Better Things (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Pilot - full transcript
Single mother Sam Fox struggles to raise three girls while trying to maintain her career as an actor.
Hi.
Do you want to buy her
the earrings?
'Cause that's
why she's crying,
because of six dollar
earrings that--
She has them
at home already.
But she wants them
for right now, so--
You should go into that store
and buy them for her.
'Cause I'm not doing it.
Or stop looking.
You want
Hot Dog on a Stick?
Oh.
Yeah. What happened?
Hi, Richard.
Hey. Hey. Uh--
Look, uh, Richard--
Um, uh, uh, uh--
Yeah, look, Richard,
I, I--
-Uh-oh.
-Richard?
I'll see you
at school things.
Yeah, ok-okay
Who is that?
Sophie's dad.
Ew.
Ew!
Yeah, that was
a big mistake.
What about
Charlize's dad?
What about him?
Mm.
Is he tall?
To me.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm,
and you are not
getting rid of me.
Listen, Jack.
Listen,
Jack.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm.
And you're not
getting rid of me.
I don't care what you
and that bimbo try to pull,
I will eat your goddamn
lunch on this deal!
Listen, listen.
Listen, Jack.
Listen,
Jack.
Listen, Jack.
Figures.
Of course.
Of course you're here.
Of course you're here.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm,
and you're not--
You're not, you're
not gonna do that.
Don't do that.
It's good to practice.
It is.
Shh!
Be...
How are you?
What's goin' on?
Well, I wish
for one boring day.
I really hate you, Mom.
You are so unfair!
Good.
Fine.
Go live with
your father.
Yeah, I'm leaving
right now.
Very crazy good.
House full of young girls
kicking my ass.
You are so unfair!
Get in the house.
Go to bed.
I'm gonna make
your life a living hell.
Chewie!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
I hear you.
I only have one,
so I can't even imagine.
You have kids?
You have a kid?
I do.
I have one.
That's so weird to me.
What?
No, I didn't--
You don't seem maternal.
Thanks.
I appreciate that.
That's what, they all
say that, too, um,
Are you dating Luke
Thatcher?
What? No.
I don't know.
Somebody said that.
No.
No?
Ew. No, I'm dating
my daughters.
They're my love life.
The whole day.
Oh, okay.
All right.
Focus, focus.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm,
and you're not--
I mean, who
writes this shit?
I don't know.
I don't understand.
I mean, do we st--?
Oh, my God.
Thank you.
I know!
It is so good to see you.
Oh, it's so good
to see you, too.
I'm glad you're back. I mean,
this is gonna be great.
No, I...
Are you kidding me?
Yeah.
Are you gonna go?
Yeah, it's Julie Bowen.
Yeah, you're right.
Oh, it's fantastic.
Bye.
Wait! Don't go in there.
The wizard will see us,
and he'll try to rez us down.
Hello?
Hi, Miss Jacobs.
Yes. I'm sorry.
Duke had her homework,
but I forgot it in my van.
I took her
to the dentist today.
Yeah.
Yeah, I understand that.
Yes, I know.
Amanda, will you
give me a break?
I have three of them,
and you know I work.
No. No, he doesn't help.
They haven't seen him
in, like, a month.
I didn't say
that was your problem!
I--
Okay. All right.
Amanda?
And I'm so sorry.
Thank you.
Whoo. Okay, Vernon.
I am so sorry.
One more time.
Almost done.
Adrenaline.
Wait! Don't go in there.
The wizard will see us,
and he'll try to-- Goddamnit.
That woman is
pure shit on a stick.
I cannot wait till my daughter
leaves that school,
so I can tell her
what a cock-biting douche
her teacher was!
Ooh, Vernon!
Okay.
One more for the wizard.
Where is the freakin'
graph paper?
I mean, this place is like
a pre-apocalyptic nightmare.
Oh, calm down, Mom.
Okay, graph paper,
journal notebook,
dictionary...
That woman smelled like
my dad's girlfriend.
Ew.
What?
What?
Oh, headphones, that's
great, and speakers,
and calc-- Where's the
freakin' graph paper?!
I don't know, Mom!
Now get the binders
and the rest of the stuff.
Does anyone actually work here?
Hello!
Does anybody actually work here?
Yes, I do!
But I'm with customers
right now.
Wait, but can you tell me
at least where I can
find the graph paper?
Aisle eight.
This is aisle eight.
Oh, here it is.
That was great, Mom.
