TLC is unveiling a new unscripted show this coming Sunday that follows a Dallas funeral home director that takes "home-goings" to a different level. The network will premiere the pilot episode of "Best Funeral Ever" this week and if the ratings are good they’ll order more episodes and turn it in to a regular series.
Entertainment Weekly has a description of the show:
At the Golden Gate Funeral Home, Dallas-based funeral director John Beckwith, Jr.works with the families to create a central theme for a memorial and then throws a wild party.
Examples include a Christmas-inspired funeral complete with reindeer, elves and snow, and a singer known for his famous rib sauce jingle remembered at a BBQ-themed funeral — including live pigs, praise dancers, and a BBQ sauce fountain where loved ones dip a ceremonious rib to say goodbye. "We’re going to make these families extremely happy at the worst moments of their lives," Beckman says.
One of the show’s producers told the L.A. Times the show is on brand with other TLC series that peek into religious cults, enormous families, unusual pastimes and examine little-known subcultures throughout the country. The network is home to other unscripted shows like "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," "Breaking Amish" and "Sister Wives."
"We’re documenting what they do, and what they do so well is throw amazing home-going ceremonies," Mike Kane, a TLC executive producer told the Times. "We love the fact that they’re bringing closure to these families. We don’t think there’s anything morbid about it."
TLC’s "Best Funeral Ever" was originally scheduled to air on December 26, 2012 month but the network re-scheduled the broadcast in wake of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn.