Dead To Me on Netflix starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini

We don’t know who they are.

Looks good.

The elder gays know who they are.

Especially James Marsden.

I now have a reason not to cancel Netflix.

I love Christina, I think she far more talented than people know and will eventually have a breakthrough role that will win her an Oscar. Or Emmy if it's tv.

Thank you OP for sharing. The show looks interesting. Some time ago Mathew Perry had a sitcom about a grief counseling group called Go On which I liked, but was canceled after one season.

so bereavement it's a big thing this tv season: this, Ricky Gervais, and that show with the third Olsen girl.

This looks hilarious. I loved the casserole part. Anyone who has gone through unexpected death of a love one will tell that there's always annoying bitch who says something stupid when they bring over the casserole.

Lesbian teenager Christina Applegate bearded for closet coward homosexual tinymeat Brad Pitt.

Looks good - I love Christina Applegate

A show called "Dead to Me" about over-the-top females? Was this created by dataloungers?

Love Christina and yes R7 the Ricky Gervais series is heartbreakingly good

This looks really good. Excited for this.

I had today off and was bored as shit, looking for something to occupy my attention and this would have been perfect! Too bad it's still almost a month away from debuting. Will watch.

It's good to know that Telma Hopkins is still alive.

Has anyone watched yet? Are Christine and Linda suitably over the top?

Awful, awful reviews everywhere I turn.

Ummmm... no

I hope this show gets canned.

I previewed the pilot the other day. I liked it!

There is a BIG TWIST at the end that is actually quite novel and a good setup for a series.

I was off from work and watched the whole thing today. For the most part it was great. The finale and the set up for a possible second season reminds me a certain HBO show.

[quote]the Ricky Gervais series is heartbreakingly good

No, it is not. It winds up being the usual cynical-then-mawkish "LOVE ME!" Ricky Gervais pile of shit.

The first five episodes are very good. He has no fucks to give.

But then the last episode is from a totally different show. Suddenly, it's like the Hallmark Channel and Ricky wants everyone to love him. It was so contrived and wrong.

Linda looks good. The bangs suit her.

Linda got the shaggy haircut for, "The Curse of La LLorona" and loved it ever since. It does suit her.

Did anyone else hate that Christopher guy?

Terrific show!!!

[quote] I love Christina, I think she far more talented than people know and will eventually have a breakthrough role that will win her an Oscar. Or Emmy if it's tv.

She was so wonderful in "Sweet Charity" -- I saw it after she returned from the injury. I have been a fan ever since.

Christina is excellent in this, playing both the comedy and drama well.

But she keeps reminding me of Jennifer Aniston -- a lot -- by the way she looks and talks. Especially when she calls her friend, "honey."

Give Christina a break. Bitch has been through a lot. Thank god she finally found a great vehicle for herself.

Was so-so. Watchable, but very predictable.

Was James Marsden wearing a Ratty Korean Wig?

I'm surprised Christiana agreed to do those lines about a mastectomy. They seemed very exploitive.

These are the only kind of characters in everything now.

R28 lol i guess that's what happens when you play Rachel's sister on Friends.

Did Christina wreck any homes while working on this show?

I’d stick fuck James Marsden. I thought the black actor was the dude that plays the son in Grace and Frankie. lol

Still not stick fuck.

I'd stick fuck him r37!

I loved it. Watched the whole season this weekend because of this thread.

R35, was that the rumor when Arnett and Poehler broke up?

I was sad when that Poehler/Applegate show (forgot the name) was cancelled. My memory is shit and I still refer the other actress in it as Minnie Riperton's daughter.

R39 Yes, that was the rumor. Who knows if it was true? There were rumors that Poehler cheated on Arnett with Louis CK and that CK is the father of Amy's younger son.

R40 Maya Rudolph is the name of the actress.

[quote]There were rumors that Poehler cheated on Arnett with Louis CK

Why would she want to see him naked?

I didn't like this show at all. The acting was fine; hated the plot. These shows are becoming so trite in the need for twists. Just tell a good story for cripes sake. I only lasted 2 episodes in.

