It would appear as though the afterlife is continuing its haunting push into the world of primetime television, given the success of shows like Miracle Workers and The Good Place and the recent crowning of Ghosts as CBS’s number-one sitcom, which took place just recently.

In spite of the fact that we may never figure out why our culture is so obsessed with the concept of immortality right now, ABC’s newest sitcom, “Not Dead Yet,” features Gina Rodriguez, an actress who has won multiple awards for her work, exploring the joys and comedic possibilities of the concept. The single-camera comedy was written with heart and charm, with some extremely genuine and amusing performances from its cast. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s already looking like it will be one of the brightest spots on TV in 2023.

Not Dead Yet Trailer

Casey Johnson and David Windsor, who are the authors of This Is Us and Don’t Trust the B, came up with the idea for the show in Apartment 23, and McG was the one who produced it. Nell Serrano (Rodriguez), a recent divorcee and self-described “disaster” who is eager to get back into her journalism career, is the protagonist of the Netflix original series Not Dead Yet. Things turned for the worse when the two of them broke up, and the relationship punched her in the face, leading her to believe she was a failure.

This led to her moving to London hoping to have that fairytale wedding. However, things worsened when she left behind a promising, 15-year career for a man. The good news is that her strange roommate, Edward (Rick Glassman), is pretty chill, even though he’s quite passive-aggressive, wanting everything in a certain way, and needs her to walk his timid dog, Arthur. The bad news is that he’s very peculiar.

Nell lands the only gig she can get to kickstart her career ambitions back into high gear: writing obituaries in what can only be described as an “ew” closet. Nell uses the bottoms of her bathing suits as clean underwear and does her best to stay hydrated by drinking a nightly hard seltzer. Nell can suddenly, and for no reason that has been presented just yet, see all of the dead persons she is writing about beginning with her first assignment, a musician named Martin Mull who was known for his bubble gum jingle.

In contrast, she is writing these cut-and-dry obituaries. This gift (which makes her feel quite similar to a fellow TV journalist in Sam Arondekar on Ghosts) helps her understand the deceased so they can move on, while also helping her get back on track by providing advice that she did not realize she required.

When she is given her first assignment by her boss, Dennis (Josh Banday), she is cautioned not to pass judgment on the people she is required to write about since “everyone has a story,” and it is “her job to unearth it.” The enterprising journalist leans on her best friend and co-worker, Sam (Hannah Simone), her greatest confidante and a very busy mom helping her navigate the waters in their newsroom now that out-of-touch, nepo baby Lexi (Lauren Ash) is running the newspaper they all work at. Sam is her greatest confidante, helping her navigate the waters in their newsroom while she believes writing about dead people is starting to mess with her head.

The single-camera comedy is very loosely based on the novel Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up, which will be published in 2020 by best-selling author Alexander Potter. However, it diverges significantly from its literary counterpart in many obvious ways, which may initially confuse readers of the book. However, this does not mean that comedy does not work. Even if the part about seeing dead people might seem out of character for Potter’s readers, the rest of the series maintains extremely faithful to the original book in almost every respect.

Nell has a friendship with Cricket, played by Angela Gibbs, a widow whose husband Nell comes to know on a highly spooky level. This parallels the plot of the book. However, while the novel establishes their friendship as a significant driving force behind the plot, the series builds it more as an accent to Nell’s return to her true self when she feels completely alienated from everyone else.

Taking into account some of the very profound exchanges in Not Dead Yet alongside some very funny moments, the show deftly blends powerful elements of drama with some very vital comedic components that are charming and feel extremely relatable to viewers. The result is a show that delivers a compelling and satisfying viewing experience. This is due, in large part, to the very powerful, warm, and funny writing that has a style that has not been seen in any other network sitcoms thanks to the chemistry of its captivating ensemble, led by Rodriguez. In addition, the show has a style that has not been seen in other network comedies.

The Golden Globe Award winner is at the top of her game with this series since her timing has always been her biggest advantage in mesmerizing an audience. After demonstrating her comedic abilities for five seasons on The CW’s Jane the Virgin, she is at the top of her career with this series. Rodriguez actually shines with a joyful effervescence thanks to the fact that she serves as a smart and amusing springboard to the response of her co-stars and the situations in which her character Nell finds herself.

When you factor in her other co-stars, Simone, Glassman, Banday, and Ash, you have a dazzling ensemble that enhances her performance and is also a lot of fun to watch. Every character, even Nell, struggles to make ends meet in their own unique ways, which lends a strong sense of realism to the story. Even the most conceited nepotism baby wants nothing more than to earn her father’s approval while maintaining a positive relationship with the rest of the group.

Not Dead Yet is a good show because of its strong writing, performances, and diverse cast that brings incredible joy to every scene they are in. Despite the fact that the series needs some time to get going and that it will be quite some time before we understand the show’s rhythm and characters, the show has a lot going for it. Although it seems as though we walked into the middle of a conversation about why she can see ghosts all of a sudden, the show may be alluding to the idea that she has become somewhat estranged from herself and has lost faith in who she is.

Despite this, the half-hour sitcom is an extremely genuine laugh-out-loud series that can assist you in unwinding once you get beyond the difficult part of the day. Stick with it if you’re seeking something different to watch on TV; it will surprise you by making you laugh one minute and then cry the next, much like This Is Us. We recommend that you do so. The pleasure of watching Not Dead Yet is also derived from the fact that each episode adds another layer to Nell’s existence through her obituary writing, while simultaneously allowing the audience to gain a deeper understanding of Nell’s suffering in those moments of relative stillness. This same device makes the show’s message of how we affect each other despite some really harsh truths related to the bigger complexities of our life work so wonderfully.

After reviewing the information distributed to the press, it appears that the show has the right proportion of comedic and sentimental humour to become a series that stands out across primetime and eventually becomes everything that a network comedy wants to be like Abbott Elementary. Not Dead Yet, a vivacious new comedy with a heart, will quickly become your new favourite series this year and is a strong introduction to the 2023 season of the genre as a whole. This is due to the same factors that make the show immensely enjoyable and affecting.