Not Dead Yet
GenreSitcom
CreatorCasey Johnson
&
David Windsor
Starring
MusicTranscenders
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Num seasons2
Num episodes23
Executive producer
  • Gina Rodriguez
  • McG
  • Mary Viola
  • Corey Marsh
  • Dean Holland
  • Casey Johnson
  • David Windsor
Producer
  • Andrew Brooks
  • Kathia Sanchez-Aldana
  • Justin McEwen
  • Alexandra Potter
  • Eddie Quintana
  • Debbie Jhoon
  • Michael J. Feldman
  • Daniel Portnoy
Cinematography
  • Mark Schwartzbard
  • Giovani Lampassi
  • Grant Smith
Editor
  • Thomas M. Bolger
  • Dan Riddle
  • Scott Ashby
  • Jeremy Cohen
CameraSingle-camera
Runtime20–22 minutes
Company
NetworkABC
First airedFebruary 8, 2023
Last airedApril 24, 2024

Not Dead Yet is an American television sitcom created by David Windsor and Casey Johnson for ABC. It is based on Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up by Alexandra Potter. The series premiered on February 8, 2023.[1][2] In May 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on February 7, 2024.[3][4] In May 2024, the series was canceled after two seasons.[5]

Plot

Season 1

When Nell (Gina Rodriguez) comes back to work at her old job at SoCal Independent she finds out she's assigned to writing obituaries. Then, she finds out her best friend, Sam (Hannah Simone) is now also close friends with Nell's boss and enemy, Lexi (Lauren Ash). When Nell gets her first assignment, Monty (Martin Mull), she meets his widowed wife, Cricket (Angela E. Gibbs), who owns a bar. Nell and Cricket become close friends and Nell almost tells Cricket she sees ghosts. During Season 1, Nell and Edward (Rick Glassman), her roommate, become enemies to friends and help each other with relationships. At the end of Season 1, Nell's ex-fiancé, Phillip (Ed Weeks) comes to Pasadena, California. First, Nell is still very mad at him as well as Sam and Dennis (Joshua Banday), but they make up and start dating, until Nell tells Phillip she sees ghosts and he says they should move away and she should quit her job. Nell breaks up with Phillip for good. Dennis and his husband Ben start fostering twins at the end of Season 1.

Season 2

At the beginning of Season 2, Lexi's father, Duncan (Brad Garrett), whom she always tries to impress, visits their office. Duncan asks Nell to help him write his obituary and help him be a better person, but Nell finds out it's just to make Lexi work harder and he has not changed. Sam and her husband Keith (Adhir Kalyan) start having marital issues and eventually get a divorce. Lexi and Edward start hooking up, but Edward doesn't tell Nell. They later start officially dating. Nell meets TJ (Jesse Garcia), a coworker, and they start dating. When Nell brings babies into the conversation and looks into freezing her eggs, TJ reveals he never has wanted to have kids and they decide to break up but remain friends. That same episode, Edward finds out Duncan is selling SoCal Independent and tells Lexi and Nell. Everyone goes into a panic. During all the chaos Duncan collapses and is taken to the hospital but also appears as Nell's ghost. Duncan has heart surgery and survives. Lexi decides to take matters into her own hands and buy out the company. Duncan and Lexi's relationship slowly restores as he understands that Lexi is grown up.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Gina Rodriguez as Nell Serrano,[6] a journalist whose wedding plans with Phillip fell apart, resulting in her moving back to Los Angeles from London. Her full first name is Penelope. She's best friends with Sam.
  • Hannah Simone as Sam, Nell's best friend who is the style editor at the SoCal Independent. In Season 2, she has marital issues with her husband.
  • Lauren Ash as Lexi, Nell's boss and the editor-in-chief at the SoCal Independent
  • Rick Glassman as Edward, Nell's autistic roommate. He is frenemies with Nell.
  • Joshua Banday as Dennis, Nell's co-worker and an associate editor at the SoCal Independent. He assigns obituaries for Nell to write. Starting at the end of Season 1, he and his husband foster two children.
  • Angela E. Gibbs as Cricket, a widowed owner of a bar that specializes in wine. She is the widow of the first ghost Nell meets.
  • Brad Garrett as Duncan Rhodes (season 2),[7] the publisher of the SoCal Independent and Lexi's father

