Showtime Offers ‘SMILF’ Pilot Early For Non-Subscribers

Showtime is giving viewers a chance to sample the half-hour comedy SMILF. The series debuts Sunday, November 5, but viewers can watch the premiere on YouTube, Facebook and Sho.com. Subscribers can also watch the first episode on streaming, authenticated and on-demand platforms including Showtime on Demand and Showtime Anytime.

The promotion starts October 23.

SMILF, created by, starring and executive produced by Frankie Shaw, is based on her short film of the same name. The eight-episode season is a raw look at the life of a 20-something single mom from South Boston. SMILF takes a comedic look at the life of Bridgette Bird (played by Shaw), whose desires for relationships, sex and a career collide with the realities of working-class single motherhood.

The cast includes Rosie O’Donnell in her first series regular TV role as Bridgette’s outspoken Southie mother, along with Miguel Gomez, Samara Weaving and Alexandra and Anna Reimer.

Shaw wrote and directed the pilot. Executive producing alongside her are Michael London, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and Scott King. Janice Williams also executive produced the pilot.

SMILF is produced by ABC Signature Studios as a co-production with Showtime.

At the end of the SMILF premiere peek, Showtime is offering fans a scene from the season eight premiere of Shameless, which also starts November 5.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.