75-605: Dead Like Me is an American comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle , Washington . Filmed in Vancouver , British Columbia , the show was created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime cable network, where it ran for two seasons ( 2003 – 04 ). Fuller left the show five episodes into the first season because of creative differences; creative direction
150-570: A $ 4 million film lease contract. MGM-TV began producing commercials by April 1957 creating ads for Knickerbocker and Standard Oil of Indiana . By April 1957, MGM-TV was sued by the United States Department of Justice for Block booking to TV stations for selling its movie library as a whole. MGM-TV denied the charges as the stations have the options of 3; 100 film groups licensed for 2 years with three runs, 2 different 350 packages with rights for 3 to 4 years and unlimited runs,
225-460: A TV production division. In 1995, Gross-Weston Productions has struck a deal with the studio. Also later that year, MGM/UA Telecommunications has struck a deal with Seven Network to co-produce projects. In 1996, the company was reformed for the television brand labels MGM Television Entertainment , MGM Domestic Television Distribution and MGM International Television Distribution when Kerkorian returned to MGM; however, MGM uses other names in
300-417: A child, it may be a wonderful carnival, but for a yoga master, it may be a Deva beckoning from within a Divine Lotus. Souls cannot be forced to enter the portals, so part of the reapers' job is to convince them to do so. Groups of reapers are organized into "divisions" according to various causes of death. Generally, reapers are assigned to a division based upon their own cause of death; Mason tells George in
375-478: A co-venture with Burnett and Downey and Hearst, started up on December 22, 2016. MGM previous attempted a TV network starting in 1973 MGM Family Network (MFN), or MGM Television Network, using its movies on Sundays before Big Three network programming and again starting in 1984 with MGM/UA Premiere Network movie network. The Works subchannel network went off the air in early 2017 when apparently most affiliates switch to Charge! In January 2020, Roku launched
450-678: A comedy drama, this hybrid genre often deals with real life situations, grounded characters, and believable situations. The ratio between the drama and comedy can vary, but most of the time there is an equal measure of both, with neither side dominating. Abreu also adds that dramedies often deal with relatable and serious topics such as divorce, illness, hardship, and heartache. Examples of comedy dramas in American film include: Examples of American television comedy dramas include: MGM Television Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television , previously known as MGM/UA Television , (common metonym : Lion )
525-407: A day job. By Season 2, she has mostly adjusted to her new role, with few unresolved issues with her life and her afterlife. George's family is struggling to deal with her death. Her father, Clancy ( Greg Kean ), has an affair that affects his marriage to Joy ( Cynthia Stevenson ). Her sister, Reggie ( Britt McKillip ), acts out – stealing toilet seats from neighbors and school and hanging them on
600-617: A deleted scene that most of the members of the Plague Division died because of the Plague . In addition to Rube's "external influence" team, the three other divisions mentioned in the series are Circulatory Systems Division, the very uneventful and bored reapers of the Plague Division (who spend much of their time playing bocce ball ) and the Natural Causes (Old Age) Division mentioned in the 27th and 28th episodes (according to
675-472: A fifth division that exists for this purpose. The teams are organized into jurisdictions of geographical areas, with several teams associated with different causes of death operating within one area. It is not known how much geographical area a single division covers, but the reapers in the series seem to cover only a limited area in Seattle and King County , Washington; with reaper Daisy Adair transferring from
750-497: A first look deal to produce for MTV. MGM formed a TV finance and distribution entity, Orion TV Production. In December 2012, MGM Television announced they'd be launching a tabloid talk / nontraditional court show , Paternity Court , through its Orion TV Productions. On September 22, 2014, MGM acquired a 55% stake in Lightworkers Media and One Three Media, which were formed by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey with
825-545: A focus on science fiction and related genres (including content from MGM's library). In December 2016, MGM launched Light TV —another new network focusing on family and faith-based entertainment, and in February 2017, MGM launched a second venture with Sinclair, Charge! , which largely replaced The Works. Charge! , another Sinclair network, began broadcasting on February 28, 2017, with MGM programming once again. On July 18, 2017, MGM Television acquired Evolution Media,
