by Pa Rock
TV Junkie
I recently discovered a gem of a show on Netflix. "Dead to Me" is a dark comedy (a dramedy) that deals with the budding friendship between two women in their forties who are coming to terms with their grief, their anger, and their lives - all the while navigating an increasingly criminalized situation that has more twists and turns than a goat trail across the Andes.
Jen (Christina Applegate) is a recently widowed mother of two boys - ages ten and sixteen - who shows up a grief support group hoping to work through some of some of her anger. Her husband had recently been killed by a hit-and-run driver while out jogging in the middle of the night. At her first meeting with the group, Jen encounters Judy (Linda Cardellini), who is also new to the group. Judy says that she is there to grieve the death of her long-term fiancé.
The two women are inexplicably drawn to each other, and as their friendship flowers, so too does a myriad of complications that routinely catch even the most jaded of television viewers off guard. There is nothing predicable in the rampaging lives of Jen and Judy. The smart writing and extremely clever plotting cough up jaw-dropping surprises with almost alarming regularity.
The show has a strong regular cast and there are cameos and guest appearances by some Hollywood notables like Ed Asner, Will Ferrell, and Katy Sagal. (Sagal played Christina Applegate's mom, Peg Bundy, on the long-running television hit "Married with Children" back in the 1980's and 1990's.)
But it is the writing that makes this show so formidable. Liz Feldman, an actress and comedian, created the show and is the driving force behind its writing and production - and she is undoubtedly its primary energy. Feldman has created the show's edgy nature, and seems laser-focused on keeping it fresh and sharp.
"Dead to Me" currently has two seasons (a total of twenty, 30-minute episodes) available on Netflix with certainly more to come. It's a show that will pull you in, fiddle with your emotions, and likely impact your beliefs.
It is television at its unusual best!
TV Junkie
I recently discovered a gem of a show on Netflix. "Dead to Me" is a dark comedy (a dramedy) that deals with the budding friendship between two women in their forties who are coming to terms with their grief, their anger, and their lives - all the while navigating an increasingly criminalized situation that has more twists and turns than a goat trail across the Andes.
Jen (Christina Applegate) is a recently widowed mother of two boys - ages ten and sixteen - who shows up a grief support group hoping to work through some of some of her anger. Her husband had recently been killed by a hit-and-run driver while out jogging in the middle of the night. At her first meeting with the group, Jen encounters Judy (Linda Cardellini), who is also new to the group. Judy says that she is there to grieve the death of her long-term fiancé.
The two women are inexplicably drawn to each other, and as their friendship flowers, so too does a myriad of complications that routinely catch even the most jaded of television viewers off guard. There is nothing predicable in the rampaging lives of Jen and Judy. The smart writing and extremely clever plotting cough up jaw-dropping surprises with almost alarming regularity.
The show has a strong regular cast and there are cameos and guest appearances by some Hollywood notables like Ed Asner, Will Ferrell, and Katy Sagal. (Sagal played Christina Applegate's mom, Peg Bundy, on the long-running television hit "Married with Children" back in the 1980's and 1990's.)
But it is the writing that makes this show so formidable. Liz Feldman, an actress and comedian, created the show and is the driving force behind its writing and production - and she is undoubtedly its primary energy. Feldman has created the show's edgy nature, and seems laser-focused on keeping it fresh and sharp.
"Dead to Me" currently has two seasons (a total of twenty, 30-minute episodes) available on Netflix with certainly more to come. It's a show that will pull you in, fiddle with your emotions, and likely impact your beliefs.
It is television at its unusual best!
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