Better Things’ Mom’s Night Out with Pamela Adlon! (GIVEAWAY)

A couple weeks ago my husband and I experienced a celebrity sighting and it jogged a conversation between us: which celebrity would you want to bump into in Hollywood?

Mine was a no brainer: Pamela Adlon. Although she’s been acting practically her whole life, I first learned about her watching Californication where she played Marcy Runkle – a tiny little spitfire with a lot of heart and a rock hard butt. (Adding the butt thing in there out of sheer jealousy.) Her larger than life persona quickly made her my favorite and I crossed my fingers that Pamela carried a similar personality in real life in the off chance I’d get to shake her hand and see her in action.

Lo and behold, I received an invite to attend a Mom’s Night Out to advance screen two episodes of her new show Better Things that she created with Louis CK! Better Things is a comedy focused around Sam Fox, a single mom raising three daughters with very different personalities while trying to make a career in Hollywood work. The event took place at Estrella Sunset in West Hollywood.

When I watched the first two episodes of Better Things, I was immediately struck by how relatable the show is — but not just on a parenting level for me now. It reminded me of the hellish teenage years I dragged my mom through — sorry mom — and what life is like living in Hollywood. Here are a few of my favorites.

• The judgmental stranger/whiny daughter combo — Sam’s youngest wants a pair of earrings from the store that she already owns because she wants them RIGHT. NOW. Sam notices a stranger’s judgmental gaze and tells her she should buy them for her if she’s so concerned. Justice served.
• Sam is upstaged by a prominent Hollywood actress — Let me preface this by saying that I just about DIED when I saw this part. My husband and I talk all the time about how we feel like Pamela Adlon and Constance Zimmer are very similar in their acting styles. Cue Constance popping up in a scene where they poke fun at their likeness to each other. Then Julie Bowen upstages them both!
• That moment when Sam’s daughter asks her for drugs — Because “Like, don’t you want me to have clean, organic pot?!”

I won’t give away the plot line of episode two (it’s airing this Thursday, Sept. 15th), but there’s a must-watch scene revolving around some mother-daughter bonding time, this time with Sam’s own mother who happens to live across the street. 

At the end of the screening, Pamela came out to chat about her incredible new series, covering topics from what parts of the show were ripped directly from her life to how she works her filming hours around being a mom — she even touched on the amount of f-bombs she was allowed to insert into the series (3!).

My favorite admission had to be when Pamela acknowledged the last scene of the pilot episode where Sam tries to get a risqué scene cut from filming because she thought it might embarrass her daughters. Pamela says this happened in real life during the filming of Californication! If you’re a fan of that particular series, you may remember an incredibly awkward scene where Charlie and Hank are hunkered down behind a couch while Marcy and Stu have a little too much fun. That’s the one!

#BetterThingsFX was kind enough to send me a box filled with Better Things goodies including Ray-Ban sunglasses, a Chipolo bluetooth keyring, leather clutch, emergency beauty kit, hypoallergenic travel pillow, ultra-soft travel pillow protector, essential oils blend mini, skinny lip balm, and mints! And guess what? I have another to give away to a reader!

Simply comment below with the item you’re most excited about in the gift basket to enter the #BetterThingsGiveaway! You’d think mine would be the Ray-Bans, but this travel pillow is totally my jam.

The winner will be announced on Sept. 24. Entrants must be residents of the US, 18+ only. Winner will be randomly selected from comments on this blog post, Facebook, and Instagram. Good luck and don’t forget to tune in Thursday to see episode 2!