30 March 2018
INTERVIEW: Golden Globe nominee Frankie Shaw
Update: SMILF is no longer on Showmax. Find your next binge in the full series catalogue here.
You’ll recognise Frankie Shaw from season one of Mr Robot, where she played Shayla, Elliot’s drug dealer, neighbour and former lover, but her real breakthrough came last year as the lead actress, writer, director, and executive producer in SMILF, a semi-autobiographical series about being a working class single mother.
SMILF ended up on multiple Best of 2017 lists, including Deadline, The Los Angeles Times, and Vogue, before earning Frankie Golden Globe nominations for both Best Comedy and Best Actress.
With both seasons of SMILF now first and only on Showmax, we caught up with Frankie.
How did SMILF end up on Showtime as their third biggest premiere week audience for a comedy ever?
I wrote a pilot and wanted to direct a scene from that pilot so people would understand how I saw it, more than just what was on the page when they read it. Scripts are a blueprint, so tone is so specific to the person making it. I knew that it had a specific feeling, which I don’t know if you get just from reading the script. So I directed a scene from it, which then took on a life of its own and became a short film, which then I submitted to Sundance and we got in, and it won an award, which then helped me sell it to Showtime and turn it back into a TV show.
So what’s SMILF about?
It’s about a struggling single mother. She lives in blue-collar Boston. She has a relationship with her mom who’s mentally ill and she has to navigate, figure out how to make ends meet raising her three-year-old and then co-parenting with her baby daddy, who now has a new girlfriend.
Why is the life of a broke single mom a great idea for a TV series?
Part of it stemmed from when I was moving around every three months with my toddler. There are so many funny stories of me and him in these crazy living situations.
But I also feel like so much of this country [America} lives in poverty, or lives check to check. That was a real thing that I’ve experienced that I thought would be interesting to explore.
You direct, write and star in the series. Tell us about that experience.
Wanting to be in every element is just part of who I am. I love it. It’s so fulfilling, but yeah, it’s insane. But I do have to say there’s amazing people around me. So my husband’s a writer on the show, and then I have an executive producer who’s a writer on the show, Scott King. The three of us would divvy, when we were shooting, “Oh, this scene has to be written; you go to the edit.”
Why is it called SMILF?
In the pilot, when someone calls her that, she sort of scoffs when she gets the text. It’s not a word women can actually call themselves, which is the point of it. It reclaims this derogatory term men use to categorise women, which started with American Pie with a bunch of teenagers looking at Stifler’s mom. It’s challenging because people might write it off as a gimmicky title, or inappropriate, but the whole point is we’re seeing a story we don’t usually see, and we’re seeing someone represented who’s not usually represented.
Why are the guys all naked in the sex scenes?
I just feel like we’ve seen enough naked women. Come on. So it was important that if we were going to have nudity, the women were not going to be objectified.
Every episode is directed by a woman. Why was that an important choice?
There’s just so many women who need work and if I’m in a position to hire them, I’m going to.
What is it like working with Rosie O’Donnell?
She just lets go. When you walk around with Rosie in public, she’s the Mayor, she’s talking to everyone. And that’s not this character. She sinks in and gets quiet and really shows her raw emotions. We are so lucky. She’s beyond my wildest dreams of an actor.
What do you hope the audience will take away from this show?
Hopefully people identify with it and laugh and cry with us. If you’ve struggled with anything – parenthood or money issues or even just “should I follow my dreams” or class issues, race issues – we get into all of it. So I just hope people identify and enjoy it.
Original African stories by local talent
Empini S1
Stream the Showmax Original drama series Empini from 23 May 2024.
Original Sin: My Son The Killer
Original Sin: My Son The Killer follows the murder of Andrea Venter by Gerhard Jansen van Vuuren, who then went on the run from South Africa to Brazil.
Tracking Thabo Bester
From the makers of Devilsdorp and the director of Convict Conman comes the true-crime documentary South Africa has been waiting for. All the episodes are streaming on Showmax.
The Illuminated
The Showmax Original docuseries The Illuminated explores different religious movements in South Africa. Stream now, with new episodes every Wednesday.
Koek S1
The crime comedy Koek, starring Cindy Swanepoel, now streaming on Showmax, with new episodes every Thursday.
Ekhaya Backpackers S1
Stream the Showmax Original comedy series Ekhaya Backpackers. All the episodes are now streaming.
Cheta M
Cheta M explores the love story between Adanna and Nnanna, young lovers who battle the spiritual and political forces in their way. Stream now, with new episodes Wednesday to Friday.
Youngins S1
Stream Tshedza Pictures’s first teen drama, Showmax Original Youngins, with three new episodes every week.
The Roast of Minnie Dlamini: The roast everyone's been waiting on
Empini, coming soon
More Mzansi gold
Youngins Season 1 Episodes 34-36: The heist
After Khaya reveals that he saw underaged photos in the principal’s messages, he and his friends plot revenge in episodes 34-36 of Showmax Original Youngins.
Laugh Africa Presents: The Showmax Roast of Minnie Dlamini
The Showmax Roast of Minnie Dlamini unleashes the wrath on the media personality, which sees a star-studded line-up with comedy heavyweights Tumi Morake and Jason Goliath as Roast Masters.
The Mommy Club Season 2 Episode 10 recap: Getting to the bottom of it
In episode 10 of The Mommy Club S2, Hermajesty and Mrs Sande go head-to-head and Nozipho confides in Mrs Mops. New episodes land every Monday on Showmax.
The Real Housewives of Durban S4: Nonku and Slee’s friendship is dead and buried
In the finale episode of The Real Housewives of Durban S4, all is laid on the table at the ladies’ dinner. All episodes are now streaming on Showmax.