Six Feet Under Revisited: The 10th Anniversary of the Finale Makes Us Recall the Show's Impact

It was 10 years ago today that Six Feet Under shocked us all with its upsetting, yet perfect, montage of death for the Fisher family and other characters. It may have been surprising at the time, but the show's creator Alan Ball tells The Hollywood Reporteron the finale's anniversary that it was also inevitable for a show that focused on death. [Watch the finale episode here.]

"In the writers' room -- I beat myself up for this constantly because I can't remember who it was that suggested it -- we were talking about how we should end the show and someone said, 'We should just kill everybody.' They said, 'No, we should flash forward in time and be with each one of these characters when they die.' Something in my head just went, 'Click. Of course. How else could you possibly end this show?' "

It was one of those finales that provided closure for fans of the critically acclaimed HBO series -- something that rarely seems to happen. Michael C. Hall, who played gay character David Fisher, says it's what "helped secure the show's legacy," adding: "I think it was therapeutic, it certainly was for me, to simulate the death of these characters who we had spent so much time living with so intensely."

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Of course, if you want to relive that feeling, the entire series of Six Feet Under are available on HBO Go and HBONow for repeat viewings. And you might even be there for a newbie, who is just as shocked and bereaved by the finale as you were 10 years ago. Just pass the Kleenex and let them know it will pass.

Plus: Watch a clip that celebrates the groundbreaking relationship between David Fisher & Keith Charles on the show: