Single Drunk Female
| Single Drunk Female | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Simone Finch |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 20–25 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Freeform |
| Release | January 20, 2022 – May 10, 2023 |
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. 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. In June 2023, the series was cancelled after two seasons.
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 sage 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.
Cast and characters
Main
- Sofia Black-D'Elia as Samantha Fink, a 28-year-old alcoholic who is forced to move back home after hitting rock bottom
- Rebecca Henderson as Olivia (season 1, recurring season 2), sponsor of Samantha at Alcoholics Anonymous
- Sasha Compère as Brit, Samantha's ex-BFF who is a doctor
- Lily Mae Harrington as Felicia, Samantha's drinking buddy and current BFF
- Garrick Bernard as James, a fellow member of Alcoholics Anonymous
- Ally Sheedy as Carol, Samantha's mother
- Ian Gomez as Bob (season 2; recurring season 1), Carol's boyfriend
Recurring
- Jon Glaser as Nathaniel, Samantha's former boss
- Madison Shepard as Gail Williams, Samantha's probation officer
- Jojo Brown as Melinda "Mindy" Moy, Samantha's boss at Giovanni's grocery store
- Charlie Hall as Joel, Samantha's ex-boyfriend and Brit's fiancé
- Madeline Wise as Stephanie, Olivia's wife
- Tom Simmons as Ronnie
- Ben Thompson as Peter
- Ricky Velez as Alex (season 2), Samantha's new love interest
Special guest stars
- Bob the Drag Queen as herself (season 2)
- Molly Ringwald as Alice (season 2), Carol's sister-in-law and Samantha's aunt
- Busy Philipps as Darby (season 2), 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. 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. On April 26, 2022, Freeform renewed the series for a second season. On June 30, 2023, Freeform cancelled the series after two seasons.
Casting
Upon the pilot order announcement, Sofia Black-D'Elia and Ally Sheedy were cast to star. Upon the series order announcement, Rebecca Henderson, Sasha Compère, Lily Mae Harrington and Garrick Bernard joined the main cast. On January 7, 2022, Jojo Brown, Charlie Hall, Madison Shepard, Ian Gomez, Madeline Wise, and Jon Glaser were cast in recurring roles. 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.
Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 10 | January 20, 2022 | March 17, 2022 | |
| 2 | 10 | April 12, 2023 | May 10, 2023 | |
Season 1 (2022)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Leslye Headland | Simone Finch | January 20, 2022 | IGCG79 | 0.194 |
| 2 | 2 | "One Day at a Time" | Phil Traill | Simone Finch | January 20, 2022 | IGCG02 | 0.162 |
| 3 | 3 | "I'm Sorry, But..." | Katrelle N. Kindred | Jessica Watson | January 27, 2022 | IGCG03 | 0.121 |
| 4 | 4 | "Shamrocks and Shenanigans" | Travon Free | Chloe Keenan | February 3, 2022 | IGCG04 | 0.107 |
| 5 | 5 | "Sober for the D and V" | John Riggi | Lauren Bans | February 10, 2022 | IGCG05 | 0.091 |
| 6 | 6 | "Look Me Up Sometime" | Kimmy Gatewood | Aminatou Sow | February 17, 2022 | IGCG06 | 0.091 |
| 7 | 7 | "New York" | Keith Powell | Daisy Gardner | February 24, 2022 | IGCG07 | 0.072 |
| 8 | 8 | "James" | Leslye Headland Adam Silver | Jenni Konner | March 3, 2022 | IGCG08 | 0.090 |
| 9 | 9 | "Higher Parent" | Travon Free | Simone Finch | March 10, 2022 | IGCG09 | 0.051 |
| 10 | 10 | "A Wedding" | Mary Wigmore | Jay Dyer | March 17, 2022 | IGCG10 | 0.089 |
Season 2 (2023)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Promotion" | Phil Traill | Lauren Bans | April 12, 2023 | 2GCG01 | 0.151 |
| 12 | 2 | "Grant Me the Serenity" | Heather Jack | Jessica Watson | April 12, 2023 | 2GCG02 | 0.121 |
| 13 | 3 | "Normie" | Phil Traill | Chloe Keenan | April 19, 2023 | 2GCG03 | 0.090 |
| 14 | 4 | "4th Step" | Mary Wigmore | Simone Finch | April 19, 2023 | 2GCG04 | 0.057 |
| 15 | 5 | "Defining Relationships" | Ahmed Ibrahim | Ama Quao | April 26, 2023 | 2GCG05 | 0.074 |
| 16 | 6 | "Keeping it Professional" | Travon Free & Martin Desmond Roe | Mithra B. Alavi & Heather Gromley | April 26, 2023 | 2GCG06 | 0.052 |
| 17 | 7 | "Shiva" | John Riggi | John Riggi | May 3, 2023 | 2GCG07 | 0.082 |
| 18 | 8 | "Darby" | Tyne Rafaeli | Daisy Gardner | May 3, 2023 | 2GCG08 | N/A |
| 19 | 9 | "Coming Clean" | Kimmy Gatewood | Jessica Larson & Ekaterina Vladimirova | May 10, 2023 | 2GCG09 | 0.081 |
| 20 | 10 | "Group of Drunks" | John Riggi | Richard Brandon Manus | May 10, 2023 | 2GCG10 | 0.070 |
Broadcast and release
The series premiered on Freeform on January 20, 2022. The second season premiered on April 12, 2023, with all ten second-season episodes released on Hulu on April 13. The series finale aired on May 10, 2023. The series was removed on Hulu on July 1, 2023.
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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
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." 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."
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. Metacritic gave the second season a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on 4 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Ratings
Season 1
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | January 20, 2022 | 0.08 | 0.194 |
| 2 | "One Day at a Time" | January 20, 2022 | 0.06 | 0.162 |
| 3 | "I'm Sorry, But..." | January 27, 2022 | 0.04 | 0.121 |
| 4 | "Shamrocks and Shenanigans" | February 3, 2022 | 0.03 | 0.107 |
| 5 | "Sober for the D and V" | February 10, 2022 | 0.02 | 0.091 |
| 6 | "Look Me Up Sometime" | February 17, 2022 | 0.03 | 0.091 |
| 7 | "New York" | February 24, 2022 | 0.02 | 0.072 |
| 8 | "James" | March 3, 2022 | 0.02 | 0.090 |
| 9 | "Higher Parent" | March 10, 2022 | 0.01 | 0.051 |
| 10 | "A Wedding" | March 17, 2022 | 0.03 | 0.089 |
Season 2
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Promotion" | April 12, 2023 | 0.04 | 0.151 |
| 2 | "Grant Me Serenity" | April 12, 2023 | 0.03 | 0.121 |
| 3 | "Normie" | April 19, 2023 | 0.05 | 0.090 |
| 4 | "4th Step" | April 19, 2023 | 0.03 | 0.057 |
| 5 | "Defining Relationships" | April 26, 2023 | 0.04 | 0.074 |
| 6 | "Keeping it Professional" | April 26, 2023 | 0.03 | 0.052 |
| 7 | "Shiva" | May 3, 2023 | 0.03 | 0.082 |
| 9 | "Coming Clean" | May 10, 2023 | 0.05 | 0.081 |
| 10 | "Group of Drunks" | May 10, 2023 | 0.05 | 0.070 |
Accolades
In 2021, the series won the IMDbPro Top 200 Scripted TV Recipients for ReFrame Stamp.