Before ‘Crystal Lake’, Bryan Fuller Created an Overlooked Fantasy Series You Can Watch for Free

Bryan Fuller’s first television series, *Dead Like Me*, is gaining attention as a free-to-watch example of the macabre humour and fantasy that later appeared in his better-known work. The article argues that the show remains an overlooked way to see how Fuller finds humour and humanity in stories about death.

The 2003 series follows 18-year-old George Lass, who becomes a grim reaper after dying in an accident involving a toilet seat and a falling piece of a decommissioned Russian space station. She joins a group of reapers led by Rube, played by Mandy Patinkin, and helps escort people’s souls after their deaths. Fuller left the series after five episodes amid creative differences, but its themes and cast connections carried into his later work, including *Hannibal*; the full series is available free on Tubi.