It wasn’t so long ago that I was extolling all the virtues of Six Feet Under. I still have been catching the marathons each Sunday morning on Universal HD. As I was watching the most recent run of episodes, I was reminded of just how great Frances Conroy was on the show as the matriarch of the Fisher clan.
Today, costars Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Peter Krause (Parenthood, and Dirty Sexy Money before that) each have had their own shows after the end of Six Feet Under. Rachel Griffiths is part of the ensemble on Brothers and Sisters. Frances Conroy? She’s been around, doing a lot of guest spots on shows like Desperate Housewives and Nip/Tuck. Currently, she is playing a small role on the doomed ABC drama Happy Town. As if that weren’t sad enough, she’s playing the mother of an actor only 8 years her junior. Watching her on Happy Town only serves as a memory of the talent and poise she has. Give this woman her own show! At the very least, I think she deserves a regular role on a show.
I would be remiss if I didn’t make a plea for Lauren Ambrose as well. She was excellent on Six Feet Under, perhaps even my favorite part of the show. Frankly, her absence from my television station is even more confusing that Conroy’s. Ambrose has youth and beauty on her side, which will usually get you far in Hollywood. The fact that she has serious talent only adds to the package.
If anything, the cast of Six Feet Under is probably bucking the trend by having so much success after the show. It’s a testament to the quality of that show, and the quality of actors that worked on it. It’s not often that so many cast members of one show will go on to be featured on another very successful show. I was recently commenting on one of Deb’s posts on Twin Peaks about how surprised I was that actors like Madchen Amick and Sherilyn Fenn (who, in my opinion were both better than Lara Flynn Boyle) didn’t have much luck after the series ended. I suppose that’s just the way things go on TV.
Yes, I would love to see both Conroy and Ambrose headlining series of their own, but for the time being I will just have to appreciate any performances that I get to see them in.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jun 14, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
Why aren’t these two – especially Frances Conroy – doing more on the screen?
I haven’t had the opportunity to tune into Happy Town quite yet, but it is in the queue on my DVR. So your announcement she is in the series, doomed though it may be, brings some joy and anticipation for when I finally do get to sit down and take it in.
Television is indeed a strange and wondrous two-dimensional land that oft times is rarely understood …