There have been several variations formed out of the acronym MILF since the 90’s when it was first introduced to the mainstream in the movie American Pie. Along with GILF and DILF, we can now add SMILF to the lexicon, though the smart money says the latter will probably make it into Websters Dictionary before the others do. In part because SMILF is Showtimes newest comedy starring Frankie Shaw, which they have just renewed for a second season after just four episodes into the first.
“From its first episode, the refreshingly honest point of view of ‘ SMILF ‘ broke through with audiences, the press and on social media,” Gary Levine.
Gary Levine, Showtime’s president of programming couldn’t stop singing the show’s praises at a press junket on November 30 where he spoke to Variety .
“Frankie Shaw is a creative force to be reckoned with and we love having her on Showtime. Her show is funny and forthright, pointed and poignant, irreverent and relevant, all at once. We can’t wait to see where Frankie takes ‘SMILF’ next season.”
SMILF takes from Frankie Shaw’s own life as a single mom in South Boston, and the show’s success thus far, speaks to just how relatable it all is. Each episode begins with an old proverb, from one of South Boston many ethnicities. Like many young women in their twenties, Bridgette Bird is unwed and must raise a child by herself while trying to reignite the dying embers of whatever it is she aspires to.
Her baby daddy (played by Miguel Gomez) has moved on with another woman but promises to babysit. Then there are those unresolved childhood issues that put her at odds with her mentally ill mother Tutu, played by Rosie O’Donnell. When she isn’t tutoring (one of the menial jobs she does to make ends meet) she plays basketball with the boys hanging out in the park, and like most of those boys, she masturbates a lot, too much even for a tomboy. A tomboy with a three-year-old son.
SMILF is smart and funny and very real, touching upon issues we are all so very familiar with; race, politics, class and sexual violence. We have certainly been inundated with our fair share of just about all those topics in recent years, and whilst sexual violence seems to be dominating the spotlight at present, you can be certain just as SMILF will be coming back for a second season, we will be faced with these issues again, perhaps for many more seasons. Hats off to anyone who holds it together as well as Bridgette Bird does.