DETECTIVE: "We can't arrest someone for a crime just because they admitted to it!"

What kind of bullshit is that?

R45 I thought the same thing. I hated that lady cop.

The woman detective was played as an unrelenting surly cunt.

Linda is great in everything she does.

[quote] There is a BIG TWIST at the end that is actually quite novel and a good setup for a series.

Does the Linda C. character turn out to be the person who ran over the Christina A character's husband? It seems like that's where the plot is headed, which would be fucking retarded, though I am kind of liking the show.

I love this show

This was the best binge on Netflix I've had for some time. Great performances, fairly decent script, and ymmy James Marsden.

No, R 49. Nothing that sophisticated. It's pretty predictable, actually.

Just binge watched it today. Really liked it and agree that yes, Applegate is pretty underrated. Both were great.

Cardellini is supposed to be 39 on the show and trying to get pregnant, lol. Applegate is almost 50 IRL and she has a child under 10 on the show. Reminds me of that stupid HBO show Divorce, where SJP is a mom to very young kids while pushing 60. Or in Big Little Lies with Nicole Kidman having 6 year old twins. These actresses are making themselves look ridiculous in their desperation to make people believe they are young.

I just binge-watched this. It was really fun. Linda stole the show -- but then again, she always does. I hope they get a Season 2.

Cardellini's character is not trying to get pregnant, r54, she's had a zillion miscarriages and has given up on pregnancy. BTW, LC is 43, so not that much older than the character. Applegate is 47 and could easily have a kid under 10—are you unaware of how many women give birth at 40+ these days? SJP's kids on Divorce are older than her real-life twins. And Nicole Kidman's character on Big Little Lies is exactly the sort of person who'd have twins in her 40s as the result of fertility treatments.

Dopey Dataloungers are stuck in the 1950s with some notion that women don't and can't have babies past their early 30s or so.

No one is dopey, you dumb mutherfucker. We are aware these older broads can still reproduce. This older woman-younger kids trope is becoming the new "older man-younger woman as girlfriend."

On the contrary, I couldn't begin to count the number of people on Datalounge who are dopey. As for the "older woman with young kids" thing, all the characters you mentioned are exactly the kind of women who would wait until a pretty advanced age to have kids. It's a trope because it reflects reality.

R32: her name is Christina not Christiana. and she is a producer i believe of the show. It was her idea to include her personal double mastectomy into a bit of the show.

i liked it....the only thing i LOATHE with Netflix is we probably have to wait til 2022 for the next episode. fuckers.

Cardellini's character is an utter fucking psychopath. She and her dirt bag ex boyfriend decide to fuck while taking apart a car they used to kill a man? And not just fuck, but fuck on the very seats of the car. And this is supposed to be romantic?

Great show!!!

Loved it.

I thought Cardellini was younger in real life for some reason. I didn't know she was already almost 25 when she was playing a high school sophomore in Freaks & Geeks.

Linda is turning 44 next month. For a long time she looked younger and she has started to age a bit. But, she looks good compared to some 40 somethings.

Maybe it's just me, but I thought Linda did Emmy worthy work on this show. I doubt she'll be nominated though.

I think they aged both Christina and Linda on this show (w/ makeup) to make them look a bit more haggard and frazzled. I agree that Linda's work was Emmy-worthy on this show.

If Linda was a bit more popular with Emmy voters I think she would get a nomination. It sucks that a few female SNL cast members will get Emmy nominations instead of people like Linda or D'Arcy Carden from The Good Place.

Screw those overrated, annoying SNL broads -- Linda is golden in everything she's in!

Wow, I have never seen Applegate in anything before, but she is absolutely brilliant. Who knew?

R68, you've never seen Married with Children?

Not r68, but I have never seen that show, except for a maybe few snippets of a few episodes back in the day, and I am surprised at impressed at how good Applegate is in Dead to Me.

R70, lol, I guess Married with Children wasn't the best showcase of her skills. She's very compelling on this show.

