Through the first season, George has trouble adjusting to her
circumstances: collecting souls, while holding a day job at Happy Time.
By the second season, she has mostly adjusted to her new role, though
still has unresolved issues with her life and her afterlife.
George's family is struggling to deal with her death. Her mother,
Joy, is depressed, and visibly repressing it, while Clancy, her father,
is cheating on Joy. George's sister, Reggie, acts out — stealing toilet
seats from neighbors and school, and hanging them on a tree — before
being sent to therapy by Joy. She clings to the belief that George
visits her, but is starting to lie to cover this up. At the start of
the second season, the family began to break apart as divorce
proceedings began.
(2003 - 2004) - Ellen Muth, Laura Harris, Callum Blue, Jasmine Guy
Genre: Comedy / Drama
CAST
Ellen Muth ... Georgia 'George' Lass
Callum Blue ... Mason
Jasmine Guy ... Roxy Harvey
Mandy Patinkin ... Rube Sofer
Cynthia Stevenson ... Joy Lass
Britt McKillip ... Reggie Lass
Christine Willes ... Delores Herbig
Laura Harris ... Daisy Adair
Crystal Dahl ... Crystal
Greg Kean ... Clancy Lass
Patricia Idlette ... Kiffany
Talia Ranger ... Young George
Laura Boddington ... Un George
Rebecca Gayheart ... Betty Rhomer
Meghan Black ... Misty
Patti Allan ... Claire
Teryl Rothery ... Linda the Realtor
Spencer Achtymichuk ... Charlie
Deanne Henry ... Casey
Eric McCormack ... Ray Summers
Brett Kelly ... Francis Bischetti
Julia Arkos ... Mrs. Ricket
Robin Dunne ... Thomas 'Trip' Hesberg III
John Kapelos ... Angus Cook
Peter Williams ... Angelo
Tom McBeath ... Father Mathias
Yeardley Smith ... Penny
Barbara Barrie ... Phyllis
Peter Kelamis ... Morgue Attendant
Daniel Bacon ... Michael
Tegan Moss ... Fiona
Enid-Raye Adams ... Gayle
Raugi Yu ... Cheery Co-Worker
James Ashcroft ... Phil
Dana Pemberton ... Frank the Cop
Reg Tupper ... Jed
Colin Banner ... Clergyman
Manoj Sood ... Mr. Akhtar
Ron Small ... Kid Washington
Jake D. Smith ... Little Boy
Ian Thompson ... Bus Driver
Created by:
Bryan Fuller
Writing credits:
Bryan Fuller
Stephen Godchaux
John Masius
Bridget Carpenter
Karl Gajdusek
Annie Weisman
Dan E. Fesman
Peter Ocko
Harry Victor
Paul Lieberstein
J.J. Philbin
Opening theme: "Dead Like Me"
Written by: Stewart Copeland
Original music by:
Stewart Copeland
Tom Maxwell
Cinematography by:
Tony Westman
Armin Matter
Language: English
Country: United States
Directed by:
David Grossman
James Whitmore Jr.
Peter Lauer
Robert Duncan McNeill
Kevin Dowling
Sarah Pia Anderson
Steve Beers
Produced by:
Ben Brafman
Robert Habros
Steve Beers
John Masius
Pascal Verschooris
Stephen Godchaux
Bridget Carpenter
Shayne A. Wilson
Bryan Fuller
Peter Ocko
Dan E. Fesman
Harry Victor
Tom Spezialy
Number of seasons:
2
Original channel:
Showtime
DLM Productions
John Masius Productions
MGM Television
Awards:
2005 Nominated Saturn Award Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
2004 Nominated Saturn Award Best Actress in a Television Series
2004 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
2005 Nominated Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
2004 Nominated IHG Award Best Television
2004 Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Drama
Also Known As:
Dead Like Me
Dead Girl
Dead like me - So gut wie tot
Halali hullak
Mitt liv som dod
Tan muertos como yo
Trivia
From start to finish, the entire production used a total of three Argentinian horned frogs to play the "red frog".
The comic that Mason is reading in a number of episodes are each editions of "Cosmic Plan", a subtle nod to the role of the reapers.
While Rube's cause of death is never outwardly stated, several of the second season episodes hint that on the night he was killed, Rube tried to rob a bank (the wanted poster Rube finds when searching for information about Rosie, and the gun he's constantly carrying around in his flashbacks).
The drum kit that Reggie owns is made by Ayotte, a Canadian drum manufacturer.
The girl who plays the version of George that regular people see is credited as "Un George".
The red frog that keeps appearing here and there through the series comes from the first scene of the pilot. It is, depending on who you ask, the first "person" to die, the first reaper, or both. The frog is an Argentinian horned frog (aka, "the Pac-Man frog"), which does not make sounds like North American frogs (during one take, however, the frog hissed when Ellen picked it up, scaring the daylights out of Callum Blue and Jasmine Guy), The "frog sound effect" is dubbed in. The Pac-Man frog also has sharp teeth, and should only be handled by professionals, as its bite is very painful.
According to Bryan Fuller (the show's creator and head writer for the first four episodes), it was originally planned that George's father would be gay, and this development would spell the end of Clancy and Joy's marriage. After Fuller left the show, the show's new executives decided that Clancy should be heterosexual, but philandering with his female students.
The pilot took one month to film, whereas all other episodes were filmed one per week.
Georgia Lass is aloof and emotionally distant from her family and shied away from her life. After dropping out of college, she takes a job at Happy Time Temporary Services. On her lunch break of her first day, she is hit and killed by a toilet seat from the de-orbiting of the Mir space station. She is informed shortly after her death that, rather than moving on to the "great beyond", she will become a grim reaper in the "external influence" division, responsible for reaping souls of people who die in accidents (many of which are of Rube Goldberg-style and complexity), suicides and homicides.