• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 24, 2024

Titan Caskets, the direct-to-consumer coffin company, is readying “Grave Conversations,” a talk show aimed at the lighter side of death. Each episode runs between six and eight minutes and will appear on Instagram.

The video shorts are hosted by actor David Dastmalchian, who lightens up the dark side with his deadpan approach, quizzing celebrity guests like horror film director Mike Flanagan, actor/screenwriter Kate Siegel, and actor Matthew Lillard.

All the conversations happen as Dastmalchian and his guests lounge comfortably in Titan caskets. Guests field a series of meaning-of-death-type questions in the brand’s latest efforts to offer disruptive content that normalizes conversations about death.

For example, there’s a segment called “You-logy,” where guests have 60 seconds to give their eulogy. Then there’s “Death Wish,” when they’re invited to talk about how they hope to make their final exit. (One hopes to be shot into “Shark Tank,” with his body landing at Mark Cuban’s feet.)

Dastmalchian’s Good Fiend Films produces the shows, in collaboration with Elan Gale’s TheYearOfElan Productions.

It’s the latest in the scrappy young company’s efforts to bring attention to funeral products, which it sells directly to consumers, who can choose from options that range from biodegradable seagrass baskets ($1,900) to the flame-red Commander ($4,100.) Titan then delivers to funeral homes from its five regional warehouses. Few consumers know that funeral homes are required by law to allow such transactions, and Joshua Siegel, co-founder and chief operating officer, has made educating the public part of its mission.

But that can’t happen if people won’t talk about death, and “Grave Conversations” is the latest in the company’s efforts to make that easier.

Earlier this year, Titan partnered with Ryan Reynolds’ company Maximum Effort for ads highlighting risks associated with Daylight Savings Time. It’s collaborated with Liquid Death. And it even managed to get one of its caskets a supporting role in Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” video.

Siegel won’t let on how big the company is in annual sales. “We've more than doubled in size” since raising capital for the company in mid-2022, he says. “And our new pre-planning business now serves thousands of customers each year.”