Bravo grabs rerun rights to HBO series

Those still in mourning over the Fisher family of HBO's "Six Feet Under" can take heart. The show is getting an afterlife elsewhere on cable.

Bravo has picked up rerun rights to the Emmy-winning series and will begin airing it later this year. The network's deal allows it exclusive rights to "Six Feet Under" for the rest of the decade.

"'Six Feet Under' represents the artistic, creative and critically acclaimed series that defines Bravo's programming," Bravo President Lauren Zalaznick says. "The phenomenon that hooked so many HBO viewers will be brought back to life on our air."

At its peak, "Six Feet Under" drew better than 5 million viewers per week on HBO. Ratings tailed off in its last couple of seasons, but it was still pulling in around 2 million people per week in its final season -- numbers Bravo would be more than happy to have.

The show stars Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Mathew St. Patrick and Rachel Griffiths and revolves around the Fisher family and its mortuary business. It has won seven Emmys and will be eligible one last time this year. Alan Ball ("American Beauty") created the show.

Bravo has a history with picking up HBO series, having aired repeats of "The Larry Sanders Show" in the past and mounting a third season of "Project Greenlight" after HBO passed on it. "Six Feet Under" joins two other recent HBO hits in getting wider exposure: Repeats of "The Sopranos" will begin airing on A&E next year, and "Sex and the City" can be found on TBS and in syndication.