The trailer for the Netflix series, Dead to Me, caught my attention. In it, we see a cheerful neighbor delivering a casserole to Jen, whose husband was just killed by a hit and run driver. The neighbor says, “Jeff and I can’t imagine what you are going through.”

A totally deadpan Jen replies, “Well, it’s as if Jeff got hit by a car and died suddenly and violently. Like that.”

The neighbor swallows hard, smiles and then says, “Well, you get that dish back to me whenever you can.”

For good or bad, I love dark, quirky humor. The story is about a cynical, bitter widow, Jen, who is left with two sons and a toxic mother-in-law. She meets Judy, a boundary-free rescuer at a grief support group. Judy has also experienced a loss of sorts. She’s a gusher whose main goal is to fix the unfixable.

The onscreen chemistry between Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) is mesmerizing, at points crackling with tension and at other times, fall-off-your-chair funny. The actors describe the series as a traumedy, which is accurate. The show faces grief head on but in a way that is wickedly humorous.

And the plot? Yikes. The only fact you can count on is that if you think something is true about a character or an event, it’s probably not. Plot twists abound, but they are earned. If you look back carefully, you can (sort of) see them coming.

This is not a relaxing show to watch. The writers do not whitewash grief, remorse, deception, anger, greed, infidelity. It’s all there, writ large. Even though Jen and Judy are delightful to watch, you’d never ever want to be friends with either woman.  Jen is brutally cold and rages violently. Her creative use of expletives will set your ears on fire. Judy’s utter lack of judgment and “solutions” for life problems can be deeply anxiety-producing for a viewer.

Yet, I loved the show and had to force myself not to binge watch it. Maybe I found some comfort in thinking, “Well, my life is not as bad as theirs.”