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Emmy-winning Pamela Adlon — co-creator, writer, star, director and producer of the FX series _Better Things_ — embraces her character Sam Fox’s messy life. On the show, she plays a single

working mother raising three daughters and grappling with her own aging, all while managing her increasingly health-challenged mother. In a case of life imitating art, much of the show

resembles Adlon’s own life. GIVEN THE SHOW IS SEMI-AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL, DID YOUR OWN FAMILY SAY ANYTHING WAS OFF-LIMITS?  I don’t think when we started anybody knew how serious this was going

to get. It was more like, “Who’s really going to watch this show about my mom?” It’s very respectful, a loving look. What I always say about Sam is that she’s like me in a cape. She’s the

worst of me and the best of me. In lots of ways, I learned how to be a better person and a more patient person, because I’ve had seven years with this show, five seasons, to reflect on my

life. My kids were all young and living at home when I started this show. Now two of them don’t live at home anymore. They’re all grown. DOES THE END OF _BETTER THINGS_ MARK A TRANSITION IN

YOUR OWN LIFE?  Some people have asked me, “Does it make you feel sad?” Well, I have been having these feelings for years. You can’t help it — it’s all culminating. A year ago, I was just

having dreams about my kids being babies again, and isn’t that the biggest irony? I finally have some peace and I’m, like, “Hey everybody, come back.” WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP, WAS THERE A

SHOW THAT INSPIRED YOU, A SHOW YOU NEVER MISSED? There were so many. I was obsessed with television. It would have to be _Bewitched_ and _I Dream of Jeannie._ I would do a combination of

blinking my eyes and trying to teleport myself, really thinking I could. IS THERE SOMETHING YOU LEARNED IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS DOING _BETTER THINGS_ THAT YOU WISH YOU KNEW WHEN IT STARTED?

I said this in Season 4: “I wish I had done more sit ups.” My God, why don’t they tell you? BUT THAT’S WHY WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE LIKE YOUR SHOW: YOU’RE 55 AND REAL. That’s why I did the

menopause episode, because I was asking my friends about their experiences and so many people were like, “Don’t tell anybody that I’m telling you this ...” These stories are coming out.

That’s why I say in Season 4, “Women need to be brothers to each other.” YOUR DAD WAS A TELEVISION COMEDY WRITER-PRODUCER. YOU’VE BEEN ACTING SINCE 11, WITH A ROLE ON _FACTS OF LIFE_ AS A

TEENAGER. WAS SHOW BUSINESS A GIVEN? I wish I wasn’t so myopic about my career and just waiting for the phone to ring as an actor. It didn’t dawn on me until I was a few years into my show

that _Oh, my God, this is my legacy. I’m doing what my dad did._ I already really admired that, and I always loved being behind the scenes and felt like that was a place for grownups and

people who could make decisions. I could never ever even imagine or dare to dream that I could be there.