# Six Feet Under (2001)

> The Fisher family navigates grief, love, and rivalry while running their Los Angeles funeral home.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1194

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 63
- Episode runtime: 56 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, comedy
- Created by: Alan Ball
- Network: HBO
- Cast: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodríguez, Mathew St. Patrick, Rachel Griffiths, Ben Foster
- TMDB rating: 8.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248654/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: morbid, wry, melancholic, humane, darkly comic

## What critics say

Acclaimed for its frank, darkly comic and deeply moving portrait of a dysfunctional family running a Los Angeles funeral home, with a finale widely regarded as one of television's most affecting.

## Synopsis

Six Feet Under (2001-2005) is an American HBO prestige drama series created by Alan Ball, blending dark comedy with family drama. Nate Fisher (Peter Krause) runs a family funeral home in Los Angeles after his father's death, and his brother David Fisher (Michael C. Hall), a closeted gay man, struggles to keep the business alive alongside his sister Claire Fisher (Lauren Ambrose), a restless artist. Their mother Ruth Fisher (Frances Conroy) grapples with grief and her own choices. Each episode opens with a client's death and follows how that loss ripples through the family's personal and professional lives. Across five seasons of 63 episodes, the series builds a serialized story driven by shifting romances, business pressures, and the characters' fraught attempts to connect. The tone is morbid, wry, and deeply humane, with a melancholic undertow and moments of unexpected warmth. Fans of The Sopranos and Succession will find resonance in its layered family dynamics and its unflinching look at mortality and self-discovery in a sun-bleached Southern California setting.

## Shows like Six Feet Under

- [Californication (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/1140)
- [The Undertaker (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/55571)
- [Muertos S.L. (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/154830)
- [Somebody Somewhere (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/88842)
- [Shrinking (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/112591)
- [A Million Little Things (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/69727)
- [Resurrection (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/46013)
- [Love Me (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/115351)
- [Hal & Harper (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/161397)
- [The Returned (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55317)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt