Television continues to function as the ultimate equalizer, and there are more networks, streaming services, and content for audiences than ever before. One television genre that's never gone out of style is the sitcom, and it's particularly interesting to see just how much this comedic style of storytelling has gotten more ambitious over time.
Laughter is often kind in the sitcom, but boundaries continue to get crossed when it comes to how that comedy is created. Sitcoms are usually viewed as light-hearted and relaxing comedies. However, there are some surprising scenarios where comedies visit dark, distressing places in the name of successful storytelling.
10 George Costanza's Fiancée, Susan, Dies From Toxic Wedding Envelopes
Seinfeld, "The Invitations"
Seinfeld was never viewed as a sentimental sitcom where characters learn lessons or end episodes in a group hug. Seinfeld was always a sitcom that tried to defy expectations regarding storytelling and structure, which could occasionally lead to some extremely dark decisions.
Seinfeld's seventh season chronicles George's engagement with Susan, and the audience is left wondering if they'll actually tie the knot. The season ends with George once again a single bachelor, but Seinfeld gets rid of Susan through her unexpected death. Susan dies, and Seinfeld's subsequent seasons involve George exploiting his widower status.
9 The Paddy's Pub Crew Lock Their Rivals In A Fiery Inferno
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, "The Gang Squashes Their Beefs"
The exquisitely crass and creative It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has beautifully blossomed from a cult comedy to FX's flagship series that's produced more than 160 episodes across 15 seasons. The owners of Paddy's Pub are even more selfish, unrepentant, and oblivious than the Seinfeld crew, and most mild episodes of Always Sunny would easily qualify as any other comedy's darkest endeavor.
After being on for so long, Always Sunny has had the luxury of delivering some self-aware installments. "The Gang Squashes Their Beefs" is a dark, reflective Thanksgiving episode that concludes with Dennis, Dee, and company locking several of their enemies in a burning building.
8 Michael Scott Breaks His Promise To A Class Of Kids
The Office, "Scott's Tots"
"Scott's Tots" is an episode of The Office that many fans have to skip during rewatches because it's such a prolonged exercise in guilt and anxiety. The perfect Office episode plot is hidden away in the controversial "Scott's Tots," and the idea of Michael truly believing, against all odds, that he'll be able to pay for a class of children's college education speaks to his woefully optimistic nature.
Many consider this to be a step too far for Michael. His mediocre attempts for redemption don't fix all of the trouble that he's caused.
7 Frasier Crane Contemplates The End When His Wife Leaves Him
Cheers, "The Girl In The Plastic Bubble"
Cheers' unnatural bar setting inherently makes it a slightly more subversive comedy. Cheers creates a successful balance between hilarious comedy and introspective character moments. Characters are actually allowed to grow and change, and Frasier Crane's seemingly perfect paramour, Lilith, leaves him in Cheers' final season.
The psychiatrist spends the majority of an episode on the roof of a building, looking down and considering the end. This dark moment is arguably Frasier's rock bottom, but it's not an event that's swept under the rug and forgotten. This low point is referenced again and reflected upon in Frasier, which also has its share of melancholy moments.
6 A Fan-Favorite Character Passes On & The Cast Confronts Their Feelings
NewsRadio, "Bill Moves On"
NewsRadio is a masterpiece workplace sitcom from the 1990s with an excellent cast and a darker sense of humor that caused it to struggle to fit in with NBC's brighter and more palatable sitcom slate. There is no shortage of dark NewsRadio episodes where delicate subjects are turned into unexpected punchlines for comedic effect.
However, NewsRadio begins Season 5 with an emotional tribute to Phil Hartman's Bill McNeal, which doubles as a real-life eulogy to Hartman, who tragically passed between seasons. The cast's performances are raw and melancholy, and this touching tribute evokes more tears than laughs.
5 An Extended Role-Playing Session Takes A Dark & Depressing Turn
Community, "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons"
Community is an ambitious postmodern sitcom that pushes the medium with limitless genre homages. Community gets credit for the bold swings that it takes with its "concept episodes," but the show also presents its characters as realistic, flawed individuals who are prone to making mistakes.
Season 2's "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" is considered to be one of Community's best episodes and a stunning tribute to tabletop gaming. It's also an angry look into depression where the antagonistic Pierce Hawthorne is at his most reprehensible. Neil's pain becomes palpable, and the lengths of Pierce's insecurities are troubling to watch.
4 Rebecca Bunch Pushes A Man Off A Roof & Goes To Jail For Attempted Murder
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, "Nathaniel Is Irrelevant"
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is four seasons of challenging, honest soul-searching for Rachel Bloom's Rebecca Bunch that uses the heightened artifice of musicals to express characters' desires, fears, and innermost thoughts. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend cleverly eschews standard hero and villain roles through its complex characters.
Rebecca makes a myriad of poor decisions until she finally fully suffers the consequences of her actions. The show's third season culminates in a series of events where Rebecca goes to prison for attempted second-degree murder. Much of the fourth and final season is set in jail, which is dark in and of itself, but it's the Season 3 finale that gets the show to this place.
3 GOB's Revelatory Pill Is A Criminal Offense
Arrested Development, "Forget Me Now"
The first three seasons of Arrested Development are truly lightning-in-a-bottle television that puts together the perfect cast and creates layered, serialized comedic storytelling that elevates sitcoms to a higher level. The deluded Bluth family routinely engages in offensive behavior in such a casual manner that it becomes shockingly normalized.
Among the Bluth family's worst ideas are GOB's "Forget-Me Nows," a pill that he's used for years to solve his problems and "erase" bad memories. Despite the cute name, these pills are just roofies, and Season 3 heavily uses "Forget-Me-Nows" as solutions.
2 The Cast Of This Family Comedy Gets Stalked & Slayed By A Slasher Villain
Boy Meets World, "And Then There Was Shawn"
Boy Meets World started as a wholesome coming-of-age family sitcom that chronicles the trials and tribulations of Cory Matthews and his friends as they mature through middle school all the way into college. Boy Meets World was no stranger to "Very Special Episodes," but the sitcom also indulged in a darker, more mature Halloween episode that functions as a tribute to the slasher genre.
"And Then There Was Shawn" turns detention into a fight for survival against a masked killer. The events of the episode are revealed to be Shawn's dream, but it's still quite jarring to see most of the cast meet grisly ends.
1 Randy Taylor Gets Emotional Over A Troubling Diagnosis
Home Improvement, "The Longest Day"
Sitcoms that would indulge in "Very Special Episodes" were omnipresent during the 1980s and '90s. These heavy-handed installments can work under the right circumstances, but more often than not, their melodramatic nature falls flat, or the actors can't rise to the occasion.
Family sitcom Home Improvement goes for broke in Season 5 when an episode teases the idea that Jonathan Taylor Thomas' Randy Taylor might have cancer. Randy's tests are ultimately negative, but the bulk of the episode is Randy lashing out in fear over the fact that he doesn't want to die. It's very different from Home Improvement's standard slapstick antics.