TORONTO — After Wendy Litner’s mom died of cancer several years ago, a curious thing happened: her voice seemed to linger.
“I felt like I could hear her all the time,” says Litner, a Toronto-based screenwriter.
“Often it was her trolling me, but I felt like she was still so present, even though she was dead.”
The 44-year-old says her mom’s running commentary echoed through her daily life, critiquing her every move. But rather than feeling haunted, she found herself inspired.
She channelled her peculiar grieving process into “My Dead Mom,” a short-form Crave series, out Friday.
“I liked the idea of exploring how we still maintain this relationship with the people that are gone in meaningful and funny ways,” says Litner, who also created the 2017 Emmy-nominated CBC web series “How to Buy a Baby.”
The dark comedy stars Toronto’s Lauren Collins as Emmy, whose late mother Fern — played by Megan Follows of “Anne of Green Gables” fame — keeps popping into her life to offer unsolicited opinions on everything from her lipstick choices to her romantic partner.
Chandler Levack, who helmed 2022’s hit indie comedy “I Like Movies,” directs.
“We hope the series will show people that there is no one way to grieve,” says Collins, known for starring in “Degrassi: The Next Generation.”
The 38-year-old says she could relate to Emmy because her father passed away when she was 27. Like her character, she lost a parent at a time when she was still trying to figure out her own life.
“I think society expects us to eventually get over it, but when you lose someone close to you who’s been such a big part of your life, I don't think you ever recover from that. It comes up in interesting, unexpected ways. It’s something you always carry with you.”
As the chain-smoking, sardonic Fern, Follows gets a chance to flex her comedic muscle, which she says is “a new arena” for her.
“It’s always great when the writing gives you permission to be outrageous and playful,” she says.
“Dark comedy is my favourite comedy. I think that's often how we navigate out of really dark moments, and when we're able to achieve that balancing act, it's really delicious.”
Follows didn’t lose a parent at a young age and her mom is still alive, but says she knows what it’s like to have a “fiery, complicated mother” in actress Dawn Greenhalgh.
“I grew up with a mom who was very charismatic, extremely talented and, at times, very difficult,” she says.
In the seven-episode “My Dead Mom,” Emmy wrestles with her unresolved issues with Fern, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship.
“She feels very judged by her mother, who somewhere obviously loves her deeply, but hasn't said it in a way that Emmy has been able to hear,” says Follows.
And perhaps the character's mother is just not a warm person, adds Follows.
"It's not always simple. It's prickly. Not everybody’s nice.”
“My Dead Mom” comes at a time when there’s an appetite for dark comedies around grief and family relationships, with FX’s “The Bear,” Netflix’s “Dead to Me” and Apple TV Plus’ “Shrinking” being recent examples.
Follows attributes the trend to “a more honest conversation about navigating mental health” arising during the pandemic.
“It unleashed a lot of true feelings people had been navigating secretly and silently and then exacerbated others in terms of isolation and experiences."
Litner feels audiences are connecting more to dark comedies because they offer the most “healing” experiences.
“It's really easy to cry at sad things, but it's harder to laugh at them. I think that’s where we feel most human,” says Litner, who turned her own struggles with infertility into a comedy with “How to Buy a Baby.”
Litner describes “My Dead Mom” as a therapeutic experience that made her feel a “deeper connection” to her mother, who died in 2003.
“It feels like a way of making peace, and definitely a way that I needed,” she says.
“Hoping my mom will finally be proud.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
