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 Georgia
"George" Lass (Ellen Muth) is an 18-year-old college dropout
who has no job skills and seems unable to take an interest
in anything, including her own life. She projects an air of
cynicism that infuriates her mother, baffles her father, and
intimidates her younger sister.
When her mother, Joy (Cynthia Stevenson), insists that
George get a job, she applies to a temp agency that sends
her out as a file clerk. Her lunch break — and her life —
are cut short when a toilet seat from the Mir space station
drives her into the pavement.
 George
does not realize that she is dead until Rube (Mandy
Patinkin), the kindly leader of a team of "grim reapers,"
points out her remains. Rube takes George under his wing and
introduces her to the other members of his undead group:
Mason (Callum Blue), Roxy (Jasmine Guy) and Daisy (Laura
Harris). In addition, Rube explains to George that in order
for her soul to move on to its next level, she has a quota
of souls she must help remove from those on Earth who are
about to die.
The members of Rube's team of reapers are all, like George,
people who died with unresolved issues. They still have
lessons to learn that — for one reason or another — they
failed to learn in life. They move about the Pacific
Northwest in the full light of day. They walk the city
streets and eat at all-night diners, just like anyone else.
They have to find their own places to live, cook, eat and do
their laundry. They look just like everyone else, but as
"un-dead" grim reapers they appear physically different to
the living than they did when they were alive.
 Dead Like Me revolves around George's adventures as she
comes into contact with an eclectic group of people who are
about to meet their maker, and as she learns to interact
with her fellow reapers, with Rube, and with her new/old
boss, Dolores Herbig. She also looks in on her grieving
family and must cope with how things continue to change
without her. All of these interactions lead her to ask: What
if death is not the end? What if it is not even an escape,
but an opportunity to accept responsibility? … What if death
is a wake-up call?
Just watching this show makes you want
to dress as a
Grim Reaper
for Halloween!
The "Dead
Like Me" pilot premiered on June 27, 2003
and the final episode aired on October 31, 2004. In spite of
its large fan base and very high ratings, the show was unexpectedly cancelled by Showtime.
We watch this series even October as part of our Halloween
viewing. Both seasons are currently available on DVD.
Click here for
the "Dead Like Me" Episode Guide
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