Six Feet Under (2001–2005)

A drama series that takes a darkly comical look at members of a dysfunctional California family that runs an independent funeral home.

Creator:

Alan Ball

Stars:

Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 46 wins & 117 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Peter Krause	...	Nate Fisher (63 episodes, 2001-2005)
Michael C. Hall	...	David Fisher (63 episodes, 2001-2005)
Frances Conroy	...	Ruth Fisher (63 episodes, 2001-2005)
Lauren Ambrose	...	Claire Fisher (63 episodes, 2001-2005)
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Federico 'Rico' Diaz (63 episodes, 2001-2005)
Mathew St. Patrick	...	Keith Charles (63 episodes, 2001-2005)
Rachel Griffiths	...	Brenda Chenowith (63 episodes, 2001-2005)
Justina Machado	...	Vanessa Diaz (42 episodes, 2001-2005)
Jeremy Sisto	...	Billy Chenowith (29 episodes, 2001-2005)
James Cromwell	...	George Sibley (27 episodes, 2003-2005)

Storyline

A drama series that takes a darkly comical look at members of a dysfunctional family that runs an independent funeral home. With the prodigal elder son (Nate) returning home for the holidays to shattering news, the family must learn to deal with a death of their own, while figuring out how to go ahead with the business of the living. A funny and emotional look at a grieving American family...that just happens to be in the grief management business.

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Plot Keywords:

funeral | funeral home | death | dysfunctional family | prodigal son | 

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Taglines:

Your whole life is leading up to this...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official site - Six Feet Under (HBO) Showcase

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dva metra pod zemljom

Filming Locations:

2302 W. 25th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), The Greenblatt Janollari Studio, Actual Size Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min 55 min (63 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the credits of the pilot, you see a pallbearer who has a skeleton ring on his finger. The ring was digitally-erased from the credit opening thereafter.

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Quotes

[holding picture]
Nate: There's something weird about twins, about these twins anyway.
[shows picture to Brenda]
Brenda: They're cute.
Nate: They smell like bananas.

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Connections

Spoofed in Drawn Together: The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist: Part 2 (2005)

User Reviews

We're not talking "In Loving Memory" here, people.

"Six Feet Under"'s second season was a notch below the first, but only a notch.

The story of the lives and loves of the Fisher family, Alan Ball's creation (and sometimes writing) is certainly dark, but at the same time very layered, thoughtful, moving - by the end of the second season all the main characters have changed somewhat from what they were, and that's not meant as a criticism - and very funny. These are all qualities found in Ball's earlier script for "American Beauty" (who'd have thought he used to write for "Cybill"?), but there are people who can't abide the film while loving the series. Maybe it's the HBO connection... labels, who needs 'em?

The closest the show ever gets to formula is the obligatory scene where the week's dead person is unveiled (the temptation to play spot-the-corpse-to-be is unavoidable, though the writers often wrongfoot the viewer); the understandable desire to give all the main players something to do meant season 2's impact was diluted a bit, mostly due to Mathew St. Patrick as Keith (did we HAVE to get his family involved?).

Otherwise, the series is well nigh impossible to fault - the acting and writing are top of the range, the humour never gratuitously tasteless (and the fake commercials shown in the first episode have never returned, an early indication that this show may know when to quit), the series intriguingly inverts the usual male/female nudity ratio, as well as seeing homosexuality and drug use as aspects of life that are neither good nor ill (though no one will ever confuse this for "Queer As Folk" - Channel 4 or Showtime versions), and the title sequence illustrating the journey to the grave combined with Thomas Newman's sublime Emmy-winning theme music never fails to draw you in. For a show that's basically about death, this is full of life.

"In Loving Memory," in case you're wondering, was a 1970s British sitcom set in a funeral home. The difference between this and "Six Feet Under" is the difference between, say, Avril Lavigne and Reba McEntire.