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Dig into a delicious second helping of Pushing Daisies, the multiple Emmy® Award-winning series that USA Today’s Robert Bianco calls, “a wholly original, rich-hued delight.” In this season, Papen County’s Pie-Maker with a witching finger for waking the dead and his alive-again love Chuck have more on the menu than a Terrifying Bee-Man and a Deep Fried Chicken Magnate. The secrets are served deep-dish when family skeletons — both literal and figurative — loom over the Pie Hole and its patrons. As jockey cum waitress Olive Snook joins a nunnery to mend her broken heart, the Pie-Maker who broke it hides Chuck from her Aunt Vivian and mother Lily, who believe she’s dead. Naturally, this results in resurrecting Chuck’s father, who actually was dead. Private Investigator Emerson Cod has daddy issues of his own when his baby-stealing baby-mama finds herself at the center of a damned dam murder case. This wondrous, witty and moving confection is as irresistible as the Pie-Maker’s three-plum pie.
Of all the shows affected by the 2007 Writer’s Strike, none were struck harder than Pushing Daisies. When it premiered that fall, it was not only a winner with critics but a ratings success as well and seemed ready to build on that momentum to really break out. But then the strike shut everything down just as things were clicking. Even worse, however, was ABC making the baffling decision that when the strike ended, rather than try to rush a few more eps out, their three biggest freshmen shows (Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money) would all be held back until the fall 2008 season. Needless to say, being off the air for ten months led to a downturn in interest and while the show still had critical hails and a core group of fans (including myself), it just wasn’t enough to gain big ratings. After being removed from the air in November, the show ended up burning off its last three episodes a month ago.
Even more than the first season, the show shines brightly in a way words can never adequately describe with wild angles and even stop motion animation to add to the wild stories. With some great guest stars (such as Fred Williamson and Fred Willard), wild plots, unbelievable sets and some of the absolute best dialogue you’ve ever heard topped off by a wonderful cast, you feel absolute anger at the network for canceling such a gem. It’s frustrating since there are still subplots up in the air (such as the full secret of Ned and Chuck’s fathers) that promised so much more amazing adventures. But now, fans can enjoy this classic for what it is: One of the most perfect tasty treats television has provided in years.
The cast helps it along immensely. Again, Pace and Friel forge one of the best romances television has ever seen, their chemistry absolutely perfect. The smiles they have are so infectious, you can’t help but get sucked in and the tragic touch that they’re unable to fully consummate it gives the relationship a unique touch that makes their talks all the more meaningful. They’re helped further by great subplots over the season. Pace discovers that his absent father had a family with twin brother magicians who still worship the man and Ned wrestles with whether to tell them the truth. Friel handles Chuck discovering the truth about her mother in a wonderfully emotional way while the plot involving her father is the dramatic high point of the season. Through it all, they handle their own unique love and make it shine all the way.
