Six Feet Under to come to an end

Six Feet Under is set in a funeral parlour

Golden Globe winning drama Six Feet Under is to end after its fifth season, creator Alan Ball has confirmed.

The final series of the HBO show set in a funeral parlour, which is shown on Channel 4 in the UK, is due to go into production next week.

"Working on Six Feet Under has been enormously fulfilling creatively," said Ball, who is also executive producer.

"But if the show is about anything, it's about the fact that everything comes to an end."

Actress Frances Conroy who heads up the quirky Fisher family picked up a Golden Globe in 2004, while Rachel Griffiths won a best supporting actress Globe in 2002.

The show also stars Peter Krause, Michael C Hall and Lauren Ambrose.

Challenging and uncompromising

"I will miss working with such enormously talented writers, cast, staff and crew and I'll always be grateful to HBO for allowing and encouraging us to tell the story we set out to tell in a challenging and uncompromising way," Ball said.

HBO confirmed there would be no more Six Feet Under after series five but could not say when the new series would be broadcast.

Six Feet Under was one of the shows that brought HBO international recognition and a clutch of awards.

Among its other successful exports are Sex and the City, The Sopranos and Oz.