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#1732792960173900-468: A humorous tenor. In television, modern scripted comedy dramas tend to have more humour integrated into the story than the comic relief common in drama series but usually contain a lower joke rate than sitcoms . In the very influential Greek theatre , plays were considered comedies or tragedies. This concept even influenced Roman theatre and theatre of the Hellenistic period . Theatre of that era
975-401: A hushed and unintelligible babble; other times they growl or hiss. According to the episode "Vacation", gravelings are given one day off every few years. Despite the holiday, most reapers are disturbed by their lack of manners and behavior. During this time they display the odd habit of stacking objects into precarious, humanoid towers. In the episode "Reapercussions" (Season 1, Episode 4), it
1050-441: A joint advertising venture to sell national advertising barter time for the two companies' syndicated programs and handling the licensing of feature film and television programming product in the domestic television syndication market. The joint venture terminated on December 31, 2004, when NBC Enterprises was merged with Universal Domestic Television and eventually became NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution . In 2005, MGM
1125-457: A multi-year scripted production deal with MGM TV in October 2015. In November 2016, MGM formed Gato Grande Productions, a joint venture with Mexican entrepreneurs Miguel Aleman and Antonio Cué. Gato Grande's first project was a TV series about recording artist Luis Miguel . On October 31, 2015, MGM launched a new digital television network with Sinclair Broadcast Group known as Comet , with
1200-470: A new subscription streaming service known as Stargate Command launched in third quarter 2017. By August 2018, MGM's Digital Group had formed United Artists Digital Studios to produce show such as Stargate Origins . The streaming service was closed on December 31, 2019, as it reached only 75,000 subscribers. Burnett in June 2018 was promoted to chairman when he renewed his contract until 2022. In late 2019,
1275-634: A non-scripted studio best known for the Real Housewives franchise. In June 2018, MGM Television acquired Big Fish Entertainment, the production company behind A&E 's Live PD . A new post, senior vice-president of digital and new platform, was created then filled in March 2017 by Sam Toles. In July 2017, MGM Television announced that it would revive the Stargate franchise with a new, digital-exclusive series, Stargate Origins , as part of
1350-765: A partial stake held by Hearst Corporation , and consolidated the two companies into MGM's new TV production division, United Artists Media Group, with Burnett as CEO. On December 14, 2015, MGM announced that it had acquired the remaining stake in UAMG in a stock and cash deal, and that Burnett would become the new CEO of MGM Television replacing the outgoing president Roma Khanna . As a result, Burnett's reality show franchises ( Survivor , The Voice , The Celebrity Apprentice , and Shark Tank ) are now being co-produced by MGM Television with their other respective original producers. While continuing its first look deal with Content Media Corporation, Caryn Mandabach Productions signed
1425-714: A partnership with Weigel Broadcasting for the digital subchannel network, This TV , in July and MGM HD , its year old cable channel. With Impact expecting to be streaming via its website in 2009. The channel is programmed from the MGM library with 20 to 30 films (some in HD) available per month out of 1,000 action movies and shows in the library. With in the channel, the movies and shows are categorized into thrillers, crime, war films, martial arts, westerns and espionage groups. Most selections will be free but supported by advertising and come from
1500-519: A rise in film and television works that could be described as comedy-dramas. The term is a translation from the French "comédie dramatique". The portmanteau "dramedy" came to be in the 1980s. In January 2022, Rafael Abreu, writing for the StudioBinder filmmaking blog, defined this genre as follows: A dramedy is a movie or program that balances the elements of a drama and a comedy. Also known as
1575-448: A shadowy figure (when the delivery is made to Rube's apartment; it is shown that the delivery is made by an actual shadow , with the list of names becoming corporeal only when it is delivered). The head of each group then gives each reaper a non-transferable assignment to collect a particular soul or souls. Completing that assignment is often difficult for the reapers, who receive only the first (and sometimes middle) initial and last name of
