Frankie Shaw Talks SMILF's Subversive Message and How She Co-Parents With Teresa Palmer
Frankie Shaw's art imitates life.
The 31-year-old mum from South Boston created, executive produces, co-writes, and stars in SMILF, a comedy series centred on a single mum from the blue-collar New England neighbourhood.
"It's like my life but there's also a pretty big departure," she tells TheFIX by phone from Los Angeles, "which safeguards me from feeling too exposed."
Shaw plays Bridgette, an aspiring actress who dreams of getting out of her hardscrabble surroundings, while also juggling the responsibilities of raising her young son and co-parenting with her ex (Miguel Gomez) and his new Australian girlfriend, Nelson (Samara Weaving).
"When I started talking about the show with the writer's room, I said I'm not going to have Bridgette and Nelson be pitted against each other," she says. "They're going to be allies. I never wanted it to veer to cattiness or have Nelson be the villain."
And in real life, Shaw amicably co-parents her 9-year-old son, Isaac, with her actor ex, Mark Webber, and his now-wife, Australian actress Teresa Palmer.
"Co-parenting, no matter what, presents challenges," says Shaw, who married producer Zach Strauss in 2016 with Palmer standing alongside her as a bridesmaid. "But we always maintain the desire to have honest discussions about what's going on."
That refreshing, blunt honesty can be seen in every layer of SMILF, starting at its churlish title, which stands for Single Mum I'd Like To F---.
"There was a big discussion over the title," Shaw tells TheFIX. "Ultimately, we decided the intention behind it — of being subversive and having a feminist bent — was important. It's important to have a discussion about the term, and what it means to be labelled and objectified."
The series (now streaming on Stan) co-stars Rosie O'Donnell as Bridgette's mum, which makes for a filming experience Shaw calls "beyond my wildest dreams".
"Rosie is so fun and funny that it makes me want to write more and more for her to do," says Shaw. "She's also just a true professional — there's no ego. I really do feel like she looks out for me like a mum now."
And since its premiere, SMILF has received an overwhelming response from viewers who connect to the show's raw portrayal of parenting and life's various hardships.
"No one thing defines us. It was important to have these deeply flawed characters to understand the psychology behind it but not totally focus on it in some a melodramatic way. Which is what I find with people I know — Everyone is resilient and finds comedy in the darker elements of our experience," says Shaw.
"My favourite is when I hear from a single parent feeling like they're represented in a way they haven't been. Or parents in general, or women with eating disorders — people just feeling like they're seen."
SMILF is streaming now on Stan with new episodes dropping every Monday.
