SMILF is an American comedy television series starring, created, written, and directed by Frankie Shaw. It was based on her short film of the same title. The series premiered on Showtime on November 5, 2017. The series' name, SMILF, is a play on the term "MILF", with the "S" standing for "single", or "Southie", or both. Rosie O'Donnell co-stars as Tutu, the mother of Shaw's character Bridgette. Roseanne Barr was originally supposed to take on the role of Tutu, but due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery, she could not do so. Connie Britton has a recurring role as Ally, Bridgette's boss. Miguel Gomez and Samara Weaving are also in the cast. On November 29, 2017, Showtime renewed the series for a second season. On December 17, 2018, The Hollywood Reporter published an exclusive report that cast and crew members were alleging misconduct on the set, including “inappropriately handled sex scenes“, and that co-star Weaving had left the production over breach of contract in the filming of a sex scene. On March 8, 2019, a few days after the fourth episode of season two was broadcast, the series was canceled by ABC Signature Studios, who also suspended a future production deal with Shaw. Showtime played out the full run of season two, with the final episode airing on March 31, 2019.
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 82% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 6.42/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A questionable name and superficially familiar tropes mask SMILFs raw, tender core and surprisingly fresh perspective." Metacritic, which uses a normalized average, assigned a weighted average score of 64 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The show was included in a list on Refinery 29 of 'The 17 Best TV Shows For Women Of 2017', which said, "If there’s one new fall 2017 show you’re going to watch, let it be Showtime’s SMILF Sadly, television rarely allows women to be so layered." The second season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 7.33/10. On Metacritic, it has a score of 73 out of 100, based on 5 critics.