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#17327929601731650-471: A soul from a living body and put it back (as seen done by Roxy in Episode 9 "Sunday Mornings"). When seen by the living, reapers' physical appearances are different from when they were alive to those who knew them, except on Halloween when the living see them as they were in life, and fellow reapers always see their original appearances. Although George is seen by her family and Delores as "Millie," Rube's image
1725-515: A ten-year period along with selling its music publishing arm to United Artists . In 1981, Fred Silverman and George Reeves via InterMedia Entertainment struck a deal with the studio to produce films and TV shows. In 1982, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television was renamed MGM/UA Television Distribution after the merger with United Artists the previous year. In 1984, MGM/UA TV again launched an ad hoc TV network, MGM/UA Premiere Network , with movies. Also that same year, producer David Gerber , who
1800-431: A tree – until her mother sends her to therapy . Reggie clings to the belief that George visits her, but she is starting to lie to cover this up. At the start of Season 2, the family begins to break apart as Joy and Clancy divorce. All of the main characters have issues with their life after death, but they cope with it in different ways: Mason ( Callum Blue ) resorts to alcohol and drugs; Daisy ( Laura Harris ) puts on
1875-434: A veneer of perkiness; and Roxy ( Jasmine Guy ) is physically and verbally aggressive. Rube ( Mandy Patinkin ) and George are more straightforward about their sadness. Bryan Fuller left early in the first season because of conflicts with MGM Television , including disagreement over major script and storyline cuts considered important to the main theme. He stated that the "lack of professionalism...made it really difficult. It
1950-417: Is a required [ sic ] (after)taste, but the series' acidic wit and wry observations about the simple pleasures of life and death overcome the deficit in likable characters." The show's complete ratings were not released, though executives had claimed to at least one reporter that Dead Like Me had ratings three times Showtime's primetime average. This contrasts with the network's statement that
2025-409: Is aloof and emotionally distant from her family and shies away from her life. After dropping out of college, she takes a temp job through Happy Time Temporary Services. During her lunch break on her first day, she is hit and killed by a toilet seat falling from the deorbiting Mir space station . She is soon informed that, rather than moving on to the " great beyond ", she will become a grim reaper in
2100-512: Is an action video on demand channel from Comcast and MGM Television. The Impact video on demand channel was announced by Comcast and MGM in August 2008 to feature action movies and TV shows to be rolled out market by market starting that week. At the time of channel's launch mid-August, Comcast owned 20% of MGM. MGM was seeking other cable providers to carry the channel. Impact is the third channel by MGM into TV broadcasting field as MGM formed
2175-456: Is frequently shown caring for an albino Argentine horned frog (also known as a Pacman frog ) identical to the one shown as Toad during the opening narration. Season 1 Region 1: June 15, 2004 Region 2: June 20, 2005 Region 4: July 12, 2005 Season 2 Region 1: June 19, 2005 Region 2: April 16, 2007 Region 4: July 18, 2007 On April 18, 2007, MGM announced it was developing several direct-to-DVD movies and sequels. First among them
2250-465: Is mentioned by the characters; the new leader of the reapers is Cameron Kane, played by Henry Ian Cusick . La-La Land Records released a soundtrack containing the original score to the series composed by Stewart Copeland on May 25, 2010, as a limited release of 3000 units. On Rotten Tomatoes , the first season has an approval rating of 69% with an average score of 6.3 out of 10 based on 16 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, " Dead Like Me
2325-436: Is noted that if a reaper interferes with and prevents a scheduled death, a "hunting season" will be declared by the gravelings, who will pester the reaper until that soul is taken and order is restored. Some of the reapers, including George, Roxy, Mason, and Daisy, are plagued by the wrath of gravelings throughout the series. A graveling rose from the body of Ray in "Forget Me Not" (Season 2, Episode 12) following his murder at
Dead Like Me - Misplaced Pages Continue
2400-524: Is the television studio arm of American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television shows and miniseries . Television programs were distributed by Sony Pictures Television through the Sony Pictures -led consortium acquisition of MGM from February 11, 2005, until May 31, 2006. Since then, MGM has assumed total control over its television output and rejoined
