We know Mikey Madison deserves all the awards, and her 2024 dark comedy-romance film “Anora” is certainly a movie no one should miss. The movie took home six Academy Awards among over 270 award nominations and 153 wins. Along with the film securing Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Original Screenplay, star Mikey Madison also found herself winning big. However, before becoming the first Gen Z actor to win an Academy Award, she was playing someone’s daughter on a highly-rated television series.
If you’re a fan of Madison’s work in “Anora,” or you’re simply in the mood for a complex story about a single mother that can still make you laugh, then the FX series “Better Things” is definitely worth checking out. It’s currently available to stream, and along with holding an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and audiences alike, the series also has its own list of nominations and award wins as well.
It’s always fun to see superstars before they were big, and Madison’s role on “Better Things” is when she got her break in acting. Speaking with Deadline in 2025 about her experience on “Better Things,” Madison states, “I learned a lot on that show […] I never went to college or film school, so that’s my college. It’s my acting school, my film school.” Also, if you’re on the hunt for more media from stars before a big film, you may also want to check out an Apple TV series starring Chase Infiniti before she appeared in “One Battle After Another.”
Madison stars in family comedy before Oscar win
Before winning Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 97th Academy Awards for her part as Ani in the comedy-drama-thriller “Anora” — which you can still catch on Hulu – actress Mikey Madison still had some solid roles under her belt, including appearances in the 2022 reboot of “Scream” and a role in 2019’s animated version of “The Addams Family.” However, before any of that, she had a role in the 2016 series “Better Things,” created by Pamela Adlon and Louis C.K.
“Better Things” follows the semi-autobigraphical story of Sam Fox (Adlon), a single mother of three trying to make life work in Los Angeles. Madison plays Fox’s daughter Max alongside Hannah Riley and Olivia Edard, who play sisters Frankie and Duke, respectively. The series managed a 5-season run before ending in April 2022, with one reason potentially being Adlon wanting to end the series on a high note — though a 2022 piece from Newsweek mentions that viewership dropped 12% between Seasons 3 and 4.
Though Madison didn’t receive any award nominations during her time on the show, “Better Things” did secure 38 nominations and 6 wins, including winning a Peabody Award in 2016. The series currently holds a 98% Tomatometer score and a 84% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes. In a 2016 review for TV Guide concerning Season 1, critic Kaitlin Thomas says, “The series is rich in personality and possesses the strange ability to feel totally fresh while also resembling something as familiar as a worn copy of a favorite paperback book.” The series is currently streaming on Hulu and is available to rent on Prime Video.
