Hulu Summary:
Follows Nell Serrano, broke, newly single and feeling old, working to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago at the same newspaper. Her surprise help? The spirits of those she’s assigned to obituarize.
FYA Summary:
So the basic premise is: Nell has returned to her “old life” after breaking up with her chef fiancé, for whom she moved to Paris a few years ago. Unfortunately, she learns it’s not that easy to just “pick up” where you left your career and your friends. She’s been “demoted” to writing obituaries at the struggling paper; she had to move in with a random roommate, and her best friend, Sam, has become besties with Lexi,the toxic and out-of-touch wealthy daughter of the paper’s owner. Everything comes to a head when she gets her first obit assignment and suddenly she can see and interact with Monty’s ghost, and he isn’t going away until she tells his story properly.
I will always, eventually find my way to shows like Not Dead Yet. I love a good dark and twisty supernatural moment, but the light-hearted takes are just as compelling, often balancing the sweet and sad with some snort-inducing humor. Despite my enjoyment of this type of hope-core show, it’s not always easy to find a good one: the jokes and personalities can only get so puerile before I’m rolling my eyes more than I’m chuckling at the zaniness.
I am happy to report *nudge-nudge* that this show does find the balance I can work with. Our protagonist, Nell, is a mid-thirties hot mess who grows (and backslides and then grows again) throughout the show, and I genuinely enjoyed the cast of quirky characters who surround her and give the show its heart. Whenever a particularly annoying ghost or plot point would get to the edge of being a bit much, the show pulled it back into the “lesson of the week” or pivoted to the heartfelt and kept me emotionally invested.
Familiar Faces:
Of those I recognized: Gina has built a reputation for playing roles similar to Nell—though Jane (the Virgin) is more of a goody-goody—and she’s clearly got the charisma to lead an ensemble. I couldn’t remember where I knew Hannah at first, although I was getting a weird déjà vu watching her, until I realized she played a similar kind of sidekick BFF on New Girl as Cece (I liked her there and I liked her here!). Lauren eventually won me over as Dina on Superstore and she did the same here as Lexi, bringing a similar manic energy but with a touch more vulnerability.
I wasn’t familiar with Rick playing Nell’s roommate, who is on the spectrum, but he low-key became one of my fave characters due in part to his portrayal of the fastidious and exacting Edward. The dynamic between Nell and Edward was probably one of my favorite parts of the show. Angela has been in a little bit of everything, and she brought such a warmth to Cricket, the owner of the wine bar everyone frequents and the wife of Nell’s very first ghost. Dennis is another news reporter goofy sidekick and he is often the show’s heart (despite his love of gossip).
Plus there’s a whole slew of one-off (mostly) guest actors as the ghosts who pop in and out of Nell’s life, most notably, Martin Mull, who you will recognize from, well, everything.
Couch-Sharing Capability: Not In A Group
This is a perfectly shareable show, but you don’t really need to. It’s better as a background buddy when you need alone time but you don’t want to totally disassociate.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Not Necessary
If you want to crack open a red so you feel like you’re sitting at the wine bar with them, sure, but, honestly, Nell drinks enough for all of us.
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Not A Waste
We would’ve gotten five or six seasons of this show if it had aired in the earlier 2000s, but unfortunately it was a victim of its time and was cancelled after 2 too-short seasons. That does make it a fairly easy binge, and the final episode does wrap things up nicely (so no cancellation cliffhangers). I laughed and cried more often than I expected while watching, which, to me, makes a show a win!
