Scripted series · HBO
Six Feet Under
Life is pain, get use to it.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Peter Krause
Nate Fisher
63 eps
Frances Conroy
Ruth Fisher
63 eps
Lauren Ambrose
Claire Fisher
63 eps
Freddy Rodríguez
Federico Diaz
63 eps
Mathew St. Patrick
Keith Charles
63 eps
Rachel Griffiths
Brenda Chenowith
63 eps
Ben Foster
Russell Corwin
24 eps
Justina Machado
Vanessa Diaz
63 eps
Jeremy Sisto
Billy Chenowith
31 eps
Richard Jenkins
Nathaniel Fisher
21 eps
Lili Taylor
Lisa Kimmel Fisher
24 eps
James Cromwell
George Sibley
27 eps
Tina Holmes
Maggie Sibley
21 eps
Ricardo Chavira
Ramon
4 eps
Beverly Todd
Lucille Charles
4 eps
Catherine O'Hara
Carol Ward
4 eps
Eric Bruskotter
Keith's Partner
4 eps
Bronwyn Tosh
Maya Fisher
31 eps
Anne Ramsay
Jackie Feldman
6 eps
Chris Messina
Ted Fairwell
6 eps
Robert Foxworth
Dr. Bernard Chenowith
6 eps
Brenna Tosh
Maya Fisher
31 eps
Steffani Brass
Michaela
5 eps
Idalis DeLeon
Sophia
8 eps
C.J. Sanders
Anthony
8 eps
Kevin Rankin
Johnny
4 eps
Mena Suvari
Edie
8 eps
Kellie Waymire
Melissa
6 eps
Julie White
Mitzi Dalton Huntley
4 eps
Patricia Clarkson
Sarah O'Connor
7 eps
Rainn Wilson
Arthur Martin
13 eps
Justin Theroux
Joe
9 eps
Kathy Bates
Bettina
11 eps
Eric Balfour
Gabe Dimas
12 eps
Michelle Trachtenberg
Celeste
4 eps
Ed Begley Jr.
Hiram Gunderson
8 eps
Aysia Polk
Taylor
11 eps
Joel Brooks
Robbie
7 eps
Sprague Grayden
Anita Miller
12 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Six Feet Under actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Six Feet Under reads strongest on Character Depth, Emotional Weight and Bingeability.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
When death is your business, what is your life? For the Fisher family, the world outside of their family-owned funeral home continues to be at least as challenging as—and far less predictable than—the one inside.
The run
Seasons
5 seasons · 63 episodes.
Season 0 · Unannounced
Specials
11 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
200113 episodes
7.6IMDbAs prodigal elder son Nate Fisher returns home for the holidays to news of his father's death, the family must learn to deal with the death of one of their own—while figuring out how to go ahead with the business of living.
Best episode · S01E01 Pilot
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
200213 episodes
7.5IMDbWith owner/patriarch Nathaniel Fisher no longer alive (except in the hearts and sometime visions of his family), his survivors — wife Ruth, sons Nate and David, and daughter Claire — continue to cope with the tricky business of looking to the future while being constantly reminded of the past.
Best episode · S02E13 The Last Time
Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
200313 episodes
7.6IMDbThanks to the financial contributions of their mortician, Federico, Fisher & Sons has become Fisher & Diaz, and the Fisher family members face major adjustments as they open a new chapter in their professional lives and personal relationships.
Best episode · S03E11 Death Works Overtime
Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
200412 episodes
7.4IMDbThere’s a new family order at the Fisher & Diaz funeral home. Although one spouse is gone, another has moved in, ushering in changes for better and worse. For Nate, Ruth, David and Claire, every day above ground is a good one. With Ruth remarried and Nate spiraling out of control, the Fishers struggle with the latest losses and additions to the family, whose dismembered pieces never seem to add up to a healthy whole.
Best episode · S04E12 Untitled
Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
200512 episodes
7.8IMDbEverything. Everyone. Everywhere...Ends. Story elements established in the first four seasons reach a series of emotional climaxes, with Ruth overwhelmed by her mentally fragile husband George, Nate struggling to reaffirm his relationship with Brenda while raising his daughter Maya, David and Keith longing for children of their own, Claire trying to broaden her horizons, and Federico attempting to fill the void left by Vanessa. By season's end, all will come to embrace the cycle of life—birth, death and rebirth—in ways that are both unique and interconnected.
