HBOGetting On is ending. What's Getting On you ask? Well, that's probably why it's ending. But don't cry for Getting On, it's done great things with only 18 episodes. In fact, the HBO comedy's legacy will be—mark my words—revered.
The stripped down comedy revolves around the doctors and nurses in the geriatric extended care facility at the fictional Mount Palms hospital and stars Laurie Metcalf, Alex Borstein, Mel Rodriguez and Niecy Nash. They're dysfunctional, a bit strange, but totally human. There's not one character you can look at that you can't identify with in some way. The show is really special, it's different than anything else you've ever seen—in the best way possible.
This season there's a certain shift in tone. Based on the first four episodes (of the six-episode season), you know this is the end. That's helped by the staff also fearing for their jobs thanks to rumors about the ward closing. It's a tad more emotional this year. The delightful darkness that has always been there is more present as each character struggles with something a little more pressing and serious than before. But don't worry, you'll still laugh. There's plenty to make you giggle, from a grungy therapy dog and his over-sized testicles to more than one poop gag. It's just that you may get a bit tearier than usual—and not from laughter over exploding poop or Metcalf's face when talking about kicking a man out of bed for eating crackers. There are moments that are so in your face with funny gags that you have to look away, but the next scene you're watching quietly as characters, and their humanity, pop off the screen.
The legacy of Getting On will be that of the little show that could and did. Nash received a well-deserved Emmy nomination for her work on the series—her first ever—and now millions more know a show named Getting On exists. To be honest, the show deserves all the awards. Not only for being wildly entertaining, but for bringing awareness to the blighted healthcare system, for giving women of a certain age a place to really show off their talents—yes, people above the age of 45 can still act and carry roles like no other—and for being utterly fearless.
Over certainly doesn't mean over in the TV world these days and should Getting On live on, that's great. Should Getting On end as planned, that's fine because it told a brilliant story and left an impact on its viewers.
Getting On returns on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. on HBO.