Family Plots is a critically acclaimed docu-series television show that followed the ongoing events and the employees that work at the family-run Poway Bernardo Mortuary in Poway, California

Poway, California

Poway is a city in San Diego County, California. Originally an unincorporated community in San Diego County, Poway officially became a city in December 1980. Even though Poway lies geographically in the middle of San Diego County, most consider its relative location as north county inland...

. It ran for two seasons on the A&E Network

A&E Network

The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...

.

The show centered on the relationships between the employees, for instance Chuck Wissmiller and his three daughters - all of whom worked together at the mortuary during the show's run. Each episode featured one to two funerals with families who shared their grief while celebrating the life and contributions of their loved ones. The departed themselves were seen from time to time on the show, but care was taken by the crew to portray their memory respectfully. While the work done in the preparation room was also shown, the more graphic portions of mortuary work were depicted deferentially.

Family Plots was not renewed by A&E in late 2006. Fan sites and clubs reacted strongly to the cancellation and there had been indications that A&E executives were reconsidering the cancellation. Rumors also abounded of the show being shopped to other networks.
The show was also aired on the Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 in Australia.

Post-Series

Since the last episodes of the series, most of the featured staff members have moved on from the funeral home. Chuck has retired and Shonna left in the summer of 2006 to retire early. Emily and Melissa left as well. Sue Wissmiller, the daughters' mother, has since passed away. Rick Sadler has left the business in California while David Moravee and John Greeney still work in the funeral service field. Poway Bernardo Mortuary still serves the people of San Diego and southern California continuing their legacy of care.

Critical Reception

As opposed to fictional depictions of the industry like "Six Feet Under", Family Plots was a non-fictional and un-scripted series which gave viewers a window into a serving and hard-working family-run funeral home. Viewers appreciated the descriptions of the processes of funeral preparation which helped dispel the mystery and common myths about their purpose. Fans and critics especially liked the sensitive and sometimes humorous employee interactions proving that funeral directors were a loving, laughing and caring group of people just like themselves.

See also

• List of reality television programs
• Lloyd M. Bucher
  Lloyd M. Bucher
  Commander Lloyd Mark "Pete" Bucher was an officer in the United States Navy, who is best remembered as the Captain of the USS Pueblo , which was captured on January 23, 1968 by North Korea....
  
   - a US Navy
  United States Navy
  The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
  
  Commander whose funeral was handled from Poway Bernardo Mortuary, and whose funeral was the focus of an episode on the series.