Pamela Adlon's "Better Things" on FX is doing well without Louis C.K.

When a major creative force leaves a television show, it is normal for fans to feel apprehensive. That's how we felt when Armando Iannucci, creator and host of the HBO channel Veep, left before the fifth season of the show.

The absence of Iannucci, however, did not diminish the power of Veepand the fans had the big Death of Stalin following his departure. In this case, you can declare the winning transition from all sides.

The story of FX Better things, co-created by Pamela Adlon and Louis C.K., was very different. After the scandal of C.K.'s badual behavior, FX and Adlon quickly broke with the dishonored comedian. This meant that a key piece of the show (C.K. co-authored with Adlon) would not come back.

After watching the first five episodes of Season Three, we find the absence of C.K. Not a bad Better things. (Episode three is broadcast tonight on FX). In fact, the show resumed where it left off last season – it's still one of the funniest and most interesting shows on television.

The balance of darkness and comedy remains intact.

The story of how deceased C.K Better things could have been more crazy. In mid-October 2017, FX announced that it had renewed the show for a third season. At that time, the show seemed to reach a creative peak. But a few weeks later, the news of the C.K. scandal erupted.

At this point, only the last two episodes of season two have remained. The season finale, broadcast exactly one week after the C.K. news, featured such a triumphant closing scene that we can only hope that it will soon be compared to television.

With the news of C.K in the air, you could not have imagined a more perfect and safe end for men for a show. And that crowned a season that had almost perfected the mix of darkness and light, C.K. (and FX shows as Baskets) became known for.

During the third season, Adlon and his rearranged writing team began the first two episodes, heavier in the dark than in the light. However, from the third episode, the writers find their rhythm and it is a beautiful thing to watch.

As you arrive later in the season (Episode Five is amazing), Better things fans might start thinking that the show is better without C.K.

Abandon toxic men is one of the specialties of "Better Things".

So many people who have written about Better things noted, the show has always done its best to put toxic masculinity in its place. In season three, the recurring image in Sam's head (Adlon) is none other than his father. He has a sense of stupid humor, bad advice and zero accountability.

Sam does her best to ignore her and continue to juggle her career and her life as a single mother of three who is also caring for an elderly parent. Sometimes she has to be creative to keep her sanity.

A perfect example is given in the fifth episode (broadcast March 28), when Sam's two younger daughters (Duke and Frankie) tackle. She offers them a bargain: each one has one minute to say the most vile and overwhelming insults; then they must coexist in peace.

When Duke, the youngest, unleashes a flood of blasphemies at Frankie, everyone stops screaming with laughter. This is an example of what Sam's doctor told him later in the series: Sometimes you have to "give up".

As a unit, the creative team and the actors Better things let his past go – and the show prospered because of it.

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