Best episode · S05E10 All Alone
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S05E10
All Alone
While David attends to family business, Keith makes an embarrassing self-discovery on the job; Brenda is challenged by Nate and answers a hard question for Maya; Margaret compares herself to her daughter; Ruth lets Bettina play nurse; Rico and Vanessa decide to protect their future; Claire is comforted by Ted's squareness; and George makes a speech about love.
- Directed by Adam Davidson
- Written by Kate Robin
S05E12
Everyone's Waiting
David finally embraces a demon; Keith gives tough love; Nathaniel talks to his younger son; Brenda delivers and fights Nate's negativity; Claire gets an exciting call; Ted inspires sexy photos; Margaret is impressed to see Olivier's nurturing side; George's limitations eclipse his intentions; and Claire drives into her future.
S02E13
The Last Time
Fisher & Sons is the subject of an unannounced inspection, which proves surprisingly beneficial for Federico. Meanwhile, Claire's art-school interview takes an unexpected turn, and things grow tense between Keith and David. Also, Nate finds himself at a crossroads, both with Brenda and with his AVM.
- Directed by Alan Ball
- Written by Kate Robin
S04E12
Untitled
Ruth is delighted to meet George's daughter, but worries as his paranoid 'views' of the future escalate. 'Star' Claire gets high off her newfound fame; Federico pleads his case to Vanessa, who delivers a verdict; David confronts a demon face-to-face; Keith considers a business proposal; and Nate comes to final blows with Barb and Hoyt.
- Directed by Alan Ball
- Written by Nancy Oliver
S03E11
Death Works Overtime
Fisher & Diaz is brimming over with activity after a trio of unrelated deaths. Meanwhile, Nate anxiously awaits Lisa's return from Santa Cruz; Vanessa and her sister Angelica enjoy a therapeutic shopping excursion, to Rico's chagrin; Claire grades herself in art school, then takes another important test; and Ruth cries all over a stranger's jacket.
- Directed by Dan Attias
- Written by Rick Cleveland
S04E05
That's My Dog
With Keith out of town on business, David gets taken for a ride by a hitchhiker. Meanwhile, Nate feels out of place in a bereavement group, Ruth tries to play matchmaker--to George's chagrin, Claire feels empty after a critique of her self-portraits, Brenda and her mom go back to school, and Federico gets an unexpected visitor at work.
- Directed by Alan Poul
- Written by Scott Buck
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
S05E08
Singing for Our Lives
- Directed by Matt Shakman
- Written by Scott Buck
S05E07
The Silence
- Directed by Joshua Marston
- Written by Bruce Eric Kaplan
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
Alan Ball
Showrunner
- Photo unavailable
David Janollari
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Bruce Eric Kaplan
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Robert Greenblatt
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Rick Cleveland
Executive producer
Alan Poul
Executive producer
Johnny Otto
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Craig Wright
Writer
Joey Soloway
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Laurence Andries
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Scott Buck
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Christian Williams
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Kate Robin
Writer
Nancy Oliver
Writer
Christian Taylor
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- David JanollariExecutive Producer
- Alan BallExecutive Producer
- Bruce Eric KaplanExecutive Producer
- Robert GreenblattExecutive Producer
- Robert Del ValleProducer
- Rick ClevelandExecutive Producer
Writing
- Johnny OttoWriter
- Alan BallWriter
- Bruce Eric KaplanWriter
- Craig WrightWriter
- Rick ClevelandWriter
- Joey SolowayWriter
Direction
- Peter CareDirector
- Rose TrocheDirector
- Rodrigo GarcíaDirector
- Alan CasoDirector
- Michael CuestaDirector
- Alan BallDirector
Cinematography
- Frederick IannoneDirector of Photography
- Rob SweeneyDirector of Photography
- Alan CasoDirector of Photography
- Bruce Douglas JohnsonDirector of Photography
- Lowell PetersonDirector of Photography
- Jim DenaultDirector of Photography
Music
- Richard MarvinOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- HBO Max Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- HBO MaxStreaming
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