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In an era when network television focused on family-friendly sitcoms, Alan Ball and HBO decided to go the opposite way and madeSix Feet Under, a drama series that revolved around a family of undertakers. The concept was risky with each episode beginning with a death and the exploration of grief taking up the majority of the storyline.
However, the show found a warm welcome from audiences who were looking for a better class of content on their TV sets. HBO had marketed itself as a more artistic side of the TV business and had already created popular shows likeThe SopranosandThe Wire. Hence, when they approached Ball by saying his show was too dark, he had the perfect response.
Alan Ball’sSix Feet UnderWas Initially Deemed Too Dark For TV
Alan Ball’sSix Feet Underis often considered to be one of the best shows of all time and was aired during the ‘Golden Age of TV’, which had shows likeThe Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men, The West Wing,and more. The HBO series centered around a family of undertakers and their daily dealings with death of varying kinds.
David Chase: “I was plucked out of development hell at the last minute” by HBO After What Fox Did To The Sopranos
Conceptually, the series is depressing and dramatic, automatically making it alienating from a family-friendly audience. With each episode beginning with a death, which was sometimes brutal and terrifically tragic, the show also focused on the Fisher family’s own dealing with the death of their patriarch and their personal struggles.
While the series ended up finding the right audience,Six Feet Underwas reportedly deemed to be a bit too dark and HBO apparently wondered how to market the show. Alan Ball mentioned that he faced similar issues when he wroteAmerican Beauty.He said toRolling Stone,
HBO was saying exactly the same things about Six Feet Under. They’re like, ‘Oh, we don’t know how we’re going to sell this. It’s so dark,’ and I was like, ‘Is it really darker than The Sopranos? I don’t think so.’ And you don’t really have a problem selling that.
Despite its dark themes, the first season itself won several Emmys, including for Ball, who got an award for directing the pilot episode.Six Feet Underis considered to be one of the all-time greats.
Alan Ball Initially Rejected HBO’s Pitch ForSix Feet Under
TV is a different ballgame now. With several acclaimed shows pushing the boundaries as well as a monster of a competitor in streaming, the TV business has turned into an art form in itself and the way it has been perceived has radically changed. TV used to be either the stepping stone of an up-and-comer or the deathbed of a has-been. HBO changed that.
The premium cable network invested in truly artistic stories that did not opt for the comfort of a sitcom but instead chose to portray real lives and unorthodox subject matter. Shows likeThe Wire, The Sopranos,andSix Feet Underchanged the game for TV and turned into a medium for effective storytelling. But creator Alan Ball almost missed out on this opportunity.
Alan Ball Didn’t Hesitate for the Darkest ‘Six Feet Under’ Death That House of the Dragon Did Years Later: ‘You can’t do that. You can’t go there’
Ball mentioned to Rolling Stone that he was a huge fan of the work HBO was doing, so whenhe was approached with the concept ofSix Feet Under, it interested him. However, he was also writing for a sitcom calledOh, Grow Upat the time and could not work on TV shows at once. He said,
I was doing this other show, and I’m not a person who could do two shows at once, so I said, ‘Well, good luck with that. I really like that idea, but I can’t because I’m doing this sitcom.’ And not too long after that, ABC very graciously canceled my other commitment.
After the sitcom was canceled after only one season, Ball reportedly wrote a spec script forSix Feet Underand the rest was history.
Six Feet Underis available to stream on Max.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2415
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
