Few would expect, from the fun-loving production company Magical Elves, the group behind shows from “Project Runway” and “Top Chef” to “Braxton Family Values,” the kind of dignity and empathy they give to the subjects of “Time of Death” (Showtime, 9 p.m.) a standout new documentary series.
Spotlighting ordinary people who are all facing death, they reflect the grief, worry, relief, anger and acceptance that come as part of the experience that will find us all.
The first to be shared is a tough and likable single mother who has already lived longer than her cancer doctors had predicted, and who nonetheless is reluctant to share any of her bad news with her children, who range from worried teens to a young adult who returns to town to take care of the rest. In the middle of her story is that of a former Navy man with fast moving cancer who accepts his end, but whose parents are devastated by his end.
Because each family spends a lot of time with the families (and probably a lot of time getting to know them before cameras roll), each of the cases are that of deaths in hospice care after illness. There are no sudden deaths from accidents or stroke. In that it may not reflect every reaction to American death, but the hospice help and the family reactions are helpful to see and have shared, as something we all go through but rarely face squarely, especially on television, where bodies are largely plot points.
The humane and engrossing “Time of Death” features six hour long episodes in its first season.