US viewers mourn Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under is credited with breaking a TV taboo about death

Hit TV drama Six Feet Under draws to a close in the US on Sunday after five series on screen.

The show has been a cult favourite since 2001, with its quirky and macabre look at life and death in a family-run Californian funeral home.

Creator Alan Ball, who won an Oscar for writing American Beauty, wrote and directed the Six Feet Under finale.

In the UK, the final series has started on digital channel E4 but there are no plans to show it on Channel 4.

The drama was made by US cable channel HBO, which was also behind other groundbreaking shows such as Sex and the City and The Sopranos.

Awards glory

It has been credited with breaking a TV taboo by portraying death and dead bodies in a realistic, grisly and blackly comic way.

"Working on Six Feet Under has been enormously fulfilling creatively," Mr Ball said.

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

Six Feet Under has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes.

It is up for best drama at this year's Primetime Emmys next month - against Deadwood, 24 and The West Wing.