Recurring

  • Maile Flanagan as Tina, a gruff, somewhat antisocial co-worker at the SoCal Independent
  • Jimmy Bellinger as Mason, an intern at the SoCal Independent
  • Jesse Garcia as TJ (season 2), a sportswriter at the SoCal Independent and die-hard Cubs fan[8]

Notable guest stars

Production

Development

On February 14, 2022, Not Dead Yet was given a pilot order by ABC.[11] On May 13, 2022, Not Dead Yet was picked up to series by ABC. The series is created by David Windsor and Casey Johnson who are expected to executive produce alongside Rodriguez, McG, Mary Viola and Corey Marsh. 20th Television and Wonderland Sound and Vision serve as production companies for the series. Dean Holland directed the pilot.[1] On May 16, 2023, ABC renewed the series for a second season.[3] On May 10, 2024, ABC canceled the series after two seasons.[5]

Casting

On March 29, 2022, Gina Rodriguez was cast in the lead role.[6] On April 5, 2022, Josh Banday, Jessica St. Clair, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Angela Gibbs, and Rick Glassman joined the cast as series regulars.[12] On May 14, 2022, it was reported that Rodriguez, Banday, and Gibbs were the starring cast members to stay on as series regulars, due to creative tweaks. While it was initially reported that Glassman was set to continue on the series as recurring, he ended up being a series regular.[13][14] In August 2022, Hannah Simone and Lauren Ash were cast as series regulars.[15][16] On January 11, 2023, it was announced that Martin Mull, Ed Begley Jr., Mo Collins, Deborah S. Craig, Telma Hopkins, Don Lake, Rhea Perlman, Paula Pell, Tony Plana, Brittany Snow, and Julia Sweeney would appear in different episodes as ghosts.[17] On December 13, 2023, it reported that Brad Garrett was cast as a new series regular for the second season.[7] On January 30, 2024, it was announced that Wendie Malick, Nico Santos, Rob Corddry, Tommy Martinez, Lidia Porto, Annie O'Donnell, Jesse Garcia, and Cedric Yarborough were set to guest star for the second season.[8] Several days later, it was reported that Chelsea Handler and Marla Gibbs were cast to guest star.[9] On April 10, 2024, it was announced that Jenifer Lewis, Malcolm Barrett, and Matt Walsh were set to guest star for the second season.[10]

Broadcast

Not Dead Yet premiered on February 8, 2023, on ABC.[2] The second season premiered on February 7, 2024.[4]

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 50% approval rating with an average rating of 6.5/10, based on 16 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "While an always engaging Gina Rodriguez is enough to ensure that this supernatural comedy isn't dead on arrival, it'll need more spark to survive viewer disinterest."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 58 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[19]

Accolades

The series was one of 200 television series that received the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2022 to 2023. The stamp is awarded by the gender equity coalition ReFrame and industry database IMDbPro for film and television projects that are proven to have gender-balanced hiring, with stamps being awarded to projects that hire female-identifying people, especially women of color, in four out of eight key roles for their production.[20][21]

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
2023Imagen Foundation AwardsBest Actress - Comedy (Television)Gina Rodriguez[22]
2024Astra TV AwardsBest Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Comedy SeriesGina Rodriguez[23]
Best Writing in Broadcast Network or Cable Comedy SeriesCasey Johnson, David Windsor
Best Casting in a Comedy SeriesAnthony J. Kraus
Best Broadcast Network Comedy SeriesNot Dead Yet

