For a show that was nominated for several Emmy's, was the start of Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall's careers and was a staple on HBO, if you asked most people what "Six Feet Under" was about, most people would say that it's how far people are buried when they die. "Six Feet Under" follows the very dysfunctional Fisher family after the Patriarch, Nathaniel dies in a car crash and leaves the family Funeral Home to his Widow and 3 kids. Now, fair warning, if you have a hard time dealing with Death and/or Blood, then this show isn't for you. If you can, however, then I recommend it highly.
The show stars Peter Krause and Nate, the oldest of the Fisher children, Michael C. Hall as David, the Middle child of the Fishers, Lauren Ambrose as Claire, the youngest of the Fishers, Frances Conroy as Ruth, the Mother of the Fishers, Freddy Rodriguez as Frederico Diaz, the Mortician for the funeral home, Mathew St. Patrick as Keith, David's on-and-off again Boyfriend, Rachel Griffins as Brenda Chenowith, Nate's on-and-off again Girlfriend, and Richard Jenkins as Nathaniel Fisher, who comes back as a ghost to talk to the other members of the Fisher family.
For a show about Death, "Six Feet Under" masterfully handles the dark comedy that it tries to maintain. The show broke many grounds for different issues that haven't been handled at the time of its release, including having a same-sex couple in Hall's David and St. Patrick's Keith.
The show first aired a month before 9/11 in 2001 and ran until August 2005. Upon its release, it was hailed for its incredible balance of Dramatic and Comedic which was something that hadn't been seen done as well as MASH, which was released 20 years prior. The show was a solid hit for HBO, its Series Premiere had 5 million viewers, which was the network's largest debut for a TV show before "Game of Thrones."
The show was highly rated up until its fifth and final season. The show was nominated for and won a bevy of accolades during its time, including being nominated for 23 Emmy's for its first two seasons, winning nine of them. The show boasts a 98 percent Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes, something that is so rare to see in a TV Show, let alone a Movie.
Looking back on the show, the legacy it holds it one of such underratedness that isn't seen too often on HBO shows, but, it makes sense why it is underrated. The show was on during the run of the classic show, "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," almost everyone knows those shows and didn't pay attention to the other quality programming that the network possessed.
"Six Feet Under" is a show that will be remembered for being a sobering and refreshing look at realistic topics that everyone deals with and it looks at the topics with such maturity that it is something that has not been seen since the shows release and it probably never will.
