January 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) – May 10, 2023 (2023-05-10)
Single Drunk Female (stylized as Single Drunk Female) is an American comedy television series created by Simone Finch that premiered on Freeform on January 20, 2022, and ended on May 10, 2023.[1] In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on Freeform on April 12, 2023, with all second-season episodes released on Hulu on April 13.[2][3] In June 2023, the series was cancelled after two seasons.[4]
Plot
After a terribly embarrassing public meltdown, alcoholic Samantha Fink has only one chance to avoid jail time. She needs to stay sober and move back in with her bossy mother, Carol. Back in the Boston area, Samantha tries to make the best of the situation. However, that's easier said than done. Samantha is confronted with the ghosts of her past, which drove her to alcohol addiction. And then there's her mother, who was conspicuous by her absence when Samantha was young, and now meddles in everything and showers her with unhelpful advice. At first Samantha is reluctant to take a new path, but when her childhood best friend Brit reveals surprising news, Samantha has to admit that her partying life can't go on like this.[5]
Molly Ringwald as Alice (season 2), Carol's sister-in-law and Samantha's aunt
Busy Philipps as Darby (season 2),[3] Olivia's sponsor at Alcoholics Anonymous who has been 20 years sober
Production
Development
On September 25, 2019, Freeform gave Single Drunk Female a pilot order.[7] On February 26, 2021, Freeform gave production a series order consisting of ten episodes. The series is created by Simone Finch, who also executive produces alongside Leslye Headland, Jenni Konner, and Phil Traill. Headland also directed the pilot while Finch wrote the pilot. 20th Television is involved with producing the series.[8] On April 26, 2022, Freeform renewed the series for a second season.[2] On June 30, 2023, Freeform cancelled the series after two seasons.[4]
Casting
Upon the pilot order announcement, Sofia Black-D'Elia and Ally Sheedy were cast to star.[7] Upon the series order announcement, Rebecca Henderson, Sasha Compère, Lily Mae Harrington and Garrick Bernard joined the main cast.[9] On January 7, 2022, Jojo Brown, Charlie Hall, Madison Shepard, Ian Gomez, Madeline Wise, and Jon Glaser were cast in recurring roles.[10] On January 11, 2023, it was announced that Busy Philipps and Ricky Velez had been added to the cast in recurring roles in the second season, with Charlie Hall set to return as Sam's ex-boyfriend Joel.[3]
The series premiered on Freeform on January 20, 2022.[1] The second season premiered on April 12, 2023, with all ten second-season episodes released on Hulu on April 13.[3] The series finale aired on May 10, 2023.[11] The series was removed on Hulu on July 1, 2023.[4]
Reception
Critical response
For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 25 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Single Drunk Female's clear-eyed chronicle of the challenges of sobriety is a joy, thanks in part to some spiky satire and Sofia Black-D'Elia's spirited star turn."[26]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[27]
Leila Latif of The A.V. Club gave the first season a B and said, "Sofia Black-D'Elia makes for an incredible lead across all 10 episodes, selling every moment of Samantha's story as a woman with high-functioning alcoholism rebuilding her life."[28] Reviewing the series' first season for The Guardian, Ellen E Jones gave a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and described it as "a show that has most to say at the very point when other shows lose interest."[29]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 6 critic reviews.[30] Metacritic gave the second season a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[31]
Ratings
Season 1
Viewership and ratings per episode of Single Drunk Female
^"SHOW BIOS - Sasha Compère". Disney General Entertainment Content (Press release). Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
