been more of a father to Max, Frankie, and Duke than the latter ever will be.]]
74	** Duke later tells off Max and Frankie for looking at Sam's wedding photos after she repeatedly asked them not to in front of her, as they [[TraumaButton bring up painful memories]].
75	** Sam later tells off her mom Phyllis for treating her badly. To her surprise, Phyllis says she's right and apologizes.
76	* ScatterbrainedSenior: Sam's mom Phyllis gets increasingly confused and forgetful as she ages, causing her daughter a lot of headaches over her forgetting things or simply being even more eccentric.
77	* SceneryCensor: At one point, Sam spies Phyllis gardening while naked. Artfully placed fronds conceal Celia Imrie’s intimate parts, however.
78	* ShowWithinAShow: Sam starred for ten years as the voice of Rooster in "Ching of the Mill."
79	* SkinnyDipping: It turns out Phyllis swims naked without permission in the neighbor's pool. They don't mind her swimming there, [[PleasePutSomeClothesOn so long as she's dressed]].
80	* SoapboxSadie: Frankie is the most socially conscious of the Fox family and also the most serious, even as a teenager. Whenever political issues come up, she'll make pro-feminist statements, plus supporting other leftist causes.
81	* SophisticatedAsHell: Sam's physician Dr. Babu speaks like you'd expect, except there's an [[PrecisionFStrike f bomb]] in every sentence, or nearly that.
82	%%* StraightGay: Rich.
83	* TheirFirstTime: It turns out that Frankie lost her virginity with a boy, mostly to see what it's like and wanting this as her choice. Sam isn't too happy (she's only 14).
84	* TraumaButton: Sam can't stand to even look at her wedding photos with Xander, since they bring up bad memories.
85	* TwoferTokenMinority:
86	** Sam meets an Indian-American gay man, Maneesh, and befriends him on a plane trip. Later she goes to his wedding.
87	** In Season 3 Sam's pursued by Mer, an English lesbian who's also Black.
88	* UnusualEuphemism: Rich says Max has been "eating banana sandwiches with mayonnaise" as an oblique way of telling Sam about Max’s accidental pregnancy (and her subsequent abortion).
89	* VomitIndiscretionShot: Duke graphically vomits after she realizes Pepper's fingertip's cut off.
90	* WhamLine: In "Only Women Bleed":
91	--> '''Max:''' [[spoiler:Mom... Frankie's a boy]].
92	* {{Womanchild}}: Sam, who's middle aged, is often childish and tells terrible jokes, to her kids' annoyance. It's a bit {{downplayed}} since she (mostly) stays a responsible adult, but her attitude comes off as more kid-like than her own kids' (who are very mature in contrast).

Context Series / BetterThings