2475-541: Is thought to have long-lasting influence, even in modern narrative works. Even today, works are often classified into two broad buckets, dramas and comedies. For instance, many awards that recognize achievements in film and television today, such as the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards segregate several award categories into these two classifications. The 20th century saw
2550-507: Is to remove the souls of people, preferably just before they die, and escort them until they move on into their afterlife . George's death leaves behind her mother ( Cynthia Stevenson ) and the rest of her family at a point when her relationships with them were on shaky ground. The show explores the experiences of a small team of such reapers, as well as the changes in George and her family as they deal with George's death. The first scene of
2625-771: The Impact video on demand channel in mid-August 2008. The national Me-TV network launched on December 15, 2010, with MGM domestic television sales division handling the distribution of the network for Weigel Broadcasting . MGM was partnering on KIN TV, an African-American subchannel, with Lee Gaither of Basil Street Media and was involved in the launch of TV One , an African-American cable network, shopping it to stations in late 2011. MGM launched The Works in April 2014. In 2009, MGM TV place eight series into development while signing Emma Roberts ' and manager/producing partner David Sweeney's production company, Bossy Boots Production, to
2700-454: The SoHo area of New York City . In the show, reapers do not actually kill the living. Instead, deaths are arranged by "gravelings". Gravelings are mischievous gremlin -like creatures that cause the accidents and mishaps (in the form of Rube Goldberg machine scenarios) that kill people. The living generally cannot see them, though in the episode " Reaper Madness ", a person with schizophrenia
2775-472: The 1980s version of The Twilight Zone until 1989, and Kids Incorporated until 1993. That year, the company sued a Danish distribution company, threatening to sell Scandinavian TV stations it has exclusive rights to MGM/UA programming in that territory. Also, in late August 1987, MGM/UA Telecommunications partnered with CBS Broadcast International to sell a package of new Twilight Zone half-hour episodes to syndication, comprising 60 half-hour segments from
2850-513: The External Influence Division, collecting souls of people who die in accidents (many of which have a Rube Goldberg -style complexity), and homicides . Each reaper has a secret quota of souls; once the quota is met, the reaper moves on to another realm and the last soul reaped then takes his or her job collecting souls. In Season 1, George has trouble adjusting to her circumstances – collecting souls while holding down
2925-508: The MGM Sci-Fi channel. In October 2020, Byron Allen 's Allen Media Group (which also controls Entertainment Studios ) announced that it would acquire This TV and Light TV from MGM. On October 25, 2022, several months after parent company MGM was acquired by Amazon, it was confirmed that they would shut down MGM HD on October 31; its assets will be merged onto sister service Epix, which will re-brand as MGM+ in early 2023. Impact
3000-435: The autopsy of their own body. Deaths can be at least temporarily postponed without risk to the soul's well-being by interfering well in advance of the time of death; thus reapers would not be interfering with the events that lead to the death. However, this may have unintended consequences , such as other people dying because of actions taken by the person who should have died. Reapers have a physical body and may interact with
3075-458: The background behind a man who, after she became a reaper, she realizes is a serial killer. Viewers are told that in the beginning, god created death and, not knowing what to do with it, kept it in a sealed urn. Toad was asked by god to watch the urn but Frog pestered Toad into giving it to him. Frog proceeded to juggle the jar from foot to foot and accidentally dropped it, thus letting death out, whereby everything from that point had to die. George
Dead Like Me - Misplaced Pages Continue
3150-623: The company, who served as executive producer of the programs. He later left the studio to join 20th Century-Fox Television . In 1960, Norman Felton , formerly of CBS joined the studio to serve as program producer. In late 1960, MGM received a contract with NBC to obtain two series, that was on the air. MGM TV started its own Television network , MGM Family Network (MFN), or MGM Television Network, on September 9, 1973, on 145 stations. Due to mounting financial difficulties and decreased output, MGM closed its distribution offices in October 1973 and outsourced distribution for its film library for
3225-403: The credits of their television shows such as MGM Global Television, Inc. , MGM Global Holdings, Inc. and MGM Television Entertainment, Inc. In 1997, MGM bought Orion Pictures Corporation, The Samuel Goldwyn Company , and Motion Picture Corporation of America from Metromedia . The purchase brought a number of TV series with them. As of the present time, MGM Television owns nearly all of
3300-530: The division had owned the rights, and the strategy at the upcoming MIPCOM television market at the Cannes to get more Bond films to television that went all around the world. In 1987, the TV distribution arm MGM/UA Telecommunications Group (aka MGM/UA Telecommunications ) was launched under the new company MGM/UA Communications Co. MGM/UA Television still kept producing the television series Fame until 1987,
3375-409: The episode "The Shallow End" (Season 2, Episode 4) a child George in a flashback sees gravelings as she sinks into a swimming pool, with the gravelings appearing to hesitate from claiming her life (although it is not clear whether she actually saw the gravelings), and again in "Haunted" (Season 2, Episode 15) George recalls a Halloween afternoon when as a young girl she saw a graveling scurrying around in
3450-443: The film and television library from New Line Cinema . In 2008, the rights reverted to Warner Bros. after Time Warner consolidated New Line Cinema into Warner Bros. Pictures . MGM started entering the TV network and cable channel field in the mid-2000. MGM started with This TV , a joint venture network with Weigel Broadcasting , launched on November 1, 2006. MGM HD cable channel was launched in 2007. MGM and Comcast launched
3525-418: The film library. MGM then offered three-year term leases of film series, Andy Hardys Maisies and Dr. Kildares to television film distributors. but decided on entering the TV market itself. MGM-TV was started with the hiring of Bud Barry to head up the operation in June 1956. MGM-TV was to distribute its 770 films to TV (starting with the networks), TV production and purchasing TV stations. TV production
3600-534: The films and television programs originally handled by Filmways, Inc. , Orion Television, American International Television, Heatter-Quigley Productions and Samuel Goldwyn Television . On July 27, 1997, MGM's long-running cable television series, Stargate SG-1 , first aired. In March 2001, MGM signed a multi-year international distribution deal for the NBC Studios catalog including current and future programs. Later in 2002, MGM and NBC Enterprises formed
3675-605: The first two network series, then 30 new first-run syndicated episodes to form a half-hour 90-episode package. In 1992, MGM/UA Television Productions was reverted to MGM Television . The television company was reformed as MGM Worldwide Television Group and its distributor MGM Telecommunications Group . Also in 1992, the MGM TV Group has been dissolved, and David Gerber would leave the studio. With Credit Lyonnais' taking control of MGM Studios in mid-1993 and bring in new chief executive Frank Mancuso, Mancuso soon started up
3750-497: The full library for seven years with unlimited runs. Substitute of a film in another package for an equal value movie were allowed, as each film is also individual prices based on several factors including its age and its stars. Then a discount is applied, 50% for the full library, 37.5% on the 350 packages and 25% on the 100 groups. In December 1957, the division had 10 TV series deal under consideration with plans for 8 to be in production with two outright owned and produced by MGM and
3825-401: The group assigned a number of first look agreements with 42, a British-American production and management firm, The Big Picture Co. owned by Renee Zellweger and Carmella Casinelli, Weed Road Pictures and Escape Artists . MGM Television Group expanded by adding additional new labels. MGM Global Formats and Unscripted Content, its international formats division, was started in April 2019 with
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#17327929601733900-425: The hands of a reaper. This graveling retained Ray's mind or some other connection to his life, as it stayed close to Daisy and George's house (where Ray was killed) and expressed anger toward Daisy and Mason for Ray's death. It was also responsible for an unscheduled death at one of Daisy's reaps. Later, in the episode "Always" (Season 2, Episode 14), the graveling was reaped by George, upon which it turned to dust. In
3975-410: The hiring of Scot Cru as executive vice president and Patrice Choghi as senior vice president. MGM International TV was formed in 2019. One of the division's focus is developing projects with Latinx talent. The division's first development project is Tacowood , a comedy series produced by and starring Paz Vega based on an idea by Frank Ariza , announced in early February 2020. By 2020, Orion Television
