Nine reviews, all of them positive, and the praise lands in the same place: Pamela Adlon’s voice. Most critics treat the series as an autobiographical portrait of single motherhood that is frank about the indignities of parenting and funny about them without softening anything. Several note the debt to Louie, and most agree the show improves on that model rather than copying it, largely because Adlon’s own performance carries the material. The daughters, sharp and smart-alecky, draw repeated mention, as does the show’s willingness to give a middle-aged woman flaws and depth rarely allowed on television.
The spread is narrow. The nearest thing to a reservation comes from Variety, which finds the strand about Hollywood indignities merely serviceable next to the family material. Reviews of the later seasons are, if anything, warmer: The Telegraph calls the latest run the show’s best, and The Guardian says it will be sorely missed. Nobody is dissenting.