''Dead like Me: Life After Death'' is a 2009 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Stephen Herek Stephen Robert Herek (born November 10, 1958) is an American film director. Herek was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin. Career His career as a film director took off in 1986 with the cult horror classic ' ...

and written by

John Masius John Masius (born July 30, 1950) is an American screenwriter. He is a credited for creating the series ''Touched by an Angel'' (1994–2003), ''Providence'' (1999–2002) and ''Hawthorne'' (2009–2011). Early life He graduated from Scarsdale ...

and Stephen Godchaux, based on the short-lived 2003 television series ''

Dead Like Me ''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 ...

'' created by

Bryan Fuller Bryan Fuller (born July 27, 1969) is an American television writer and producer who has created a number of television series, including ''Dead Like Me'', ''Wonderfalls'', ''Pushing Daisies'', '' Hannibal'', and '' American Gods.'' Fuller worked a ...

Laura Harris Laura Harris is a Canadian actress. Early life Harris is the daughter of schoolteachers. She began acting in radio dramas and animation series when she was five years old. As a child Harris was educated at Crofton House School and attended co ...

, who played

Daisy Adair This is a list of the characters from the Showtime comedy-drama series ''Dead Like Me''. George Lass Georgia L. "George" Lass (Ellen Muth) (1985–2003) is the youngest Reaper (both physically and chronologically) in the club. She is the prot ...

in the series, was unavailable to return to the role and was replaced by Sarah Wynter. The rest of the returning cast reprised their roles, with new character Cameron Kane played by Henry Ian Cusick. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on February 17, 2009, one month after its debut on Canada's Super Channel.

Plot

A crew of "reapers", whose job is to extract the souls of people who are about to die, find themselves confronted by change as their habitual meeting place, Der Waffle Haus, burns down the same day their boss and head reaper

Rube A rube is a country bumpkin or an inexperienced, unsophisticated person. Rube is also sometimes used as a nickname, for Reuben, Ruben or Rubin. Arts and entertainment * Rube Bloom (1902-1976), Jewish American songwriter, pianist, arranger, band ...

disappears (having "gotten his lights"). They soon meet their new boss, Cameron Kane, a slick businessman who died falling from the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

on September 11, 2001. He outfits them with color-coordinated

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s and treats them to luxurious accommodations – teaching them, as Roxy ( Jasmine Guy) puts it later, that "nothing we do here matters." This tutelage leads the reapers to perform such misdeeds as saving those they were meant to reap (Roxy); abusing immortality for financial gain (

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

, played by Callum Blue); letting a soul wander, instead of showing him "his lights" (Daisy); and otherwise selfishly focusing on their wants. Georgia "George" Lass ( Ellen Muth), the movie's narrator, is fired from Happy Time, a

temp agency Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...

, after she loudly reprimands an employee for delivering a report late. The employee quits and later sues for harassment. George ends up revealing her identity to her sister

Reggie Reggie is a given name, usually a short form of the name Reginald. It may refer to: People * Reggie Bonnafon (born 1996), American football player * Reggie Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Reggie Bush (born 1985), National Football Le ...

( Britt McKillip). George finds herself reminiscing with Reggie and helping Reggie prepare for the death of her boyfriend, Hudson Hart ( Jordan Hudyma). George's fellow reapers confront Kane and learn that he had realized and did not care that the "pebbles" of their misdeeds would cause "waves" of misfortune elsewhere. Unhappy with his style of management, they try to deduce how exactly a fellow reaper can be killed. They shoot and drown him to no effect before finally dismembering and cremating him. His ashes are then shot into orbit along with those of

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

, the cat belonging to George's boss Delores. At the launch, Delores tells George that the employee who had sued her for harassment had done so at several of the employee's previous jobs, and George is reinstated, now with a corner office. The reapers walk away from the launch, wondering who their new boss will be. George, after seeing her sister and mother drive off on vacation, finds herself suddenly showered with Post-Its falling from the sky, like the Post-Its their former leader Rube had used to deliver their reaping assignments. George realizes she has been selected as the group's new leader.

Cast

* Ellen Muth as Georgia Lass * Callum Blue as

* Sarah Wynter as

* Jasmine Guy as Roxy Harvey * Britt McKillip as Reggie Lass * Shenae Grimes as Jennifer Hardick * Christine Willes as Delores Herbig * Cynthia Stevenson as Joy Lass * Jordan Hudyma as Hudson Hart * Henry Ian Cusick as Cameron Kane

Casting

In June 2007, a casting call was posted on an entertainment industry website for the role of

, formerly played by

, who was unable to reprise the role due to commitments with '' Women's Murder Club''. It noted that

wrote the film and also confirmed that

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

, who starred in the original series, was not in the film. In August 2007, it was confirmed that Sarah Wynter would take over the role of

from Laura Harris. Harris and Wynter previously played sisters in the second season of '' 24''. Henry Ian Cusick would play a new character named Cameron Kane.

Release

The film's release date was set for July 2008 and later rescheduled and released on February 17, 2009. An exclusive television debut occurred on January 16, 2009, on SuperChannel in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It has also been shown in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

References

External links

* * {{Stephen Herek Dead Like Me 2009 films 2009 comedy-drama films 2009 direct-to-video films 2009 fantasy films 2000s fantasy comedy-drama films American direct-to-video films American fantasy comedy-drama films Direct-to-video comedy films Direct-to-video drama films Direct-to-video fantasy films Films about death Films about personifications of death Films based on television series Films directed by Stephen Herek Films scored by Kevin Kiner Films set in Seattle Films shot in Montreal Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer direct-to-video films Sequel films to television series 2000s English-language films 2000s American films