Just freak out in the store,
why don't you?
I didn't freak out.
Just nobody works there.
I wish
you smoked pot, Mom.
What?
It would be
good for you.
Stoners aren't losers, Mom.
And it would
mellow you out.
I'm perfectly mellow.
Can I ask you something?
No, you know what?
Never mind.
You'll just freak out.
Okay, you don't have to,
but now you know
you're going to.
Could you get pot for me?
What?
Gabby Shuster's mom told her
if she ever wanted
to smoke pot,
she'd get it for her.
Like, don't you want me
to have clean, organic pot?
You should want me
to have good nugs.
"Good nugs"?
I don't even know
what to say!
That's amazing.
I don't know
how to get pot.
I don't even know
where to get--
Gabby Shuster's mom
said that to you?
Okay, that's great.
I can't even get Gran
pot for her arthritis.
How about this?
How about this?
No. No, Max, I'm
not gonna get you pot.
It's so easy, Mom.
Sorry.
You get a prescription.
Oh.
You just have to be 18.
Oh.
Max, honey, can
we just go back
to the regular hard things,
like school supplies?
You should be happy
I'm honest with you.
I could just get it
and not tell you.
Oh, yeah, well, that
might be a little better.
Seriously?
Yeah, these things
are normal,
but you should be
ashamed of them.
Why? You're--
Little bit.
You're my mom.
I want you to know
if I have sex
or if I want to get high.
Aah!
No! Hide things from me.
Please!
Why?
Wait, why'd she say that?
Come here.
Yeah.
You're a good dog.
I'm a bad dog mom.
Mom?
What?
What?
What?
Mom, I didn't
say anything.
Neither did I.
Then why are
you mad at me?
Baby, just--
I love you.
What?
You want me
to make you a burrito?
Yeah.
This is a burrito,
burrito,
my little burrito.
Did you brush
your teeth?
Yes.
Let me smell.
Why do you say you brush
when you didn't brush?
I don't know.
I'm so tired.
But isn't it easier
to just go brush?
Do you want to be a kid
with orange teeth?
I don't know.
I'm so tired.
You promise to brush
in the morning?
Yes, Mama.
Okay.
Good girl.
Mama, come.
Oh, no, baby.
I can't lay down.
It's late.
I have too much to do.
Come on, Mama, please?
Okay.
Just for a minute.
All right.
No, Mama, under.
No, no,
I can't get under.
Please?
No.
And don't touch me.
I swear to God, if your
little baby hands touch me,
I'll fall asleep and then
I'll be in a lot of trouble.
I'll play you a song.
Okay.
Okay?
Oh!
No, it's--
Hi, Mom.
You were asleep,
so I just had...
had them come over.
Oh, my God, Sam, I cannot
believe this is you.
You were, like, Duke's age.
Oh, I love this show.
Yep, that's me.
Life sucks.
Uh...
Mom?
Can you get us
some food, please?
Okay, fine.
Mama.
Hi, baby.
You up?
Why are you up?
You left.
Yes, I did, baby.
But I stayed in there
with you for a long time.
Long time.
It's been a really
long day and--
Sammy.
Wake up.
Hey, wake up, baby.
Hey! Hi.
Hey, cookie.
Sammy, cookie,
you want to hear a story?
I got a good one for you.
Let me tell you--
No, don't get in there
and wind her up,
I just got her down.
Listen, Sammy,
your dad had a great day.
I had a great day.
Okay, I got irons
in the fire, kid.
This guy called me, he thinks he
wants to do one of my stories.
You remember the one
about the junk man?
He could see things
other people couldn't.
Could turn garbage into gold.
He thinks it could
go to television.
I'm talkin' TV,
the big game.
You, me, the big game.
Everything could change.
Even for her.
Don't tell her I woke you up.
All right, go back to bed.
Good night.
No, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no!
Mom?
No, don't come in here.
Mom!
Don't come in here.
Don't come
in here.
Don't come in here!
Jesus, Mom,
you're so bi-polar!
I said get out.
Did you know
that in Africa,
girls get their
clitoris cut off
when they're, like,
13 on their birthday?
What if I did that
as, like, a protest?
That would be so,
like, real.
Get out.
Get out of my room.
Get out.
Get out of my room.
No.
Get out.
Get out of my room.
No.
Frankie!
You didn't even knock.
And no, you're not getting
your clit cut off!
Oh, sweetie.
Okay.
What are you looking for?
