Netflix’s Dead to Me: 5 reasons you need to be watching

3. The friendship between Jen and Judy

Cardellini’s free-spirited character Judy and Applegate’s blunt mother of two Jen, form the basis of the show’s premise. Dead to Me is really about the relationship between these two women. It follows their individual journeys and struggles in dealing with grief both individually and apart.

As I mentioned before, Cardellini and Applegate make fantastic and compelling television together. They’re excellent scene partners and I found myself most immersed when they were sharing the screen together. I’m excited to see how their friendship evolves, how it weathers the impending obstacles that the premiere sets up for them.

2. The mysteries

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Like most television shows these days, Dead to Me does have a central mystery at its epicenter. Actually, it has several. I won’t spoil them for you here but the premiere episode does a great job at setting up the multiple threads we’ll be following over the course of the season.

The main one is about Jen’s hunt to find out who was behind the hit and run that killed her husband. But Judy also has some secrets of her own. No one is quite who they appear to be.

1. Complicated female characters

One thing I often look for when seeking out new television shows or movies to watch is how the women are written. I love stories that offer me complicated female characters, women who don’t ascribe to any particular stereotypes or tropes.

I found that here with both Jen and Judy, though specifically Jen, Christina Applegate is a fantastic actress and adds so much depth to her roles. You can tell Jen has a lot of anger boiling just beneath the surface and I’m eager to see how the show explores that. It helps the series was created and written by women too.

Are you planning to watch Dead to Me on Netflix this weekend? If you’ve already watched the first episode, what did you think about it? Do you have a preference between Jen and Judy’s characters? Do you have any idea where the show might go beyond the first episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Season one of Dead to Me is now available to stream on Netflix.