HBO and was one of the greatest dramas of the 2000s. The sitcom focused on a the Fisher family who ran a funeral home. In the opening episode, the prodigal son Nate Fisher returned home for Christmas and his father was killed while en route to pick him up from the airport. Nate ed the family business with his brother David while their mother Ruth and sister Claire were grieving their loss.
The show's mixture of surrealist humor and character-driven drama explored all the different facets of death, from the grief to the healing nature of it and even finding the humor. But what made the show such a success was its fantastic cast. Here are 10 hidden details about the main characters:
Ruth's Artistic Streak
Ruth Fisher was the repressed neurotic matriarch of the family. She married young and kept having kids late into life. By the time her husband died at the start of the show, one of her sons was 35 years old, her youngest daughter was in high school, and she showed all the signs of a gaslit older woman who'd given up her life for her husband.
Ruth was rarely honest with herself about her emotions. When something troubled her, she usually would comment on needing to clean or address some form of cooking, asserting control over the few parts of her life where she had agency. Interestingly, after her husband's funeral, she made a list of things she wanted to do, including ballet. Her love of cooking and homemaking also seemed to be creative outlets for her.
Nate Loves Bikes
Nate had a bike in high school that got demolished. In a weird moment of foreshadowing, Ruth mentioned to her husband Nathaniel Sr. that Nate Jr. has spent life with a pin in his foot from an accident driving the motorcycle he had in school. Moments later, Nathaniel Sr. totaled his new hearse, only unlike Nate, instead of just a hurt foot he got a new coffin.
Later in the second season, there was a biker funeral at Fisher & Sons. The old lady of the biker who had died gave her late husband's motorcycle to Nate Jr. as a gift.
Brenda's Spirituality
Brenda met Nate in the first episode and the two hit it off immediately, hooking up in an airport closet before they even exchanged names. That Nate and her worked out as well as they did was nothing short of remarkable. She was absolutely brilliant as a child, but had a cynical streak as an adult.
Despite claiming to be an atheist--and adamantly defending this stance--Brenda had a spiritual side. She worked in alternative medicine doing shiatsu (a Japanese practice rooted in Chinese medicine), while she also could quote the Baghavad Gita from memory.
Rico's Bigotry
Federico was a worker at Fisher & Sons who was one of the most talented restorative artists in the whole California funerary business industry. He was driven by his ion for his profession, treating his work as a personal creative calling.
One less than likable trait he demonstrated was his excess of bigotry. Federico's homophobia led him to telling David (who was both gay and his boss) that men don't talk about being gay. He grew as the series went on, but toxic views about masculinity and homophobia were regular parts of his character.
David Likes Men In Uniform
When the series began, David Fisher was still in the closet, though he was in a relationship with a cop named Keith. Eventually, David introduced Keith to the family. The two split for a while before getting back together for good. During this period apart, David tried dating other people, but he clearly had a type.
Though David never fetishized Keith, he expressed interest in attending a meeting of gay police and firefighters. He also rented adult videos with Keith that featured men in uniform. David knew what he liked, and luckily, got to settle down with that sort of man.
Keith's Insecurity
Keith struggled to balance his sensitive side with his perceptions of how a man should act. As a cop, he often demonstrated how tough he was, though eventually he developed anger management issues that resulted in him being terminated for excessive force. However, he was just as insecure about being perceived as too tough and not being able to express his sensitivity.
Before David came out, Claire figured out that Keith was David's boyfriend and they had a one-on-one chat. Keith confessed that David saw him for who he was, something rare in his dating life. Several times throughout the show, Keith also demonstrated feeling disconnected from aspects of gay culture.
Claire's Queer Side
As the youngest member of the family, much of Claire's arc involved her growing up as she rejected the typical superficiality of high school to pursue art, drugs, and self-discovery. She was the creative genius of the family, being the only one who actually pursued art as a career. She also was the character most willing to explore her sexuality.
To be clear, Claire almost certainly identified as straight. However, at least two of her romantic partners were somewhere on the queer spectrum, while Claire herself expressed having romantic chemistry with her female friend Parker.
Aunt Sarah's Poet Friend
Ruth's sister Sarah was ionate about art. She also confessed to feeling heartbroken about having no artistic talent while surrounding herself with incredibly talented creative people. In keeping with art as the unifying factor connecting the show's other themes of life, sex, and death, Sarah found fulfillment in the community of artists she built.
During the episode "Back to the Garden," Sarah held a party with some of her friends to commemorate the slam poet Allen Ginsberg and his poem "Howl." She confessed to having briefly roomed with Ginsberg for a while in and that he was a dear friend of hers.
Nathaniel Fisher's Charitable Side
Nathaniel Fisher Sr. was a mystery to his family. His death was the seminal event that kickstarted the whole series but all of his kids lamented barely knowing him, often expressing surprise upon hearing almost any fact about his life.
His son Nate Jr. eventually learned that the older Nathaniel had accepted various forms of payment for funerals beyond just cash. One man who couldn't afford it was an auto mechanic who paid with unlimited oil changes. Another woman served as his dealer. Nathaniel helped the community, caring more about meeting the needs of others than making a buck.
Nate Is Non-Monogamous
Nate spent the whole series fighting to find his place. He struggled between doing what he thought was expected of him and doing what made him happy. Interestingly, he seemed to be non-monogamous (not that he would ever use the word to describe himself).
While several people in the show had affairs or were swingers, the only times he ever condemned anyone for this was when Brenda cheated on him--something he later forgave. He also cheated on her and often slept around, being unable to settle with one person. While he wasn't ethical or honest in his romantic pursuits, he definitely was all about having a non-monogamous lifestyle.