From the Academy Award-winning writer of American Beauty comes Six Feet Under, a darkly comic look at life and death from the perspective of a dysfunctional family that owns and operates an independent funeral home in California.

In Los Angeles, patriarch Nathaniel Fisher (Jenkins) dies in a car wreck on Christmas Eve, casting a pall over the holiday homecoming of son Nate (Krause). In addition to dealing with his dad's death, Nate must cope with his controlling mother, Ruth (Conroy), who has been having a secret affair; brother David (Hall), a closeted gay man who manages the business; and sister Claire (Ambrose), a rebellious teen who receives the bad news after taking drugs with her new boyfriend, Gabe (Balfour). The only seemingly positive aspect of Nate's life is Brenda (Griffiths), a passionate woman he meets on the plane. But Brenda's crazy family proves more dysfunctional that Nate's.

Featuring the following episodes -

Pilot
Los Angeles, Christmas Eve, Nathaniel Fisher, owner of the Fisher and Sons Funeral Home, is killed when a municipal bus broadsides his new hearse. The tragedy casts a pall on the holiday homecoming of son Nate (who works for an organic food co-op in Seattle), as he must not only deal with the death of a father, but the fragile egos of mother Ruth (who has been having a secret affair with her hairdresser, Hiram), brother David (a closet homosexual seeing a black policeman named Keith), and a sister Claire (a rebellious high-schooler who receives the bad news after dropping crystal meth with new boyfriend Gabe). The only good thing to happen to Nate is Brenda, a passionate women he met on the plane, just before learning of his father's death. At home, David eschews the talents of his young mortician, Fredrico, to personally undo the damage of his dad's accident. The ensuing funeral leaves the family's deepest emotions exposed, and calls into question some of our more absurd rites of passage. At the gravesite, David is not amused by the advances of Matthew Gilardi of Kroehner Service Corporation, a funeral- home conglomerate looking to buy out the Fishers business. As for senior Nathaniel, he may have been laid to rest- but has plenty left to reveal to his family.

The Will
The inventor of a franchise pyramid scheme dies in a pool accident, leaving his widow and infant daughter with a mountain of debts and no money for a proper funeral. Nate offers a solution: rent a top-line casket, then cremate the body after viewing. There's just one problem: by law, a used casket cannot be re-sold. At the reading of Mr. Fisher's will, Ruth gets cash, stocks and insurance money, Nate and David split the funeral business (much to David's chagrin), and Claire gets college tuition, which she considers trading for cash. Later, Nate learns the meaning of "Angel Lust," Ruth breaks up with Hiram during a nature hike, David receives an unexpected visit from his ex-fiancee Jennifer, and Gabe gets Claire to suck on his toes in the back of her hearse.

The Foot
A bakery owner meets an unsavory demise- and it's up to Fredrico to put the pieces back together. The Fishers decide to sell out to Kroehner, but Nate backs down after meeting with "that greedy little Nazi f*&@k," Gilardi. Claire finds a disturbingly apropos way to pay Gabe back for blabbing to the school about her toe-sucking exploits. A vengeful Gilardi tells Nate that Kroehner has bought the abandoned house across the street, and plans on turning it into a cheap crematorium. Looking for a way to feel "alive," Ruth visits the horse track with best friend Amelia, but loses a bundle. After Nate and Brenda make love in the Kroehner house, it suspiciously catches fire.