Michael Hall

Will Brenda break up Nate and Lisa's happy little home? Will David and Keith salvage their relationship? And will Ruth finally get a life? Gaywatch recently got some "Six Feet Under" scoop from Alan Poul, the show's openly gay executive producer (not to be confused with Alan Ball, the openly gay creator of the show).

When HBO unearthed the third season premiere of "Six Feet Under" on Sunday, March 2, we (eventually) found out that Fisher brother Nate (Peter Krause) survived brain surgery. Alive and well, he is now wed to Lisa (Lili Taylor), and they are raising their daughter Maya together.

Nate's ex-lover Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), who took off to get her act together last season, was seen only in a fantasy sequence in episode one. But don't fret. One of the show's most complex and fascinating characters, Brenda will return, although we won't see her back in Los Angeles until the March 30 episode.

"Last season was what we call her 'dark sexual journey.' David had his in the first season. Brenda had hers in the second season," Poul says. "This season, her particular journey will be quite different. We needed to give the character some space so she could go away, get out of that rut she was in and get her shit together. We wanted her to come back and be credibly changed. She does come back quite a different person, and I think that her story has a different level of surprises this year."

Meanwhile, David (Michael C. Hall) and Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) will continue working out their disputes in couples counseling. These two are dealing with some major issues, but their counseling session scenes in the season opener of "Six Feet Under" were quite funny.

"It was really important for them to actually go through the process of doing conscious work on their relationship," Poul says. "But it was also really important to lighten them up a little bit. And anyone who is in couples counseling knows -- if you step back and take a look at it -- it can be pretty fucking funny. It's something you need to do, but there is also an inherent absurdity in the situation. That's what we're trying to capture."

The March 16 installment of the show finds David and Keith taking off for what they hope will be a therapeutic romantic weekend at a resort outside Los Angeles. But the place isn't exactly what they expected.

And how about Ruth (Frances Conroy) and Claire (Lauren Ambrose)? While Claire "dates" the crematory worker ("Trick's" J.P. Pitoc) she hooked up with in the first episode of the season, she'll also grow closer to sensitive schoolmate Russell (Ben Foster). Ruth visits her sister (Patricia Clarkson) and makes friends with a wild woman named Bettina, played by guest star Kathy Bates, who will also direct episodes of the show this season.

"As you begin to see in episode two [airing March 9], Bettina opens Ruth up to a new range of experiences and teaches her how to take a bigger bite out of life," Poul reveals. "Although she takes Ruth down some paths that might not be strictly legal, she's definitely a positive influence, helping Ruth learn to find her own happiness."

Bettina isn't the only intriguing new character. Guest star Catherine O'Hara proved hysterical as Carol, Lisa's insane boss and landlord, on the third season opener. Don't get too attached to Carol, though. "She's really only in the first three episodes," Poul says. "That's not to say that she's gone forever, but in terms of the story arc, that was about as far as the character could go." (FYI: Poul says that O'Hara's funniest scenes will be featured on the March 16 episode of the show.)

While "Six Feet Under" will weave plenty of humor into its storylines this season, Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) will have some more serious issues to contend with. For starters, he's no longer just an employee at the funeral home; he's also a partner in the business, and he resents the way the Fisher brothers inadvertently treat him like an underling. Poul adds, "Later in the season, starting about midway through, Rico's home life is going to become a major focus. His domestic situation is going to reach a real crisis point, so Rico is going to be going through some extreme emotional ups and downs that are much more intense than anything we've seen so far."