'Six Feet Under': Death takes a trip

Scenes from "Six Feet Under"

From Sherri Sylvester
CNN Showbiz Today Reports

(CNN) -- A mortuary is, to say the least, an unusual setting for a television show. But "Six Feet Under" is, to say the least, a fairly unusual show.

The new HBO series, which premieres Sunday night at 10 p.m. ET, is set in a family-run funeral home where the dead may rest in peace, but the living are certainly tormented.

Meet the Fishers: The mother has had an affair. The daughter is a rebellious harpy. One son is a closeted homosexual, and the other son has tried to get as far away from the family business as possible.

And then there's the father, who's killed at the beginning of the opening episode and haunts the characters thereafter.

Take away the setting, and these are familiar characters to show creator Alan Ball, who won an Oscar for his "American Beauty" screenplay. Like that group, the Fishers keep their secrets well buried.

"Part of what this family needs to learn about themselves and their relationships and life in general is the truth is always better than maintaining a façade or a lie or trying to live up to some expectation," he says. "The truth is always better."

"Six Feet Under" developed partly from Ball's own history with grief.

"I don't pretend to be a world expert on death," he says. "It's been part of my life, and maybe what's led me to this project is I can have an affinity and an appreciation for people (for) whom it's a part of their life. ... It kind of forces you to open your eyes."

The cast of "Six Feet Under" consists mostly of lesser-known actors, with the biggest name perhaps Peter Krause, formerly of "Sports Night." He's looking forward to causing a bit of a ruckus.

"I think there are some people out there whose feathers are going to get pretty ruffled by this show, and I'm pretty happy about that," he says.

But Ball doesn't want people to be turned off. "Six Feet Under," he points out, is not a show about death; it's a show about life.

"People tend to think, 'Oh, I don't want to watch that show about the funeral home,' " he says. "(But) it's not depressing. It's actually kind of funny and fun."

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