Credit: Showtime

Whoever pitched a comedy about terminal cancer must’ve gotten some interesting looks in that writers’ room. But The Big C came along in 2010 and pulled it off. We’re dealing with a woman at the centre of it who’s had enough of everyone’s crap. After years of putting up with her family’s nonsense and always being the responsible one, Cathy Jamison has finally had enough.

But if you’re thinking Cathy Jamison would make a motivational speaker, just know she’d be terrible at it. Forget those inspirational speeches about staying positive. Laura Linney plays Cathy in The Big C, a schoolteacher who’s spent years being the responsible wife and mother. But with her future looking uncertain, Cathy starts questioning why she’s wasted so much time trying to please everyone. And boy, does she have some catching up to do!

The funniest part is that her family has absolutely no clue what’s going on because Cathy hasn’t told them about her diagnosis yet. Her husband Paul (Oliver Platt) is already struggling to understand his wife, and now she is behaving like someone who’s left the chaos unleashed.

Meanwhile, their teenage son Adam is busy being, well, a teenager. You know how that goes. The poor woman could use some peace, but her household seems allergic to the idea.

And Cathy isn’t exactly making life easier for anyone, either. That’s what makes The Big C so much fun to watch. She can be selfish and downright infuriating, but you still find yourself rooting for her.

Laura Linney deserves her flowers for this one. She makes Cathy feel like someone you actually know, even when she’s making decisions that are a lot questionable. That performance earned her a Golden Globe and an Emmy, while The Big C ran for four seasons between 2010 and 2013. Not bad for a comedy that dared to find humour in something most shows wouldn’t touch.

Now, Netflix has decided to spoil the fun. All four seasons of The Big C are leaving Netflix US on November 14th after spending roughly a year on the platform. That’s quite the short deadline, given most people are discovering it through this read.

And please don’t mistake this for one of those medical dramas where there will be a motivational speech every two minutes. Cathy would probably roll her eyes at that herself. She’s flawed, and the writers let her be that way. You’ll laugh at her worst decisions before remembering why she’s making them, and that’s where the show gets you. That’s really well played!

With 40 episodes and four seasons on Netflix, you’ve got quite a bit to get through before November 14th. Your weekend plans might have to be rescheduled, but Cathy has spent enough of her life accommodating everyone else’s schedule. The least you can do is give her a little of yours.