When Six Feet Under went off the air in 2005, the message was clear: “Everything. Everyone. Everywhere. Ends.” In arguably the best television series finale of all time, viewers witnessed the deaths of each member of the Fisher family and their loved ones in a touching and heartbreaking montage. But in today’s climate of revivals, reboots, and reimaginings, I guess anything is possible — even reviving a show that literally killed off every character — because a follow-up to the classic HBO drama is reportedly in early development. And there’s more good news that’s going to have fans of the original series excited.
The new Six Feet Under project, reported by Variety, must really be in the earliest stages, because there’s no indication yet of whether the follow-up will be a reboot or sequel, and there’s no writer attached the project. However, fans will be ecstatic to hear that Alan Ball, who created the early aughts series, and executive producers Bob Greenblatt and David Janollari are all attached to the new project as executive producers.
Six Feet Under aired on HBO for five seasons with an ensemble cast that included Frances Conroy, Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall (in his first television role) and Lauren Ambrose as the Fisher family, who lived in and operated a funeral home after the death of patriarch Nathaniel Fisher, who made appearances from beyond the grave and was played by Richard Jenkins. The supporting cast was just as notable and included Rachel Griffiths, Freddy Rodriguez and Rainn Wilson, who has voiced his desire for a reboot.
The return of creator Alan Ball is a boon for Six Feet Under fans, as his vision and storytelling gave the original series depth and compassion for the seriously flawed group of humans who made up the Fishers. The series garnered Ball multiple awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction in a Drama Series in 2002. A year ago, Ball’s other HBO creation, True Blood, was reported to be in talks for a reboot, also with Ball signed on to executive produce.
It’s theoretically been long enough for a reboot, as the series celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, but the original series was so good, do we really need one? But if not a reboot, it’s going to be really interesting to see which direction the project goes. While we did see how the Fishers all end up meeting their maker, the series-ending montage didn’t go into a lot of detail about their lives, so will HBO find stories within that skipped-over time period? It’s all speculation at this point.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more on this follow-up to Six Feet Under, and in the meantime, check out our 2021 TV Schedule to see what’s coming up this month. You can also get a peek at what to expect in the new year with our 2022 TV Schedule.