4050-417: The living and the dead. Besides collecting souls, reapers have powers to remain ageless, heal extremely quickly (George once severed her middle finger, but was able to reattach it by just putting it back in place, while Mason has sustained what should have been fatal damage on multiple occasions, such as being shot and hit by a car), drink alcohol without suffering a hangover (see "Gravelings"), and forcibly pull
4125-412: The local first-run syndication market for the first time in many years with Paternity Court . Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) first used television for promotional purposes having a tie in with The Ed Sullivan Show on CBS in the early 1950s. However, when The Ed Sullivan Show switched to 20th Century Fox , MGM attempted to arrange a promotional agreement with NBC , but could not come to terms on
4200-407: The opening credits, for humorous effect), but their role remains traditional: they remove the souls of the living shortly before death and escort them into their afterlife . One becomes a reaper by being the last soul collected when one's own reaper meets his or her secret quota. In the series, Death has a list of who is scheduled to die and when. This list is delivered to the head of each group by
4275-486: The other six co-productions with independent producers. MGM-TV was also in negotiation with California National Productions , NBC's syndicated distribution subsidiary, for a deal to place two series into syndication. By 1959, MGM was producing no primetime shows on television after NBC decided not to go with the Jeopardy pilot. They would resume producing primetime shows for the 1960-61 TV season. Paul Monash joined
4350-402: The person about to die, the location, and estimated time of death (ETD). If a reaper refuses to take a soul at their place of death and the person somehow survives their appointed time, the soul will "wither and die and rot inside" them. If a reaper does not take a soul and the person does die, the soul remains trapped in the body and is subject to extremely traumatic experiences such as witnessing
4425-416: The pilot episode introduces an origin-of-death myth where at the dawn of time, "god (lower-case g)" was busy with creation and gave Toad a clay jar containing death which Toad promised to guard. Frog begged Toad to let him hold the jar, something to which Toad finally agreed. An excited Frog juggled the jar and finally dropped it, shattering it on the ground. When it broke open, death got out. Georgia Lass
4500-524: The post-DVD film window of pay-TV providers. The James Bond , Rocky and Robocop franchises are amongst the available films for the channel. The Terminator , Enter the Ninja and Windtalkers were amongst the first 25 movies available on the channel. The Magnificent Seven , American Ninja 2 , Bulletproof Monk , Into the Blue and Roadhouse are also expected to be available in time through
4575-504: The ratings were not high enough for a third season. The ratings for the series premiere were 1.11 million, a record for a Showtime series premiere that was not beaten until the premiere of Shameless seven years later. Comedy-drama Comedy drama , also known by the portmanteau dramedy , is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama . In films, serious dramatic themes (such as death, illness, etc.) are dealt with realism and subtlety, while preserving
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#17327929601734650-404: The running order). (In the pilot episode, the viewer is led to believe that the Plague Division members have been reapers for centuries and will be unable to meet their quota, as plague deaths have become so rare.) While the members of Rube's team of reapers are instructed to never reap animals, George (and Reggie) do meet a child reaper who reaps the souls of animals — suggesting that there may be
4725-597: The specifics. MGM Parade , a 30-minute anthology series and one of the first television programs by MGM was produced by its trailer department as one of the compilation and promotional shows that imitated the Disneyland anthology series , which was also on ABC . However, this program was canceled by ABC in mid-1956. MGM took bids for its film library in 1956 from Lou Chesler, PRM, Inc. owner (the WB pre-1948 library purchaser) and others. Chesler had offered $ 50 million for
4800-425: The television division was renamed MGM/UA Television Productions , through a merger of the separate United Artists Television , which was headed by John J. McMahon. On October 15, 1986, the international television branch of MGM/UA Communications, headed by former Embassy Telecommunications executive Ross Brown, is planning on to speed the release of fourteen James Bond motion pictures in many markets to which
