I never watched “The Big C” when it first came on for multiple reasons. Firstly, I wasn’t even aware of the show which makes it kind of hard to watch a show you don’t even know exists. Equally as challenging of a reason is because I didn’t have cable and the show was on Showtime. To be honest with you, I only became aware of the show through a Mill Creek Entertainment press release. After reading about the show however, I really wanted to check it out for personal reasons (which I will go into a little later). After requesting a review copy, the kind folks at Mill Creek Entertainment provided me with one.
The show lasted for four seasons and focused on a woman named Cathy who is diagnosed with cancer at the very beginning of the show. Cathy is a school teacher with a bit of a rocky marriage trying to cope with her diagnosis while making the best of the time she may have left.
When it was first broadcast in 2010, “The Big C” gathered the largest premiere Showtime had at the time. Just reading the premise, it’s easy to see why people tuned in for the pilot. After watching the first episode, I have to admit I kept watching it because it drew me in. Now, the show is intended to be a drama/comedy but it leans more into the drama territory. Most of the humor from the show is derived from the character’s traits as opposed to jokes. For a show with cancer as it’s focused, I think that is probably for the best. The show reminded me a lot of the movie “50/50” which also covered the subject matter of cancer.
I should point out that this show is very adult in nature. Not only does the show feature cursing but also nudity so this is not a show you want to watch with kids in the room. It’s not a shock considering “The Big C” was broadcast on Showtime. I have to admit it’s refreshing to see a tv series take risks and provide adult oriented comedy.
The show featured Laura Linney as Cathy and she does a fantastic job throughout all four seasons. Seeing Linney try to come to terms with her condition is captivating and at times, heartbreaking. Oliver Platt, a criminally underrated actor, plays her husband Paul. Platt plays Paul as childish with a drive to live life to the fullest, even if it’s at the expense of everyone else around him. John Benjamin Hickey plays Cathy’s brother Sean throughout the show. Sean is a train wreck and despite Cathy having cancer, she often finds herself helping her brother out. Sean is homeless and is revealed to have bipolar disorder.
Now, the reason I wanted to see this show was because the subject matter hits home to me. While I was in high school, my oldest brother was diagnosed with cancer (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma). I saw how terrible not only the cancer was, but how grueling and painful the treatment could be. My brother sadly did not live to see me graduate from high school, and I miss him dearly to this day. Even now, as I write this, I am crying thinking about him.
“The Big C” is certainly a bit addicting from the pilot on. You care about the characters and like them early on. You grow invested not just in Cathy, but her family and friends as well. Ultimately if you like the pilot, you are going to want to binge watch this and thanks to Mill Creek Entertainment, you can do so with the purchase of one set!
Overall Grade: B
To Binge or not to Binge Verdict: BINGE
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