Not Dead Yet Review: Gina Rodriguez Charms in ABC Supernatural Comedy
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The post Not Dead Yet Review: Gina Rodriguez Charms in ABC Supernatural Comedy appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: Nell (Gina Rodriguez) could be doing better, after blowing up her life to follow her now-ex-boyfriend to England, and returning home in shame: While she’s managed to return to her chosen field of journalism, she’s been relegated to the obituary beat at the paper she once worked for. But, on the plus side, she’s somehow gotten a big advantage when it comes to writing about the recently deceased: As soon as she gets a new assignment, the dead person in question starts to haunt her until their obituary’s complete.
Yep, She Sees Dead People: Honestly, after the success of CBS’s Ghosts last year, it’s surprising that there aren’t more broadcast comedies dabbling in the afterlife this season. Not Dead Yet, though, very quickly finds its own take on the subject matter, because as anchored by Rodriguez, the series brings with it a very light touch, even while delving into what can be one of humanity’s darkest and heaviest topics.
Anchored in Nell’s journey from complete post-breakup train wreck to… well, marginally more stable adult, the show quickly falls into a “dead person of the week” structure, where of course each episode’s ghost is meant to help shine a light on the issues plaguing Nell — as the title makes it clear, she might be constantly talking to dead people, but she’s still got some living ahead of her. It’s a format which lends itself to both episodic and serialized storytelling quite nicely; a premise that you could see lasting years.
About the Living: While the series structure is set up to bring in solid guest stars with each episode (those appearing as obituary subjects include Martin Mull, Ed Begley Jr., Mo Collins, Rhea Pearlman, and Brittany Snow), like all ideally long-lived comedies a lot of its potential may be determined by the supporting cast, which contains some solid players who have yet to really firm up their personalities as individual characters.
That is, with the exception of Lauren Ash as Nell’s boss Lexi. Ash was previously a serial scene stealer as Dina on the recently concluded Superstore, and once again throws herself head-first into creating an equally intense yet totally different persona. Her work as a crafter of character should be studied by science, it’s that good.
Rick Glassman, as Nell’s neurodivergent roommate, also does a lot to make sure his character isn’t solely defined by his austism. Meanwhile, Hannah Simone, as Nell’s best friend/colleague Sam, falls too hard into best friend tropes without her own stories, but her chemistry with Rodriguez is solid. Angela Gibbs, as the owner of a local wine bar Nell befriends, also has promise — like the rest of the supporting cast, these two likely just need more time to gel.
Not Dead Yet (ABC)
As for Rodriguez, taking on a premise just slightly more implausible than the wild and beloved Jane the Virgin, she brings essential buckets of charm to Nell’s mopey outlook on life; as seen in the first five episodes provided to critics, there are nuances to her story beyond just being in her late 30s and being a bit of a fuckup, but Rodriguez doesn’t play her character’s past tragedies as an excuse. How quickly Nell gets pushed towards making big improvements to her life, though, remains to be seen — for right now, it’s fun to see her enjoy her wallowing to some degree.
The Verdict: ABC, as previously mentioned, made the first five episodes of Not Dead Yet available for review, and by doing so made it clear that there’s some deeper plotting in store for this season, as the rules surrounding Nell’s newfound powers slowly come into focus.
Yes, we’re calling them powers for now, because at least in these early episodes, the “is she mentally unbalanced or are ghosts real?” question appears to be a non-starter, because as far as the show goes, Nell’s sanity is rarely called into question.
So, instead, we’re asked to just take the appearance of the recently deceased as fact, which isn’t too tough except for the part where the ghosts that Nell interacts with in each episode vary in attitudes, but seem relatively accepting of their undead status, in ways that are at times unnerving. Perhaps this is the peace that comes with being on the other side; perhaps this is something the show will explore in its own ways as the season progresses. But for right now, Not Dead Yet is a show which hopefully manages to live at least past its first season.
Where to Watch: The first two episodes of Not Dead Yet premiere Wednesday, February 8th on ABC, and will be streaming on Hulu.
Trailer:
Not Dead Yet Review: Gina Rodriguez Charms in ABC Supernatural Comedy
Liz Shannon Miller
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