I loved Christina's short lived show Samantha Who?

I am R68. I have never seen Married with Children, and didn't know she was in it. I haven't had a tv since high school, and never watched anything on my computer. I was recently sick and too tired to read, so got a Netflix subscription to amuse myself. I have missed out on a lot of cultural touchstones -- I've never seen a single clip from Friends, for instance -- but I am finding some new, interesting stuff.

Her first great appearance was in Don’t tell mom the babysiter’s dead.

Christina is perfect in the first Matt Foley skit. Go to 4:00.

Is the kid who plays the oldest son -- Sam McCarthy -- Andrew McCarthy's kid? I can't find much info online.

SPOILER ALERT...I did not see the ending coming -- Judy coming back to the house, forgiven, and Steve being killed -- but there were clues all over the place, and the script did a neat job of laying everything out. We know Judy can't be charged with manslaughter because if there is no evidence there is no crime; we know that Jen will get away with murder because we know that she can shoot someone on her property if he does not leave; there is probably video surveillance of Steve moving in on Jen, to prove that she shot him in self-defense. I don't buy that Jen would forgive Judy in the end, butI want to believe that is what happened. It was well-written, and Applegate was really wonderful.

Enjoyable but a pretty light binge, despite the subject matter it deals with. Didn't really think about it anymore even the next day.

A loaded lawyer who looks like James Marsden falling for an elderly care worker felt so unrealistic, it took me right out of the show every time they were in a scene together.

The gay realtor and the bitch mother-in-law from hell were the best part for me. And the gay realtor's interactions with the youngest son towards the end. That was very sweet.

Who played the bitch MIL she seems like someone from an 80s night time soap...

r79 Valerie Mahaffey, apparently most famous for Women of the House (1995), whatever that is.

Also in Young Sheldon, The Man in the High Castle, Devious Maids, Desperate Housewives, ER, Wings, and all sort of other shit through the years. She seems to me like one of those faces who is so familiar and also so very unfamiliar at the same time, if that makes sense.

[quote] Is the kid who plays the oldest son -- Sam McCarthy -- Andrew McCarthy's kid? I can't find much info online.

Yep.

Linda’s face really is beautiful though. She’s the prettier one imo.

[quote]Is the kid who plays the oldest son -- Sam McCarthy -- Andrew McCarthy's kid? I can't find much info online.

Not that this is a high bar, but he might be a better actor than his Dad. I have only seen three episodes, but so far I have liked the kids.

[quote]She seems to me like one of those faces who is so familiar and also so very unfamiliar at the same time, if that makes sense.

I agree - I recognized her, but could not remember from what. She was good. I am not sure how I feel about the show yet, but the cast is good from top to bottom (so far).

Linda Cardellini plays a 41 yo and she looks her real age (44). But James Marsden looks spectacular for his age! His character is 44 yo on the show, but he doesn't look a day over 35.

By the way, Linda C. also played a mother of young children in La Llorona. Patricia Velasquez is almost 50 and also had two small kids in the movie. This made the whole thing very unrealistic. Yes, I know women have kids at 40+, but this was a poor struggling single Latina mother who got pregnant twice at the age of 43-45? Sure...

I would think Christina's character would be more forgiving of Linda's character accidentally killing her husband once we/she find out they had a horrible marriage and he told the woman he was having an affair with that his wife was dead.

Marsden looks his age now.

I agree - Marsden is handsome and looks good, but he looks his age, esp in some of the shots. In some ways his hair cut works against him, because it has a touch of trying to look younger than you are to it, or it is possible he is coloring it and it has a bit of that monochrome look to it. There is something about it that is off. Still - he is a good looking guy and always felt he deserved a bigger career.

I thought the same thing, R87. It looks like he goes to the same barber as Zac Efron, and it was too "young" a do for someone his age.

[quote]In some ways his hair cut works against him

I thought it was a wig.

I thought it was well acted and for the most part well written, and I enjoyed it overall, but am not sure I want to spend another season with these people. Ten episodes of watching them being on the edge of a nervous breakdown and keeping secrets might be enough. Plus, I do think it will be a bit far-fetched if Judy becomes part of the family. I can possibly see Jen forgive her, but the kids should/would not.

As Steve morphed from being a shallow cad to being a felon and horrible person, it is harder to buy the image that Judy is this eccentric loving person. She knew about the money laundering, and as much as she said she wanted to tell the truth, she seemed to have no problem going to greater lengths to cover it up. Plus her showing up at one of Jen's showings where she was working seemed more about her needing to fell better than considering what would be best for Jen at the moment.

I agree that this show is a knock-off of a popular and much more entertaining HBO series. Christina and Linda are fine but nothing extraordinary. Predictable, lazy writing. Not awful but forgettable. Another Netflix series that doesn’t live up to the hype.

Which show, r91?

R90. I can't imagine there will be a second season of this. There is really no place for it to go, is there? I don't mind one season series. Then Kominsky Method -- with Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin -- could not have been more perfect, but it ended on a nice note, and, as much as I would love to spend more time with them, I am happy that it was just one season, and ended the way it did. It is wonderful, btw, for those who have not seen it.

I am guessing the second season would be either trying to convince the police Steve was killed in self-defense (possibly being ambiguous - would not be a stretch for Jen to shoot him in anger as he was walking away), or less likely - hiding the body and murder. I think they would also try to say Steve was the one driving the car - that Judy confessed for him. There is also the element that Judy removed all of the money from the account which will probably come back to bite her as they investigate the money laundering. I see it being another season of them keeping secret and always being on edge. I kind of liked Jen coming to peace with some things (before finding out Judy hit her husband) and am not sure I feel like seeing her do another season of spending half of the episode saying "fuck" and Judy looking worried.

I honestly thought the bitch mother-in-law was Lynda Carter. And it took me a few episodes to recognize Lou Grant (Ed Asner) as the old man in the home. He is really old!

Just binge watched the show and overall I love it. The story plot itself was predictable, but the leads and the rest of the cast made it more than work.

I am surprised that Valerie Mahaffey, playing Jen's mother-in-law, isn't more known around here. She guest starred in great frau shows like Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids and is a regular guest star on Young Sheldon.

Love the grieving retreat they went to. Steven Howey as Jason the widower was hot!

The highlight of the retreat was Telma Hopkins singing.

Call me crazy, but that retreat looked pretty fun. I don't know if that was the show's intention though. Or maybe that was some absurdist humor that went right over my head.

[quote]Is the kid who plays the oldest son -- Sam McCarthy -- Andrew McCarthy's kid? I can't find much info online.

BTW, what exactly happened to Andrew McCarthy's face?

[quote]I am surprised that Valerie Mahaffey, playing Jen's mother-in-law, isn't more known around here. She guest starred in great frau shows like Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids and is a regular guest star on Young Sheldon.

Those are shows on network TV, right?

Renewed.

R101: he looks exactly the same with a few decades more.

spoilers:

I never thought I ended up liking it as much as I did and am happy that it was renewed. Christina was great but Linda was wonderful too in a more difficult part.

Agreed that Marsden looks older now, and more plastic. There is something off about the whole thing. The dyed hair does not help.

Of course Jen couldn’t forgive Judy - she killed her husband, infiltrated her house and her life and completely broke her trust. No one in their right mind would forgive this. Except for now, where she is almost in the same position to Judy.

They used some lazy writing, especially in the last episodes. The Marsden character would never confess anything to Jen. But the worse is the old trick of getting the gun from the person who has thegun in your face and asking you to leave...

I really enjoyed this series, could barely stop once I started it.I always enjoy dark humor and this series had its share.

[quote]A loaded lawyer who looks like James Marsden falling for an elderly care worker felt so unrealistic, it took me right out of the show every time they were in a scene together.

