‘Not Dead Yet’ is a clichéd comedy that doesn’t do Gina Rodriguez’s career any favours

Monty (Martin Mull) is the first ghost Nell (Gina Rodriguez) encounters in “Not Dead Yet”. Picture: Supplied

Monty (Martin Mull) is the first ghost Nell (Gina Rodriguez) encounters in “Not Dead Yet”. Picture: Supplied

Published May 20, 2023

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Who remembers Gina Rodriguez from “Jane the Virgin”? Gosh, I loved the show and she was amazing in it.

Now the 38-year-old actress has had a few notable castings in TV and film.

But they have been few and far between. As such, in recent years, she’s also branched out into directing and executive producing. Good for her.

I recently happened upon her new show on Disney+. My curiosity over the title of the comedy, “Not Dead Yet”, saw me binge the show.

And with all the load-shedding woes in Mzansi, I needed some light(hearted) relief. Sadly, it turned out to be a pretty clichéd offering.

It centres on journalist Nell Serrano moving back home to the US after her relationship with her chef fiancé goes pear-shaped.

As such, she’s forced to start from the bottom and is assigned to write obituaries for the SoCal Independent.

Now for the twist: she is visited by the dead she writes about. In them sharing their story with her, she also finds solutions to the struggles in her personal life.

And moving in with Edward (Rick Glassman), her OCD room-mate, comes with its own set of challenges.

Fortunately, her bestie Sam (Hannah Simone) helps her acclimatise to her new colleagues in the newsroom, including one overbearing intern.

“Not Dead Yet” attempts to be a cute, funny offering. But it is yawnsome and forgettable.

Pity, because Rodriguez made such strides with “Jane the Virgin”.