Fans Call This 96%-Rated Drama Gem 'The Most Brilliant Show of All Time' (It's Not The Sopranos)
Finished watching The Sopranos and now you think you've reached the pinnacle of TV art? There's another show that has been overshadowed by the Soprano family, but deserves just as much attention.
For 26 years, The Sopranos has been considered not only HBO's best project, but also one of the best TV series ever created. At the same time, many forget another show from the network that deserves no less praise than David Chase's series – Six Feet Under.
If The Sopranos was a cross between crime and psychoanalysis, Six Feet Under was a mix of Greek tragedy about fatalism, a black comedy about death and magical realism.
The show is aging like fine wine: what shocked viewers 24 years ago now seems progressive and relevant. This is due to the complex characters, which at the time could only be found on HBO.
What Is Six Feet Under About?
A bus hits the brand-new hearse of Nathaniel Sr., owner of the Fisher & Sons funeral home and patriarch of a troubled family.
His death makes his relatives look at eternal peace differently – not as a familiar source of income, but as an event that causes a forgotten sense of grief.
The funeral is attended by the eldest son, Nate, who has run away from home, and who, along with his brother David, rebellious teenage sister Claire, and shocked mother Ruth, must decide what to do with the family business.
Six Feet Under Is an Ultimate Exploration of Death (But Not Only)
Each episode begins with someone dying: a con man jumps into a pool and hits his head on the bottom, a 14-year-old girl falls out of bed laughing and breaks her neck.
Death of the week not only sets the tone for the episode, but also proves the randomness and ordinariness of tragedy, showing viewers different coping mechanisms, stress experiences, and individual attempts to deal with an emotional crisis.
Death is the main, but not the only, taboo finally broken in the series. Moreover, it seems to be composed entirely of previously stigmatized topics: mental illness, drug addiction, the search for identity, and aging were deeply explored by the creators.
24 Years Later, Alan Ball's Show Is More Relevant Than Ever
Six Feet Under is a first-rate drama about a troubled family, a surreal black comedy, an emotional melodrama, a teen coming-of-age story and more.
Like most HBO projects, Six Feet Under seemed ahead of its time, but it arrived just when it was needed. And what's more, it's relevant even now, after two decades. One of the Redditors wrote:
“I must say, despite me being incredibly late to the party, it's the most brilliant show of all time. [...] Enjoy crying your eyeballs out on the final and greatest episode in television history.”
Alan Ball's show has gone down in history not only as an unapologetic discourse on life and death, but also as one of the most influential shows of the 21st century, and the rare owner of an outstanding finale that fans have returned to with tears in their eyes for 20 years.
