If you do the research -- which means mainly reading comments contemporaneous with the show -- you will find that unique one-of-kind projects like this (projects that make no sense on paper, but are almost hypnotic once filmed and in the can) were considered to define the "breakout" of cable and speciality channels/media, proving that the "name" studios and stations did not have a monopoly on creativity. (And paving the way, for, of all things, Netflix.) Like many at the time, I could not believe that the premise would possibly be interesting, but one episode and I was hooked, and I think I have seen many of the episodes more than once. Also remarkable and noteworthy is how, with the possible exception of Mandy Patinkin -- who is delightfully irrepressible, played the Devil in an episode of Touched by An Angel, and did astonishing work in Homeland -- most of the cast here more or less disappeared with the show. (Ellen Muth, for example, is still working but, no disrespect, nothing like the exposure this show gave her.) This reinforces my theory that there was something special about this show at the particular point in history it was made. The attempt to bring the cast together for a full movie in 2009, and I use the word "attempt" deliberately, was simply an embarrassment.
Review of Dead Like Me
