History Series / DeadToMe

* ShoutOut: Season One ends with [[spoiler:an unscrupulous man being killed, and falling into his killer's backyard pool. We're then treated to a shot of his corpse floating in the water, with [[DiesWideOpen wide open eyes]]]]. Shout-out to ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' .

** Of all the grief support groups in Los Angeles county, Judy joins the one that is also attended by the widow of [[spoiler:her and Steve's hit-and-run victim. However, it's more likely that Judy stalked Jen to that meeting with the intention of befriending her and trying to make amends.]]

** Of all the grief support groups in Los Angeles county, Judy joins the one that is also attended by the widow of [[spoiler:her and Steve's hit-and-run victim]].

* HasTwoMommies:
** Discussed when Judy believes she might be pregnant, and expresses anxieties about single motherhood. Jen promptly says that Judy ''won't'' be single, because she'll be there to help raise the child. [[spoiler:Sadly, Judy's not pregnant and ''never can be'', but it's still a nice sentiment.]]
** Henry tells Judy in season three that he thinks of her as his bonus mom. Charlie seems to have a similar sentiment.

* FiveStagesOfGrief: [[spoiler:Jen experiences this when Judy gets terminal cancer. First Denial about it being serious, then Anger when Judy is not putting in effort to fight it. Jen enters Bargaining by trying to get Judy into a research treatment for her cancer. When Judy decides to turn herself in, Jen reaches Depression in the interrogation room and begs Judy not to do this, saying she can't live without her. Acceptance arrives when the two spend their final days together.]]

* ArcSymbol: In the final season, paper cranes. Jen gets wrapped into a Church activity where she is tasked with making 1000 paper cranes for a presentation, and they are subsequently used as a symbol for Judy and her dreams.
* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: Averted. Numerous characters talk about the risks of having guns and the times we see a gun being used poorly it's by a character who doesn't know better and those around them who do are visibly cringing.
* TheAtoner: Deconstructed. Judy sincerely tries to make up for the fact that she [[spoiler: accidentally killed Jen's husband by befriending her,]] but her naive and frivolous nature ends up compounding the already tragic and complicated situation, causing even more grief and [[spoiler: another death.]]

* BackupTwin: In the Season 1 finale, [[spoiler:Steve is killed by Jen.]] Come Season 2, it's revealed that he has a twin brother named Ben, played by the exact same actor.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler:Jen, during a heated fight, tells her husband to get out and that she wants him to "drop dead." He dies that night in a hit and run. This causes a lot of guilt and drama for Jen.]]

* BittersweetEnding: The final episode, "We've Reached the End". [[spoiler:Jen and Judy are permanently changed for the better thanks to their friendship with each other. The investigation on Ted and Steve's deaths are in an end with nothing to point to either of them, letting them go on to live a normal life. Jen, in particular, gets a new child and a much better relationship with Ben, and is in an infinitely better place now with herself and her family than in the beginning. Judy, however, has terminal cancer, and after a heartfelt few days with Jen that reaffirms their friendship and their importance to one another, she gets on a boat and sails away to spend her last days in freedom. The end also implies that Jen will come clear about her crimes to Ben, and what comes out of it is anyone's guess.]]

* BurnBabyBurn: After [[spoiler:kicking Judy out of the house once she learns that Judy is the one who hit Ted with her car]], Jen [[spoiler:burns all of the possessions Judy left behind in the guest house... except for the baby blanket with "Judy Ann" stitched on it, which Jen couldn't bring herself to burn.]]

** The safe with Ted's gun in it that Jen doesn't know the combo to. [[spoiler: She lied and apparently uses it to shoot Steve.]]

** Ted's back pain and muscle aches. [[spoiler: The pills Charlie is caught selling come from him and it's a hint at his infidelity.]]

** Of all the grief support groups in Los Angeles county, Judy joins the one that is also attended by the widow of [[spoiler:her and Steve's hit-and-run victim.]]

* CreepyChild: Henry’s friend Shandy, who found Ted’s body and went about her day without much of a reaction and also generally has a monotonous and weird disposition. She also casually tells Jen that she looks at the dark web sometimes and knows the best place to bury a body, [[spoiler:and strangled Henry's bird to death.]]

* DirtyCop: [[spoiler: The chief of police is involved with the Greek mafia and trying to pin Steve's disappearance on Judy. Judy finds an audio recording of Steve's with his voice on it. When driving home from the woods with Jen after failing to find Steve's body, Detective Perez gets a text from Nick that says "WE GOT HIM." He ends up getting sent to federal prison.]]
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Averted. [[spoiler: Not only is Jen hitting Ted the reason he was out on the road that night, but it also contributes to Charlie blaming her for his father's death.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Judy, by the end as a result of all the guilt she has over leaving Ted to die after hitting him. Thankfully, she's spared by an attentive driver and a separate plot occurrence.]]

