5. Six Feet Under (2001-2005)
A drama series that takes a darkly comical look at members of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home. With the prodigal elder son (Nate) returning home for the holidays to shattering news, the family must learn to deal with a death of their own, while figuring out how to go ahead with the business of the living. A funny and emotional look at a grieving American family...who just happen to be in the grief-management business. I've always been one for the dark, but this show took the cake. It's so dark it makes you want to kill yourself and still see the beauty of life. You wanted to watch the episode and then either eat a giant bag of chips or stop eating altogether. The story was slow, you were watching it in a strange daze. It was so gravely real and yet felt like someone was dreaming it. I must mention also that the final episode was truly spectacular. Endings are a big deal, in both TV and movies, and they are so rarely done right. These people were completely unsympathetic in so many ways, I can't even say that I cared about them. It was the story and the sadness and the self-awareness that drew you in. The script was wonderful, the directing amazing. It was about family, which is always a hard subject to do a show about and still keep the dialogues real without sugarcoating. Oh, and the soundtrack was phenomenal, too.