References

  1. ^ Lash, Jolie (May 13, 2022). "ABC Picks Up New Gina Rodriguez Comedy 'Not Dead Yet,' Niecy Nash-Betts 'Rookie' Spinoff to Series". TheWrap. Archived May 17, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  2. ^ Rice, Lynette (November 7, 2022). "ABC Sets Midseason Dates; 'The Rookie' Shows Paired On Tuesdays". Deadline Hollywood. Archived May 10, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  3. ^ Petski, Denise (May 16, 2023). "Not Dead Yet Renewed For Season 2 By ABC". Deadline Hollywood. Archived May 16, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (November 16, 2023). "ABC Announces Post-Strike Return Dates for Grey's Anatomy, 9-1-1, Abbott Elementary, The Rookie and 10 Others". TVLine. Archived November 16, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Cordero, Rosy (May 10, 2024). "'Not Dead Yet' Canceled After 2 Seasons At ABC". Deadline Hollywood. Archived May 10, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  6. ^ Roots, Kimberly (March 29, 2022). "Gina Rodriguez to Star in Obit-Writer Comedy Pilot Not Dead Yet at ABC". TVLine. Archived May 17, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  7. ^ Petski, Denise (December 13, 2023). "'Not Dead Yet': Brad Garrett Joins Season 2 Of ABC Comedy As New Series Regular". Deadline Hollywood. Archived December 13, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Schneider, Michael (January 30, 2024). "Wendie Malick, Nico Santos, Rob Corddry Among 'Not Dead Yet' Season 2 Guest Stars (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived February 5, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Hailu, Selome (February 7, 2024). "'Not Dead Yet' at ABC Adds Chelsea Handler and Marla Gibbs as Guest Stars (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived February 8, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  10. ^ Boyle, Kelli (April 10, 2024). "'Not Dead Yet': Jenifer Lewis, Malcolm Barrett & Matt Walsh to Guest Star". TV Insider. Archived April 11, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  11. ^ "ABC's 'Not Dead Yet' is a comedy with a weekly ghost story". The Independent. February 6, 2023. Archived February 8, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  12. ^ Petski, Denise (April 5, 2022). "'Not Dead Yet': Josh Banday, Jessica St. Clair, Angela Gibbs Among Five Cast In ABC Comedy Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Archived May 17, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 14, 2022). "ABC's New Series 'Rookie: Feds' & 'Not Dead Yet' Undergo Casting Changes As Part Of Creative Tweaks". Deadline Hollywood. Archived May 14, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "What 'Not Dead Yet' Says About the Future of Network Comedy". TIME. February 8, 2023. Archived March 25, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 2, 2022). "Hannah Simone Joins New ABC Comedy Series 'Not Dead Yet'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived August 2, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 10, 2022). "Lauren Ash Joins New ABC Comedy Series 'Not Dead Yet'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived August 10, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "Gina Rodriguez-Led Comedy "Not Dead Yet" Welcomes "Ghost" Cast Ahead of Series Debut". ABC. January 11, 2023. Archived May 10, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 8, 2023. – via The Futon Critic.
  18. ^ "Not Dead Yet" (tv). not_dead_yet. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "Not Dead Yet" (tv). not-dead-yet. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "Stamp Recipients - TV". ReFrame. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
  21. ^ "ReFrame and IMDbPro Award the ReFrame Stamp for Gender-Balanced Hiring to 94 of the 200 Most Popular TV and Streaming Series of 2022-23, including Emmy Nominees Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Yellowjackets, and Wednesday - sundance.org". Sundance Institute. 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2025-03-22.
  22. ^ Foundation, Imagen (November 10, 2023). "Nominees Announced for the 38th Annual Imagen Awards Celebrating Latino Excellence". Imagen Foundation. Archived May 10, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
  23. ^ Moye, Clarence (July 11, 2023). "2023 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards: 'Yellowjackets,' 'The Boys' Lead All Nominees with 14 Nominations". Awardsdaily. Archived July 13, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-05-08.