That’s what I’ve always thought. It’s sad. It takes lives, destroys lives. It’s easier to make jokes about death than cancer.

But The Big C, a new series on Showtime, makes jokes about cancer. I watched the pilot episode last night, and found that I was laughing. I laughed at cancer.

The show is about Cathy (played with humor and sadness by the amazing Laura Linney), a suburban mom, wife and high school teacher who has just received a grim cancer diagnosis. It’s implied that she’s been told she has a year to live, and refuses treatments that would only prolong the heartache and make her sick. But here’s the kicker: She doesn’t tell anyone about it. Not her husband. Not her son. Not her brother.

And the thing is, I don’t blame her. She tries to tell them in the pilot. The problem is, everyone in her life is a jerk. Her husband is immature, self-centered and petty. When she tells him she needs to talk to him and he overhears a suspicious answering machine message from her doctor, he assumes she’s having an affair. He’s throwing around hurtful words before she even has a chance to explain. Her son is a brat. He hides in the dark and pretends to be a home invader assaulting her when she arrives home. He’s lazy, rude and childish. And her brother might be the worst. He’s so wrapped up in his environmental causes and in critiquing her life that he never gives her the opportunity to get the news out.

So instead of telling her family, Cathy makes drastic and impulsive changes in her life in an attempt to figure herself out and enjoy life while she can. She kicks her husband out. She builds a pool in her tiny yard. She pours red wine all over the couch she hates. And she tells one of her students, an obese girl named Andrea (played with just the right amount of sass and sensitivity by Gabourey Sidibe) that she’ll pay her $100 for every pound she loses.

The pilot episode was fantastic. It’s well written, Laura Linney is captivating as Cathy, and I was left wondering what Cathy will do next. Will she tell anyone? How else will she change her life? We can also look forward to seeing more of Gabourey Sidibe, as well as appearances by Liam Neeson, Cynthia Nixon and Idris Elba. Start watching now because despite the main character’s dour prognosis, this show has a very bright future.