Television is an incredibly versatile medium that’s been able to evolve with the times in groundbreaking ways, allowing for superlative programs like BoJack Horseman to come into existence. BoJack Horseman is one of the most polished series ing a time where there’s been a push for emotionally draining storytelling.

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There’s a lot about BoJack Horseman that comes together in an immaculate manner – culminating into a powerful piece of television – but there’s still a decent number of fans who are specifically drawn to the show's melodrama. BoJack Horseman has successfully ended on its own terms, but there are several shows out there likely to bring on the waterworks.

10 Tuca & Bertie Navigates Through People’s Thirties With Heavy Honesty

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It’s easy to draw parallels between Tuca & Bertie and BoJack Horseman purely on an aesthetic level as both series revolve around anthropomorphic animals with character designs by Lisa Hanawalt. There’s a lot of the same DNA in Tuca & Bertie, but the show has a very different aim with its focus on female friendship and the obstacles that plague people in their early thirties. Tuca & Bertie is still unflinching when it comes to its characters and their trauma, but the core friendship between the central cast is a lovable life preserver that’s the perfect salve for the series' raw questions.

9 The Pearson Family In This Is Us Reckon With An Endless Avalanche Of Pain

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 This Is Us became a breakthrough hit for NBC due to a compelling generational structure that's able to maximize trauma across multiple periods of time. This Is Us' Pearson family are supposed to just be a typical slice of America, but the amount of emotional torture that they've experienced makes it seem like they're cursed.

8 Dead To Me Shows People At Their Worst Before Building Them Back Up

TV Applegate and Cardellini in Dead to Me

Black comedies have become increasingly in vogue, but Netflix’s Dead to Me is so bleak that it’s easy to forget the series in a comedy at all. Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini’s fearless performances anchor the emotionally fraught series that hinges upon a devastating lie which unexpectedly links these two pained individuals together.

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Dead to Me is frequently drowning in intense emotions. The plotting can sometimes get away from itself or grow contrived, but the performances always ring true and explore fascinating co-dependent territory.

7 Derek Is A Delicate Glimpse At Humanity That’s Too Pure For This World

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Ricky Gervais became an iconic name in television after creating the original Office, as well as Extras. Gervais has built a reputation around being callous and uncensored, which makes his series Derek such an odd breath of fresh air. Derek is easily Gervais' most tender and patient piece of work. Gervais stars as Derek Noakes, a mild-mannered employee who works at a mundane retirement home. Derek shines an honest, unglamorous light on the retirement home's characters and captures beautiful moments of humanity rather than mocking people who have been overlooked by society.

6 Moral Orel Is A Crushing Examination Of The Loss Of Faith And A Lost Life

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Adult Swim is the home for extremely edgy and mature programs, but Moral Orel is easily one of the network’s most depressing endeavors. Moral Orel started as a tongue-in-cheek parody of claymation programs like Davey and Goliath that had baked-in religious messages. Moral Orel begins with a dark undertone, but quickly gets swallowed up by nihilism, often expressed by the broken nature of Orel’s alcoholic father. The series' depiction of a broken marriage and a community full of lost souls is haunting to this day and makes for a difficult watch.

5 Six Feet Under Immerses Itself In Non-Stop Death

The Fishers attend a funeral in Six Feet Under

It should come as no surprise that a dramatic series set at a family’s funeral home business and constantly confronting death is also an exceptionally sad piece of television. Six Feet Under was a landmark HBO drama that helped establish a more mature style of storytelling that couldn’t be found elsewhere.

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Nate Fisher’s pull back into his family’s orbit leads to some brutal developments for every member of the family, but each episode features a funeral and grieving family. Six Feet Under is as much about the celebration of life as it is about death, but it still frequently creates emotionally draining sequences.

4 Rick and Morty Highlights How Extreme Intelligence Is The Ultimate Curse

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Rick and Morty is an extremely hilarious animated series that engages in some of the most layered and ambitious parodies on television. The series has become so much more than just a silly science fiction show and one of the most important developments for Rick and Morty is understanding the weight of unexpectedly dramatic storytelling. The series has essentially made Rick and Morty Gods at this point with everything that they can accomplish. Rick and Morty never fails to highlight the existential dread and pain that accompanies such wanton displays of disregard for reality.

3 Parenthood Unleashes A Lifetime Of Problems On The Resilient Braverman Clan

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Parenthood, a loose adaptation of the emotional movie of the same name, ran for six strong seasons on NBC and in many ways feels like a prototype of This Is Us. Parenthood is a lot more subtle with the melodrama that consumes the many members of the extended Braverman family, but they still experience a litany of problems including infidelity, unemployment, major health concerns, death, and so much more. Parenthood finds an effective balance between its sweet moments of victory and when the oppressive nature of life attacks, but it can still be a heavy experience.

2 The Handmaid's Tale Begins In A Grueling Dystopia That Only Gets Worse

June reflects on her actions in The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale was the first big prestige program for Hulu and helped put the streaming service on the map. That said, the series has gradually grown into a bit of a parody of itself that doubles as a grueling exercise in melodrama. The Handmaid’s Tale presents a chilling story with its disturbing alternate take on reality and Elisabeth Moss throws everything into her performance as the exhausted June Osborne/Offred. There is rampant physical, sexual, and psychological abuse in play in each season of The Handmaid’s Tale. Audiences are ready for June to finally get a happy ending, if such a thing is even possible.

1 The Leftovers’ Presentation Of The Rapture Is A Cold, Lost World

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Damon Lindelof has received lots of attention for both LOST and Watchmen, but The Leftovers is a magic trick of television. Each season feels distinctly different from the last and turns the show into an unexpectedly beautiful examination of humanity, faith, and redemption. The trippy and existential places that the third season visit elevates The Leftovers to a whole other level, but even then, the series hits devastating emotional heights. Nearly every character has either experienced substantial loss or finds themselves at an impossible impasse due to the religious implications that they’re forced to consider.

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