Karl Puschmann: Laughs after death in Pivoting, the best comedy of the year so far

Ginnifer Goodwin, Eliza Coupe and Maggie Q star in Neon's comedy Pivoting. Streaming now.

The one thing we know for certain about life is that it's gonna end. Hopefully not soon, but you never know. Yolo, etc.

Until then we muddle or power or struggle or breeze through our daily existence like horses with blinkers on, ignoring as best we can the inevitable fate awaiting us all. At least I do.

But like a professional charity collector armed with an oversized donation bucket and an aggressive attitude death can suddenly step right out in front of you and halt you in your tracks, interrupting your blissful malaise with a grim reminder of its existence and, by association, the end of yours.

This is what happens to the three women in the new series Pivoting, which is now streaming on Neon. One day they wake up to find that Coleen, their childhood friend and fourth gal in their tight group, has suddenly died. The series opens with Sarah, Amy and Jodie holding each other at her funeral.

Turning to her friend, Sarah cry-whispers, "I really did think you'd be the first to go, Amy. You know, with all the artificial sweeteners and smoking all those years. The drinking, the pills, the gluten, the jaywalking ..."

"I'm so sorry," Amy interrupts, "I promise, I will be next."

Death is no laughing matter but as that exchange shows, Pivoting is incredibly funny. One of the best comedies of the year so far. You don't even have to take my word for it, the series is sitting on a plump and juicy 100% critic score on review aggregating site Rotten Tomatoes.

Coleen's death may be the catalyst for the three friends in the show and features prominently throughout, but really Pivoting is about life. The sudden shock of losing someone dear to them ripping the blinders off and snapping their lives into focus.

Sitting at a bar after the funeral their respective lives come into focus. Sarah, a recently divorced doctor realises how burnt out she is from her ER job and how much living she's sacrificed for her career, celebrity TV chef Amy finds herself filled with regret about purposefully avoiding her two kids by working late every night while Jodie finally admits to herself what her two friends have been telling her for years, that she's in a loveless and unsupportive marriage.

Fuelled by the shock death and one too many rounds of shots the friends decide to do something about their situations, to make some changes before it's too late, to pivot into living their best lives.

For Sarah this means quitting medicine for a no-stress job packing groceries at the local supermarket. On the surface, it's the most unbelievable of the three arcs although anyone suffering from work or stress-related burnout will find it easy to sympathise.

Amy's trajectory from high-powered, sarcastic, sweary TV type to struggling with the G-rated demands of motherhood makes for some of the show's best one-liners and situations, especially as she enters into a one-sided rivalry with the family nanny who she mistakenly believes is judging her efforts.

And Jodie tackles her lousy marriage by stepping up her flirtations with her receptive, yet much younger, fitness instructor.

Anyone who has attempted to get out of a rut or instigate any sort of life change will know how difficult that actually is. It doesn't matter if it's something small like drinking more water or more challenging like cutting down spending or ramping up your exercise regime, change is hard, difficult and, at first, scary. And Pivoting reflects that.

Throughout the series, the women constantly try and fail. Sarah's studious nature alienates her from her new workmates, Amy becomes frenemies with the school principal after her cuss-filled rants influence her young son's own speech and Jodie ends up stuck in one awkward situation, and literally stuck in a pair of incredibly tight jeans, as she pursues the gym toyboy.

What keeps them going is their promise to each other and their grief, which they all struggle with. One episode centres around Amy's Herculean efforts to get Coleen's cellphone number back after it's reassigned so she can continue to call and leave voice messages to her late friend.

Aside from the whip-smart script what makes Pivoting so great is the chemistry of its three leads, Maggie Q as Sarah, Ginnifer Goodwin as Jodie and Eliza Coupe as Amy. As is often the case, Coupe's sarcastic, cursing performance steals the show but it really is an ensemble cast, each completing the other perfectly.

It may be a show about death and life but it's an incredibly breezy watch, as long as you enjoy dark humour. It's filled with outrageous situations and plenty of zippy zingers but what makes it so great is that it's such a fun hang-out show.

Or, rather, was. Despite raving critics and big audience numbers Pivoting was just killed off by its network and not picked up for a second season. Proving that even when you're on top, you never know when your number's up.