Moving for love, but returning with a broken heart. Unfortunately, the fairy tale of "and they lived happily ever after" is not for everyone. Certainly not for Nell. Broke, she returns with her tail between her legs to the place she left for love. 37-year-old Nell (Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin) had imagined her life a little differently. Five years ago she threw aside her promising career as a journalist and moved to London for love. The relationship didn’t last, she flew back home and now this self-proclaimed disaster lives with her roommate Edward (Rick Glassman, As We See It), who often communicates via passive-aggressive sticky notes.
Fortunately, she got her old job back, or well, not exactly her old job. When she returns to her old place of work, her good friend, and now her boss, Dennis (Joshua Banday, Upload), has assigned her as an obituary writer. Not super inspiring, but it's not like Nell has many other options. However, she gets help from an unexpected source. Nell is suddenly being stalked by Monty (Martin Mull, The Ranch), the one she has to write an obituary about!
After a rollercoaster of emotions, Nell accepts that she can apparently see ghosts. She's obviously not too happy about it, but Monty the ghost isn't too happy with Nell either. She behaves like a whiner full of self-pity. He decides it's good for Nell to go out and the two go to a restaurant. Although two, Nell is the only one who can see Monty, so everyone around her thinks she's on her own. Still, kudos to her, because I'm way too socially awkward to go out for dinner on my own.
What follows is a cliché life lesson from the dead guy, but something happens that results in some teary-eyed moments. Another woman is sitting alone at a table, and when Nell first judges her for wearing an ugly necklace, Monty tells her that this is the necklace she got from her husband on their anniversary. The woman in question appears to be Monty's wife. And man, he would really like to tell her how beautiful she looks. Crying when watching a comedy, doesn't happen often to me, but I thought this was such a beautiful heartfelt moment.
Crying when watching a comedy, doesn't happen often to me, but I thought this was such a beautiful heartfelt moment.
Nell realizes that she should not judge a book by its cover. Life isn't easy and we’re all just doing our best. Her best friend Sam (Hannah Simone, New Girl), who she used to let loose with at the club, is now a mother of two. Her nemesis Lexi (Lauren Ash, Superstore), is now apparently good friends with Sam. People change because of what life throws at them, and the world would be a better place if we realized that everyone carries an emotional backpack and if we were less quick to judge each other.
I didn't find the first episode extraordinarily good. But it is hard to introduce all these characters and their relationships, and also be funny, in less than half an hour. However, I do think Not Dead Yet has potential so I will definitely continue to watch.
Not Dead Yet airs every Wednesday on ABC and is available for streaming the next day on Hulu.
About the writer, Sharon Vermeesch
"Be careful not to get square eyes," Sharon has been told since childhood. Watching television shows for hours on end is nothing new to her. Sharon can completely lose herself in good storylines, she cries along with her favorite characters and dreams completely new episodes at night. Also, she knows all the latest news about actors, castings, cancellations / renewals and gossip ? After studying Journalism, Sharon chose the financially stable corporate job, but after craving some more creativity, she handed in her notice. 2023 has started for her without a job, but with a lot of dreams and time to figure out her next step. Oh and she is also writing a tvshow. You can watch this on one of the major streaming services next year (she hopes).