* FiveStagesOfGrief: [[spoiler: Jen experiences this when Judy gets terminal cancer. First Denial about it being serious, then Anger when Judy is not putting in effort to fight it. Jen enters Bargaining by trying to get Judy into a research treatment for her cancer. When Judy decides to turn herself in, Jen reaches Depression in the interrogation room and begs Judy not to do this, saying she can't live without her. Acceptance arrives when the two spend their final days together.]]

* HappyMarriageCharade: To hear Jen tell it, she and Ted had a nearly-perfect marriage. The truth was quite different. Their very last conversation ended with [[spoiler: Jen screaming at him to drop dead.]] There's also the season one discovery that [[spoiler: Ted had been cheating on her for a year.]]

* HateSink: Steve is a slimy, lying, emotionally abusive prick, [[spoiler:so when Jen kills him the audience doesn't feel too bad for him.]]
%% * HeavenSeeker: As the devout leader of the Holy Harmonies, Chris is a unique openly gay example.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Judy and Jen quickly become inseparable. [[spoiler:Even the reveal that Judy accidentally killed Ted doesn't ''completely'' break the trust between them -- when Jen kills Steve, guess who her first call is?]]

* HourglassPlot: Judy spends the entire first season hiding from Jen the fact that she killed her husband. Come Season 2, Jen herself has things to hide from Judy [[spoiler: and Steve's twin brother Ben: while Judy knows Jen killed Steve, she doesn't know she ''didn't'' do it in self-defense, and Ben has no idea he is dead at all]].

* ItsAllAboutMe: Steve is somewhere between this and EvilIsPetty. He does many unscrupulous things through out the show all because he doesn't think that he should be responsible for the consequences. [[spoiler: For example the hit and run, which ultimately foreshadows his illegal money laundering. He was very eager to stop the police from looking into him / being associated with the crime.]]
* JerkassBall: [[spoiler: Jen holds the ball tightly as she begins to treat Judy like crap after she confesses that she killed Ted. She gets better by the end though.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Downplayed. [[spoiler:Neither Judy, nor Jen are tried for their crimes in the end, and on the eyes of the public, they're totally innocent despite the murders they committed. However, the sheer amount of pain they had gone through makes it hard to say they got away unscathed, even if not done by the law.]]

* PetTheDog: After spending two entire seasons as a by-the-book cop, Detective Perez [[spoiler:lets Jen go after she confesses to killing Steve.]]

* RightForTheWrongReasons: [[spoiler:Chief Hastings pushes Detective Perez to finger Judy and Charlie as suspects in Steve's disappearance because he is trying to cover up their mutual ties to the Greek Mafia. He is unaware that Charlie's mother really did kill him and Judy helped hide the body]].

* SpoilerCover: The posters for seasons 1 and 2 with the spilt red wine foreshadows [[spoiler: Jen murdering Steve and disposing of his dead body in her swimming pool.]]

* UnstoppableRage: Jen's defining character trait, as pointed out by the pastor of her support group near the beginning and ending of the Pilot. Jen also warns Judy about her temper, saying she doesn’t want to be on her bad side. This flaw is put into direct conflict with Judy and Jen's [[HeterosexualLifePartners close friendship]] when we learn [[spoiler: Judy is the one who accidentally killed Jen’s husband, and desperately wants her forgiveness.]] As their group pastor warns, if she doesn’t address her rage, and learn how to forgive, she will always be alone. Which has even more meaning when [[spoiler: Jen confesses the reason her husband left the house the night he died was because she kicked him out in a fit of rage. She finally faces her anger issues by admitting her guilt for causing his death. Which in turn triggers Judy to finally confess that she was the one who hit him with her car and killed him.]]
* VomitIndiscretionShot: We're treated to one from Judy when she finds out that [[spoiler: Nick and Jen have successfully identified the type of car that hit Ted.]]

** The end of the second season premiere as Jen and Judy open the door to see [[spoiler: a seemingly very alive Steve waiting there.]]
** The end of "You Don't Have To" reveals that [[spoiler:Michelle's roommate is Detective Perez.]]

* WomanScorned: After she is betrayed by Steve, Judy [[spoiler:reveals to Officer Perez that he is a money launderer.]]

The show focuses on the odd friendship that forms between two women who meet in a grief counseling group. Jen (Creator/ChristinaApplegate), a hotheaded and tightly wound, widow is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after her husband was killed in an unsolved hit and run. Judy (Creator/LindaCardellini) is a blithe spirit who strikes up a conversation with Jen. The two quickly become friends, bonding over their shared grief, but not all is as it seems.