May 18--"Better Things," the upcoming series from friends Pamela Adlon and Louis C.K., seeks to strike a deeply personal, life-rich comedic tone in a seemingly hopeless place: a Macy's in Canoga Park.
The semi-autobiographical comedy features Adlon as a single mother of three who navigates the tightrope of family life and her work as an actor.
Expected to premiere later this year, the FX series wrapped production this week. And it made its way to the finish line with a visit to the women's clothing department of the Macy's at Westfield Topanga mall for a mother-daughter moment.
Nestled between stacks of gold-toe socks and racks of maternity wear, the roughly 25 crew members assembled their dock stations and cables as the hum of the store, which remained open to the public during shooting, carried on around them.
"I finally get my own TV show that I'm the boss of, and I wrote it and I get to put myself anywhere I want in the world, and I'm at Macy's," Adlon joked before rehearsing the morning's scene. "And the other day I was on a soccer field in Van Nuys that I've spent the last 20 ... years on. I'm like, this is what I get? But you write what you know."
The comedy, along with recent rollout "Baskets," is part of C.K.'s overall deal with FX. It's also the first series on male-dominated FX to feature a solo female lead. We'll be writing more about "Better Things" closer to launch, so check back here for more.