4875-443: Was MGM's president of scripted television production and development. Recently that year, Tresor has signed a first look deal for global formats. In 2020, MGM Television invested in podcast producer AudioUp. As part of the agreement, AudioUp will produce and distribute five podcasts a year for MGM. MGM Television owns three television channels: MGM launched two more subchannel networks in late 2016 and early 2017. Light TV ,
4950-477: Was a new film based on Dead Like Me . The movie is set five years after the first series episode. The movie's release date was originally set for the summer of 2008, then changed to February 17, 2009. Before its general release, it had a television debut on January 16, 2009, on SuperChannel in Canada. In the movie, the role of Daisy is played by Sarah Wynter . Rube does not appear (he reportedly had moved on), but
5025-450: Was able to, although Rube refused to believe that was possible. Reapers can see and interact with them to some extent: Daisy once shushed a graveling; Rube yelled, "Get outta here!" once when seeing gravelings desecrating a cemetery statue; and George once chased several angry gravelings around her apartment. Although gravelings seem to be self-aware and recognize the reapers, they do not communicate verbally with them, and talk to each other in
5100-521: Was expect to start with the 1957–58 season and was to include half-hour remakes of or series based on its pictures. Initial feature film sales focused on selling to the networks. On August 6, 1956, C. Pete Jaeger was appointed as the general sales executive of MGM-TV. The same day, Monroe Mendelsohn was also hired. Both of them originally were executives of Guild Films. MGM then acquired 25% of KTTV in Los Angeles on August 20, 1956, in cash along with
5175-408: Was forced to return to Kerkorian all of United Artists and the MGM trademark 74 days later on June 8. Turner kept the pre-May 1986 MGM television shows (the holdings of Associated Artists Productions ). Thus, when Time Warner acquired Turner Broadcasting System in October 1996, the pre-May 1986 MGM/UA TV shows became part of Warner Bros. (via its Turner Entertainment unit). After Turner's sale,
5250-500: Was formed as three development executives were hired and placed under Barry Poznick, MGM's President of Unscripted & Alternative Television and Orion Television. One of the development executives would also work as studio development head for its partnership with Brat TV to develop young adult scripted content. In February 2020, the group formed the MGM/UA Television division head by president Steve Stark, who previously
5325-444: Was like being at war. They were constantly trying to strong arm me. It was the worst experience of my life." According to Fuller, Showtime canceled the show due to "a loss of quality and a sense the problems would continue." Actress Rebecca Gayheart also departed the show after the series' fifth episode. In the world of Dead Like Me , grim reapers do not wear black cloaks or carry scythes (cloaks and scythes are only featured during
5400-430: Was lured from Columbia Pictures struck a deal with MGM to produce television shows. In 1983, producer Jerry Ludwig has struck a two-year contract with MGM to produce programming. On June 12, 1985, David Gerber himself was appointed president of MGM/UA Television. In 1986, Ted Turner bought MGM/UA from Kirk Kerkorian , including all of the movies and television shows by MGM/UA. Due to a crushing debt, however, Turner
5475-722: Was purchased by a consortium which included the Sony Corporation , Comcast and private equity investors. As a result, Sony Pictures Television assumed worldwide distribution and certain domestic distribution of the television library from MGM Television. After Sony bought MGM, the company was referred to as MGM Worldwide Television Distribution . On May 31, 2006, MGM announced that it would drop Sony as its television and home entertainment distributor by shifting its home video output to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment , and relaunching its television production/distribution arm. In October, MGM announced that they would distribute
5550-424: Was recognizable by a records clerk in a wanted poster seen while Rube and the clerk were doing some research into his past life. Laura Boddington portrays lead character George's undead appearance in the TV series, with Jennifer Rae Westley playing her in the later film. The passage into the afterlife is shown as a brightly lit scene towards which the newly deceased is drawn. The portal is unique to each soul: for
5625-404: Was taken over by executive producers John Masius and Stephen Godchaux. A direct-to-DVD film titled Dead like Me: Life After Death was released on February 17, 2009. Eighteen-year-old Georgia "George" Lass ( Ellen Muth ) is the show's protagonist and narrator. George dies early in the pilot episode and becomes one of the " undead ", a " grim reaper ". George soon learns that a reaper's job
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