TV Show review
May 3, 2019 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Dead to Me.
Woke representation / casting
Main white female leads fit the Laguna Beach setting and age range naturally; visible bisexual romance for one lead appears casually in seasons two and three with no quotas or mismatches emphasized.
Woke political dialogue
Protagonist’s anger stems from personal grief and loss; creator has spoken about “angry women” and patriarchy, but the show contains no explicit ideological speeches or activist talking points.
Identity-driven story themes
Core narrative centers on female friendship and trauma processing; includes noticeable but low-key queer subplot treated as normal personal life rather than a statement or conflict.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Explores grief groups and individual coping mechanisms but offers no modern activist-style attacks on patriarchy, capitalism, or Western institutions.
Review
Dead to Me is a Netflix black comedy drama about two women in their forties who meet at a grief support group in Laguna Beach. Jen is an angry widow hunting the hit-and-run driver who killed her husband. Judy is an upbeat free spirit hiding a terrible secret about that same death. Across three seasons the show follows their intense friendship through lies, more deaths, cover-ups, and personal crises while exploring grief, guilt, anger, and forgiveness. It adds a low-key bisexual romance subplot for Judy starting in season two and treats the central bond between the two women as a deep platonic love story.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Original series.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Searches found almost no complaints framing the show as pushing woke, DEI, or identity politics; only scattered mild mentions and positive notes on its queer elements.
Creator track record context
Liz Feldman’s public emphasis on female perspectives and casual queerness plus one writer’s credits on explicitly race-and-identity-focused work create a moderate pattern; most other crew show little to no activist history.
Production
