After a huge amount of publicity and hype, “The Big C” premiered on Showtime last night. The show is a comedy about something a lot of people don't like to talk about, let alone laugh over: cancer.

Laura Linney plays a middle aged woman who’s just been diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma, and given about 18 months to live. In the first episode, Linney's character, Cathy, confides her diagnosis to just one entity: the neighbor’s dog.

"I'm living the dream!" she shouts. "I'm here all year! Performing at Stage 4! Oh come on, come on, you gotta give it up for me a little bit. It's kind of funny? Death comedy." She laughs. And then starts to cry.