Top 4 TV shows that begin with the death of a female character who is one of the show's most important and interesting characters even though she dies in the 1st episode

Greetings, reader!

Today's topic is ridiculously niche and specific. You see, I recently realized that I have watched four different TV shows that have this in common: A) the story of the series begins with the death of a woman, and B) that woman is one of the show's central characters, and one of the best characters, even though she dies in the very first episode. I had to do something with this information. So, here's my ranking of the four shows that follow this oddly specific premise!

Trigger warning: Two of the deaths in question are suicides, so read at your own discretion if it's a sensitive subject for you (I won't go into graphic detail about the specific nature of the suicides etc.).

4. 13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)

With this series, the death in question is that of Hannah Baker, played by Katherine Langford. The first episode begins right after her tragic suicide, and when protagonist Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) uncovers tapes left behind where Hannah explains why she took her life, we start to flash back to fill in the gaps while continuing the present-day storyline. Pretty much the entire plot of the series is, more or less, the aftermath of Hannah's death, as her life and its abrupt ending affected the lives of all other major characters, so she's definitely one of the central characters despite her passing (we also hear her voice throughout the tapes, and see plenty of her in the pre-suicide flashbacks).

The show is ranked last here, because it's a very flawed and even controversial one. I believe the intentions were noble and I personally did like many of the show's elements and got a lot out of it (the first season especially), but at the same time, I recognize the seriousness of why it has been criticized. Themes like sexual violence, depression and suicide are very hard to deal with in a sensitive manner, so the very idea of this series was on the playing-with-fire side of things. If the end result is healing for some but triggering for others, is it really worth it?

Also, those last few seasons really jump the shark. The fuck was up with the horror-style camping episode? Did I dream that?

3. Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)

With Desperate Housewives, the series-kick-off death is also a suicide, but in quite a different way. It happens in the very first scene, and out of all the possible ways to start a TV series, that is certainly one of them (the need for a trigger warning aside, I have to hand it to them - it certainly had viewers like me locked in from the get-go).

Despite her life ending in the first scene of the show, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) would remain one of the show's most fascinating characters throughout it all. Every now and then, we'd see flashbacks to the time before her death, when she was just one of the girls, and those scenes are always a treat. Even when we can't see Mary Alice, we can certainly hear her, as the character narrates every episode to the viewers' great delight. Additionally, she's especially inherent to the plot in season 1, as the question of why she took her own life and what chain of events lead to that is the season's central mystery storyline.

As an overall series, Desperate Housewives is an excellent one - the battle between third and second place today was a tough one, and this fantastic comedy-drama was only barely edged out by its competitor. I actually haven't seen all of Desperate Housewives yet, as I only started to watch it through a few months ago with my fiancée (it's one of her favorite shows), so it's very possible that it would be in 2nd place if I had the context of the full series to work with.

2. The Good Place (2016-2020)

With The Good Place, the question of how to keep the woman who dies in the beginning as a central character was quite an easy one to answer - you see, the series takes place largely in the afterlife. Kicking off seconds after protagonist Eleanor Shellstrop's (Kristen Bell) death, the pilot episode follows her as she's introduced to a zany and vibrant take on what the ever-speculated concept of afterlife might look like. All of the show's major characters are either recently deceased humans getting acquainted in this Good Place, or celestial beings in charge of running the afterlife.

The concept is certainly out there, and it makes for a brilliant fusion of philosophical/ethical ponderings and wacky sitcom hijinks. Showrunner Michael Schur's version of the afterlife is a creative fusion of various theories throughout human history and different religions, with a goofy modern twist to it all. It's a series very much worth watching, and definitely one of the most creative ways to keep dead characters in the main cast!

1. Twin Peaks (1990-1991; 2017)

Ah, the best to ever do it. In case you've missed the premise of the arguably greatest television series of all time: in the town of Twin Peaks, Washington, the body of local teenager Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) is found, and her death touches the lives of everyone in the town while FBI agent Dale Cooper, the absolutely best fictional character of all time, rolls into town to investigate the case. Everything that happens is magical, beautiful, severely f**ked up, and perfect. And Sheryl Lee's performance as Laura, via every flashback, dream sequence and piece of video evidence, is truly one of the best parts.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for my ranking of the 10 greatest TV endgames (the final set of episodes in a plot-heavy series) of all time.