I had the same thought, why would Ted and Judy have gotten together in the first place? He is a rich orange county douchebag and would presumably have some hot fiance half his age, or someone of high social standing, not someone an age appropriate woman from a nothing background.

Christina Applegate was tremendous in this, I honestly didn't know she was quite that good. She made a fun main character to watch.

Also Valerie Mahaffey is 65, and playing the mother of a 50 year old. Possible of course, but she looked noticeably young to me for the character.

[quote]They used some lazy writing, especially in the last episodes. The Marsden character would never confess anything to Jen.

He assumed Judy had already told Jen of his involvement (forgetting how selfless Judy is, since he is a selfish bastard), once he realizes otherwise, it is really too late. Jen had already connected the dots in her head.

Also people were comment on Mardsen's age catching up to him, for me it was Steve Howey. I knew him from Shameless which I've fallen behind and hadn't seen in years, and while his body (which the show was nice to show off), looked better than ever, it caught me off guard how he had aged in the face since my Shameless watching days.

[quote]Plus, I do think it will be a bit far-fetched if Judy becomes part of the family. I can possibly see Jen forgive her, but the kids should/would not.

The kids are clueless about Judy's involvement in their Dad's death though.

[quote]I would think Christina's character would be more forgiving of Linda's character accidentally killing her husband once we/she find out they had a horrible marriage and he told the woman he was having an affair with that his wife was dead.

That's not a real human reaction. No one who realizes this person killed their spouse, covered it up, and infiltrated your life while lying you to the whole time is going to have a positive reaction. It doesn't how much you were annoyed at your spouse, Jen's reaction to the news was realistic. Especially considering there had been no time for her to process it.

Applegate was delightful on “Samantha Who?” and terrific on “Dead to Me”.

Just binge watched and loved it.

Applegate really impressed me in this. I’d never seen her do drama and she was fantastic. I haven’t seen Cardellini in as much so I have little comparison but she was really good as well.

I’ve loved Valerie Mahaffey since her guest role on Wings. Absolutely hilarious as an obsessed schoolmate in love with Tim Daly’s character. A shame she never broke out but she’s been a reliable supporting character actress for decades.

[quote]Christina and Linda play two OVER THE TOP women who get into hijinks! Are the gays excited?

What an exciting original concept, how ever did they come up with it, this is sure to be revolutionary, no one has ever done this before, tell us more, blah, blah.......zzzzzz

Valerie Mahaffey was great in the short-lived Powers That Be.

I enjoyed the show very much. But Linda C as James M's love interest took me right out of it. As long as they weren't in a scene together I was ok, but I just couldn't believe them as a couple.

I think there are many ways they can go with another season of the show.

Just finished it. Great show. Looking forward to season 2.

Stealthbian Linda C., who's her gf?

[quote]it caught me off guard how he had aged in the face

Tell me about it

[quote]I haven’t seen Cardellini in as much

She was heartbreaking in Brokeback, not understanding . . .

[quote] A loaded lawyer who looks like James Marsden falling for an elderly care worker felt so unrealistic, it took me right out of the show every time they were in a scene together.

He didn't. He fell for the ditzy little artist whose paintings he used to make his gallery (he used for a money laundering scheme) look legit.

[quote]Some time ago Mathew Perry had a sitcom about a grief counseling group called Go On which I liked, but was canceled after one season.

I loved that show. I think you and I were the only ones who watched it, though, R6.

As an aside: "Go On"'s Suzy Nakamura plays the neighbor who delivers the casserole in "Dead to Me"!

r121 Still not convinced, sorry. There was some indication that he's a controlling person (like there being no trace of her personality in his house, and her constantly apologising to him), but still. He could've gotten off much more by doing all that with a proper (and younger) power bitch lawyer, not with some care worker.

r123, he needed a pushover who would go along with his scheme and remain loyal to him even when they are on a break. A power bitch lawyer would have ripped off his balls and thrown them in a grease fire and reported his ass to the feds.

R122 I also liked that Matthew Perry show about the grief support group. I kind of think if that show had been on a basic cable network like USA it might have lasted more than a season.

Anyone else listen to Applegate's Fresh Air interview? I was surprised by how abrasive, depressive and humorless she seems to be. Cold and joyless were other adjectives that came to mind. You can hear Terry pretty quickly realize this interview is going nowhere and stop trying to get illuminating or introspective answers out of her.

Let's see how happy you'd be R126 if you both your tits cut out.

Christina was similarly cold and disinterested in her interview on the RuPaul podcast. I expected her to scream, "I'm a mother with REAL concerns that you'd never understand!!!" any minute during the tense convo.

I listened to about half of that interview, and I thought she sounded fine. She is probably sick to death of being asked the same questions over and over, about something she didn't even want to be public about. She sounded more intelligent and articulate than I expected.

r129, you should listen to the 2nd half, not the first, if you're only going to listen to half of it.

r127, that's not even what she's all twisted up about and trying to steer the conversation away from.

R129 I agree with you completely I found her very interesting and was shocked to learn that she was outed by the tabloids about her double mastectomy. Kudos for her setting up a foundations for women to get MRIs to diagnose breast cancer immediately after her experience. Heartbreaking about Sweet Charity and the injury. I liked her sense of humor.

r131, what sense of humor?

Christina is an underrated actress with impeccable comedic timing. It doesn't surprise me that she's able to do drama, as most people who have capacity for comedy have it for drama. She was very good in this.

I think she was trying to sound as serious as possible because it's Terry Gross. It's a prestige thing. She wanted to show herself as a serious actress and an intellectual. It's like being interviewed for the New Yorker. You put on your most serious and thoughtful persona.

She sounded fine to me in the interview at R126.

I liked the Fresh Air interview and it made me follow through and watch the show yesterday. What did you expect her to say? “I’m just like Kelly Bundy!”

The qualities you describe are what make her so funny on Dead To Me - frankly, her asides and the things she mumbles under her breath are what make the show, which is otherwise a benign trifle which is very binge-worthy, I imagine especially with a bottle of chilled white wine. It certainly knows its target audience.

R131, I think the Sweet Charity injury was challenging but I don’t think it was heartbreaking. Applegate even said, despite that challenge, it was still one of the best years of her life. I enjoyed her dance scene in Dead To Me. Gross failed to mention, she got a Tony nomination for Sweet Charity and received rave reviews.

Nick’s cover of The Cars ‘Drive’ moved me to tears

I really enjoyed the show, but mostly for the chemistry between Applegate and Cardellini. I think they are amazing together.

I just finished watching this. I didn't get the appeal at all. It was billed as a black comedy, but very little was funny. And it was all over the map. Are we supposed to be amused by all these people being horrible to one another? And the speech Marsden had to make about blaming the man was clearly a preemptive strike by the writer against criticism that she is blaming all the bad things on men...which she basically is. This was just one of those shows where if people just did the right and obvious and human thing there would be no manufactured drama.

And no one here remembers Mahaffey from Northern Exposure??

I remember her from The Powers That Be starring DL fave Holland Taylor.

[quote] I was surprised by how abrasive, depressive and humorless she seems to be.

I'm not!

I just binged this the night before last and am in love.

The writing is a little messy but it’s first season so I’ll forgive that. The performances, however, are AMAZING.

Applegate is EVERYTHING in this / funny, heartbreaking, riveting. She reminds me so much of Jennifer Aniston here but much better. I did a quick google search and learned she played Aniston’s sister onFriends. Who knew?!

Cardellini is also fantastic.

Love, love, love.

Applegate was amazing in The Sweetest Thing and Samantha Who? A fantastic actor that makes everything she's in better (well, except Married With Children)

R144 Have you watched this?

Season 2 is released tomorrow

Nice, will someone do an official season two thread?

Do we need a new one r147?

Season Two thread here:

I swear the writers steal material DL.

[quote]And no one here remembers Mahaffey from Northern Exposure??

I do! She was a hypochondriac for the cute doctor to deal with. Her character Eve was married to Adam.