Created by Casey Johnson and David Windsor Not Dead Yet series revolves around a young woman in her thirties who is just getting over a big heartbreak moves back to her city, which she had left behind in a bid to follow her fiancé Philip to London. Nell Serrano, a journalist, had everything going for her until it wasn’t because she had to break up with her boyfriend of five years over many differences. She immediately moved back to Pasadena and began working with the newspaper she had left to head to London. But this time, she joined as an obituary writer. She takes it in her stride because she is in dire need of a job right now to stabilize herself financially. She also has a roommate, Edward, a lawyer who has autism spectrum disorder. Surrounded by new people except for Sam, her oldest friend, she begins her work as an obituary writer. She realizes the people who have died come to her as ghosts and speak to her about themselves. This shocks her initially, but Nell gets used to having them around until she is done writing about them and sends their obituaries across for publishing. In this manner, Nell encounters plenty of ghosts of various strata and jobs, and somehow, they leave something behind with her. A revelation, letting go of her past and pushing her to do something new.
This being an underlying storyline of the show, Nell has come across various ghosts who have helped her find a purpose in life now that she is on her own. The show ended with Nell learning that Philip was back in Pasadena. There are plenty of unanswered questions between them. Philip and Nell eventually meet and talk about the relationship they had. Though there are apologies shared between the two, there is also a void left on how to move forward from here. The two of them decide to make the relationship work. Nell notices the ghost she is speaking to suddenly disappearing, and it doesn’t seem like a one-off incident. Nell and Philip talk about her being able to see ghosts from the past, which does not sit well with him. His reaction to her confession was enough for Nell to conclude that she could not be in a relationship with him because she had moved on. Her ability to see the ghosts is probably a part of her that she is not willing to let go of. As Philip leaves, she sees the ghost coming back to converse with her.
Nell was not ready to let go of the ghosts because she felt she had learned a great deal from them and would want them to be part of her new journey from here on. Though it seems a little dangerous to rely on supernatural elements to make one’s life better, Nell feels content with it, and it is her way of expressing her emotions and learning from them. Season 2 of Not Dead Yet would probably have Nell sticking to the same job, which she is good at. The reason she is good at it is because the ghost confides in her. Nell would continue writing obituaries, but the catch here is how long she can work for the same publication. As a journalist, if she needed a career change, it would be difficult for her to get in touch with the ghosts. Unless she makes a career out of writing obituaries, there is a chance Nell will become dependent on the ghosts to navigate her life. She would not find a way out on her own. This will become a matter of concern if she loses control over her senses or if the dependency increases. Hopefully, Not Dead Yet Season 2 will cover this aspect through humor. It would be interesting to know at what stage she will end up revealing this phenomenon to her friends. She will have to let Cricket know at some point that she was able to communicate with Monty. It is not clear how Cricket will react to this news, but keeping in mind the character that she is, she will probably ask her how she found him as a person.
Nell will surely get into a relationship in the upcoming season of Not Dead Yet, but again, her biggest secret will have to be revealed. Whoever she would date, she would either keep that person in the dark about it or be honest with them. Edward might also come across as someone Nell can rely on, and since she lives with him, he could be the first one to notice that maybe she is going through something; that’s why these incidents of ghost spotting are happening. He will surely be concerned about her mental state. Sam, Dennis, and Lexi, too, would push Nell to consult a psychologist to help her deal with this situation at hand because they would surely think it is unhealthy to be able to see things that no one else can. Nell might be in denial about it in the beginning, but soon she will understand why it is wrong to rely on it. She might resist herself, but soon she will conclude that talking to an expert would help.
There is a chance Nell was probably traumatized by how her relationship ended. Nell had revealed that she had a miscarriage, which Philip did not help her with. Trauma usually comes out in various forms, and there is a chance that her trauma and grief from losing her child manifested itself in the form of her seeing ghosts who gave her reassurances to live life the way she wants. She needed reassurance after a miscarriage that her life would be okay, and she got it from the paranormal entities, or maybe she imagined the ghosts being with her to deal with the pain of losing her child. Not Dead Yet Season one had its ups and downs when it came to humor, but somehow the light humor did work out. The story relied too much on Nell, but it also did not seem too overbearing. This season was engaging enough; hopefully, the writers will amp up their humor game in the next season.