What do you
want to look at?
Like--
I want to see
something real.
You know, I--
Uh-huh.
Real.
Like, I want it
to at least feel real.
Can they just, like,
make it feel real?
What are
your search words?
I don't--
What?
I don't know what that is.
Everything you want
is out there.
You just need to know how to
narrow it down to search words.
Close your eyes
and picture anything,
and there is porn
of that on the Internet.
If you want to see
a fat man farting
into a girl's mouth,
type in fat fart mouth.
Oh.
Try it.
Think about
what you really want,
and boil it down
to three words.
Mm.
What do you got?
Penis.
Maybe.
Close up.
Don't--
You probably knew
I was gonna say that.
I don't give a shit.
I just want to be with you.
No, Stan, we're not
a couple anymore.
We're business partners.
Oh, screw the business.
I'd burn the whole
business to the ground
if I could just get one
sniff of your panties.
Oh.
Come on, baby.
Oh...
I want to taste you.
I love you.
Hold on.
Hang on.
Huh?
Can I just--?
John?
One--?
Can I have one second?
Cut!
- You okay?
- Cutting.
You all right?
Yeah, I'm okay.
Thank you.
Sorry, Gary.
I love you.
That's okay, Sammy,
take your time.
I love you, baby.
Hey, you okay?
Hi.
Yes.
I just--
Come here.
I want to--
John?
Okay, you know
I'm a gamer.
I come here,
I throw down.
That... that's
why I love you.
Okay, so you know
I have three kids.
Girls.
Yeah.
Daughters.
Hey, I love those guys.
I know... wh-when are they
gonna ever come visit the set?
Huh?
It'd be fun.
Okay, you remember Max?
My oldest?
Okay, she's
in high school now.
And in the interest
of her carpool
that I drive
every morning...
What's the problem?
Okay, there's this one
moment in this scene,
Right.
a little detail that
I just want to dial down
Oh.
a tiny bit.
I'm not sure that
I want to live with it.
Mm-hmm, sure.
Just, uh--
That's no problem, here.
Just tell me, tell me what part.
It's the part where
my legs are up in the air,
and that one
is eating my pussy,
and his son walks in
and sees us.
Oh, you mean
the funny part.
Mm-mm.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Sammy?
You're the best.
I...
Do you want to buy her
the earrings?
'Cause that's
why she's crying,
because of six dollar
earrings that--
She has them
at home already.
But she wants them
for right now, so--
You should go into that store
and buy them for her.
'Cause I'm not doing it.
Or stop looking.
You want
Hot Dog on a Stick?
Oh.
Yeah. What happened?
Hi, Richard.
Hey. Hey. Uh--
Look, uh, Richard--
Um, uh, uh, uh--
Yeah, look, Richard,
I, I--
-Uh-oh.
-Richard?
I'll see you
at school things.
Yeah, ok-okay
Who is that?
Sophie's dad.
Ew.
Ew!
Yeah, that was
a big mistake.
What about
Charlize's dad?
What about him?
Mm.
Is he tall?
To me.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm,
and you are not
getting rid of me.
Listen, Jack.
Listen,
Jack.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm.
And you're not
getting rid of me.
I don't care what you
and that bimbo try to pull,
I will eat your goddamn
lunch on this deal!
Listen, listen.
Listen, Jack.
Listen,
Jack.
Listen, Jack.
Figures.
Of course.
Of course you're here.
Of course you're here.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm,
and you're not--
You're not, you're
not gonna do that.
Don't do that.
It's good to practice.
It is.
Shh!
Be...
How are you?
What's goin' on?
Well, I wish
for one boring day.
I really hate you, Mom.
You are so unfair!
Good.
Fine.
Go live with
your father.
Yeah, I'm leaving
right now.
Very crazy good.
House full of young girls
kicking my ass.
You are so unfair!
Get in the house.
Go to bed.
I'm gonna make
your life a living hell.
Chewie!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
I hear you.
I only have one,
so I can't even imagine.
You have kids?
You have a kid?
I do.
I have one.
That's so weird to me.
What?
No, I didn't--
You don't seem maternal.
Thanks.
I appreciate that.
That's what, they all
say that, too, um,
Are you dating Luke
Thatcher?
What? No.
I don't know.
Somebody said that.
No.
No?
Ew. No, I'm dating
my daughters.
They're my love life.
The whole day.
Oh, okay.
All right.
Focus, focus.
Listen, Jack.
I started this firm,
and you're not--
I mean, who
writes this shit?
I don't know.
I don't understand.
I mean, do we st--?
Oh, my God.
Thank you.
I know!
It is so good to see you.
Oh, it's so good
to see you, too.
I'm glad you're back. I mean,
this is gonna be great.
No, I...
Are you kidding me?
Yeah.
Are you gonna go?
Yeah, it's Julie Bowen.
Yeah, you're right.
Oh, it's fantastic.
Bye.
Wait! Don't go in there.
The wizard will see us,
and he'll try to rez us down.
Hello?
Hi, Miss Jacobs.
Yes. I'm sorry.
Duke had her homework,
but I forgot it in my van.
I took her
to the dentist today.
Yeah.
Yeah, I understand that.
Yes, I know.
Amanda, will you
give me a break?
I have three of them,
and you know I work.
No. No, he doesn't help.
They haven't seen him
in, like, a month.
I didn't say
that was your problem!
I--
Okay. All right.
Amanda?
And I'm so sorry.
Thank you.
Whoo. Okay, Vernon.
I am so sorry.
One more time.
Almost done.
Adrenaline.
Wait! Don't go in there.
The wizard will see us,
and he'll try to-- Goddamnit.
That woman is
pure shit on a stick.
I cannot wait till my daughter
leaves that school,
so I can tell her
what a cock-biting douche
her teacher was!
Ooh, Vernon!
Okay.
One more for the wizard.
Where is the freakin'
graph paper?
I mean, this place is like
a pre-apocalyptic nightmare.
Oh, calm down, Mom.
Okay, graph paper,
journal notebook,
dictionary...
That woman smelled like
my dad's girlfriend.
Ew.
What?
What?
Oh, headphones, that's
great, and speakers,
and calc-- Where's the
freakin' graph paper?!
I don't know, Mom!
Now get the binders
and the rest of the stuff.
Does anyone actually work here?
Hello!
Does anybody actually work here?
Yes, I do!
But I'm with customers
right now.
Wait, but can you tell me
at least where I can
find the graph paper?
Aisle eight.
This is aisle eight.
Oh, here it is.
That was great, Mom.
Just freak out in the store,
why don't you?
I didn't freak out.
Just nobody works there.
I wish
you smoked pot, Mom.
What?
It would be
good for you.
Stoners aren't losers, Mom.
And it would
mellow you out.
I'm perfectly mellow.
Can I ask you something?
No, you know what?
Never mind.
You'll just freak out.
Okay, you don't have to,
but now you know
you're going to.
Could you get pot for me?
What?
Gabby Shuster's mom told her
if she ever wanted
to smoke pot,
she'd get it for her.
Like, don't you want me
to have clean, organic pot?
You should want me
to have good nugs.
"Good nugs"?
I don't even know
what to say!
That's amazing.
I don't know
how to get pot.
I don't even know
where to get--
Gabby Shuster's mom
said that to you?
Okay, that's great.
I can't even get Gran
pot for her arthritis.
How about this?
How about this?
No. No, Max, I'm
not gonna get you pot.
It's so easy, Mom.
Sorry.
You get a prescription.
Oh.
You just have to be 18.
Oh.
Max, honey, can
we just go back
to the regular hard things,
like school supplies?
You should be happy
I'm honest with you.
I could just get it
and not tell you.
Oh, yeah, well, that
might be a little better.
Seriously?
Yeah, these things
are normal,
but you should be
ashamed of them.
Why? You're--
Little bit.
You're my mom.
I want you to know
if I have sex
or if I want to get high.
Aah!
No! Hide things from me.
Please!
Why?
Wait, why'd she say that?
Come here.
Yeah.
You're a good dog.
I'm a bad dog mom.
Mom?
What?
What?
What?
Mom, I didn't
say anything.
Neither did I.
Then why are
you mad at me?
Baby, just--
I love you.
What?
You want me
to make you a burrito?
Yeah.
This is a burrito,
burrito,
my little burrito.
Did you brush
your teeth?
Yes.
Let me smell.
Why do you say you brush
when you didn't brush?
I don't know.
I'm so tired.
But isn't it easier
to just go brush?
Do you want to be a kid
with orange teeth?
I don't know.
I'm so tired.
You promise to brush
in the morning?
Yes, Mama.
Okay.
Good girl.
Mama, come.
Oh, no, baby.
I can't lay down.
It's late.
