The Big C

Cathy Jamison is a suburban schoolteacher who gets news that upends the familiar rhythms of her life. Rather than surrender to tearful solitude, she chooses to respond with blunt honesty, unexpected decisions, and a stubborn appetite for laughter. The series follows how her diagnosis reshapes daily routines, family ties, and personal ambitions, as she reorders what matters and how she wants to be remembered. Through small acts of defiance, awkward confrontations, and moments of tenderness, Cathy tries to carve out happiness and dignity without ignoring the darker parts of illness, and the show keeps the focus on character shifts instead of plot twists or neat resolutions.

The Big C premiered on Showtime in 2010, created by Darlene Hunt, and stars Laura Linney alongside John Benjamin Hickey, Oliver Platt, Gabourey Sidibe, and Gabriel Basso, with writing and direction shared among a rotating creative team.

The series earned mainstream recognition, including a Golden Globe win for Laura Linney, plus multiple nominations for acting and writing that highlighted its tonal risks and performances rather than spectacle.

On a cultural level the show helped make room for stories that mix black humor with sincere emotion, and it opened up conversations about illness that felt less sanitized. Linney’s lead turn became a frequent reference point when critics and viewers discussed TV that treats mortality with wit instead of sentimentality.

Critics generally gave positive marks to the acting and the way the show balanced comedy and drama, reflected in a user vote average of 7.117/10 from 111 votes. Major themes include mortality, honesty within family life, the search for agency after bad news, and how humor can be a tool for connection rather than avoidance.