It isn’t often that the entertainment industry gets the funeral industry right.
Recently, however, a documentary bucked that trend. The documentary, The Undertaking was a look by PBS’s Frontline program into the work and lives of the Lynch & Sons funeral directors in the towns of Milford and Clawson, Michigan.
The program even won the Emmy Award for Best News & Documentary.
The Undertaking was, originally, a book written by Thomas Lynch. The film follows several families through their process of dealing with terminal illnesses, and tracks the way they deal with issues of funerals, burial, and cremations.
For PBS, The Undertaking received more positive responses from viewers than any other documentary developed by Frontline. The University of Michigan created a study guide inspired by the documentary that’s being distributed to major seminaries, hospice programs and mortuary schools across the county.
The Undertaking can be seen in its entirety online at PBS Frontline’s site.