HBO’s “Dexter” isn’t the only cult cable television show winning awards and building an audience to rival prime time television. Showtime’s Emmy Award-winning series “United States of Tara” tells the story of a wife and mother with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

Tara Gregson is juggling PTA meetings, her job as a mural painter, two kids, a husband and several multiple personalities. Behind “United States of Tara” is Executive Producer Steven Spielberg and Creator Diablo Cody (“Juno, “Jennifer’s Body”).

The series follows Gregson as she not only attempts to manage her multiple personalities but also to delve into her past to discover what caused them in the first place.

Gregson’s alternative personalities both hinder and help the mother of two as she struggles to solve the problems of her past and present. Old-fashioned home-maker Alice appears and helps Gregson prepare baked goods for her son’s bake sale. Vietnam vet Buck is her male personality who comes out at a time when Gregson is struggling to work on the physical aspects of her marriage. To bond with her teenage daughter, Gregson transitions to her teenage alter T.

While the multiple personalities are what make the show unique, they aren’t the heart of “Tara.” Gregson’s search for her missing memories and an explanation for her disorder are the real center of the show. As her husband, children, parents and sister try to cope with all of her personalities, Gregson tries to unravel the mysteries of her past and how that has shaped who she is in the present.

If you’re tired of watching crime dramas and procedurals or are just trying to pass the time until the next season of “Dexter,” then “United States of Tara” is definitely what you’re looking for.

The first season is out on DVD and the second season premieres Monday, March 22 at 10:30 p.m. on Showtime.

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