I have too much to do.
Come on, Mama, please?
Okay.
Just for a minute.
All right.
No, Mama, under.
No, no,
I can't get under.
Please?
No.
And don't touch me.
I swear to God, if your
little baby hands touch me,
I'll fall asleep and then
I'll be in a lot of trouble.
I'll play you a song.
Okay.
Okay?
Oh!
No, it's--
Hi, Mom.
You were asleep,
so I just had...
had them come over.
Oh, my God, Sam, I cannot
believe this is you.
You were, like, Duke's age.
Oh, I love this show.
Yep, that's me.
Life sucks.
Uh...
Mom?
Can you get us
some food, please?
Okay, fine.
Mama.
Hi, baby.
You up?
Why are you up?
You left.
Yes, I did, baby.
But I stayed in there
with you for a long time.
Long time.
It's been a really
long day and--
Sammy.
Wake up.
Hey, wake up, baby.
Hey! Hi.
Hey, cookie.
Sammy, cookie,
you want to hear a story?
I got a good one for you.
Let me tell you--
No, don't get in there
and wind her up,
I just got her down.
Listen, Sammy,
your dad had a great day.
I had a great day.
Okay, I got irons
in the fire, kid.
This guy called me, he thinks he
wants to do one of my stories.
You remember the one
about the junk man?
He could see things
other people couldn't.
Could turn garbage into gold.
He thinks it could
go to television.
I'm talkin' TV,
the big game.
You, me, the big game.
Everything could change.
Even for her.
Don't tell her I woke you up.
All right, go back to bed.
Good night.
No, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no!
Mom?
No, don't come in here.
Mom!
Don't come in here.
Don't come
in here.
Don't come in here!
Jesus, Mom,
you're so bi-polar!
I said get out.
Did you know
that in Africa,
girls get their
clitoris cut off
when they're, like,
13 on their birthday?
What if I did that
as, like, a protest?
That would be so,
like, real.
Get out.
Get out of my room.
Get out.
Get out of my room.
No.
Get out.
Get out of my room.
No.
Frankie!
You didn't even knock.
And no, you're not getting
your clit cut off!
Oh, sweetie.
Okay.
What are you looking for?
What do you
want to look at?
Like--
I want to see
something real.
You know, I--
Uh-huh.
Real.
Like, I want it
to at least feel real.
Can they just, like,
make it feel real?
What are
your search words?
I don't--
What?
I don't know what that is.
Everything you want
is out there.
You just need to know how to
narrow it down to search words.
Close your eyes
and picture anything,
and there is porn
of that on the Internet.
If you want to see
a fat man farting
into a girl's mouth,
type in fat fart mouth.
Oh.
Try it.
Think about
what you really want,
and boil it down
to three words.
Mm.
What do you got?
Penis.
Maybe.
Close up.
Don't--
You probably knew
I was gonna say that.
I don't give a shit.
I just want to be with you.
No, Stan, we're not
a couple anymore.
We're business partners.
Oh, screw the business.
I'd burn the whole
business to the ground
if I could just get one
sniff of your panties.
Oh.
Come on, baby.
Oh...
I want to taste you.
I love you.
Hold on.
Hang on.
Huh?
Can I just--?
John?
One--?
Can I have one second?
Cut!
- You okay?
- Cutting.
You all right?
Yeah, I'm okay.
Thank you.
Sorry, Gary.
I love you.
That's okay, Sammy,
take your time.
I love you, baby.
Hey, you okay?
Hi.
Yes.
I just--
Come here.
I want to--
John?
Okay, you know
I'm a gamer.
I come here,
I throw down.
That... that's
why I love you.
Okay, so you know
I have three kids.
Girls.
Yeah.
Daughters.
Hey, I love those guys.
I know... wh-when are they
gonna ever come visit the set?
Huh?
It'd be fun.
Okay, you remember Max?
My oldest?
Okay, she's
in high school now.
And in the interest
of her carpool
that I drive
every morning...
What's the problem?
Okay, there's this one
moment in this scene,
Right.
a little detail that
I just want to dial down
Oh.
a tiny bit.
I'm not sure that
I want to live with it.
Mm-hmm, sure.
Just, uh--
That's no problem, here.
Just tell me, tell me what part.
It's the part where
my legs are up in the air,
and that one
is eating my pussy,
and his son walks in
and sees us.
Oh, you mean
the funny part.
Mm-mm.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Sammy?
You're the best.
I...