Sitcoms are known for being sweet-natured, gentle, and light-hearted. However, some of them can incorporate some rather dark themes from time to time, whether it’s for comedic shock value or to impart important lessons on the audience. Here are the ten darkest sitcoms of all time!
South Park
South Park has been running for a long time, and throughout its nearly 30 years on the air it’s ranged from goofy and hilarious to genuinely dark and upsetting. From Cartman’s vendetta against Scott Tenorman to Chef’s shocking death, the show has taken some surprising turns.
Community
Community is an iconic sitcom that helped influence much of the modern media landscape. It’s also a very dark show in places. Creator Dan Harmon’s nihilistic streak is evident in some episodes, with the only remedy to the perceived darkness of the world around us being time spent with hilarious company.
Seinfeld
Some argue Community inherited much of its darkness from shows like Seinfeld. Seinfeld was influential in bringing genuine darkness to primetime sitcoms, with its main characters often acting in immoral and unforgivable ways. In fact, the show famously ends with Jerry and his friends literally standing trial for being just the worst people ever.
It’s Always Sunny
If Seinfeld is lawful evil and Community is neutral evil, then It’s Always Sunny is chaotic evil. The adventures of the staff of Paddy’s Bar are legendarily messy, with the group even tangling with a serial killer on one occasion. It’s a relentlessly funny show with a serious mean streak.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is goofy and light-hearted most of the time, but when it wants to go dark it can really lean in. This was especially true in the show’s golden era from around Season 2 to Season 7, when episodes like “Homer’s Enemy” used darkness to underscore the show’s absurdist worldview.
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs is a very gentle and funny show that mostly plays to the strengths of the sitcom genre. However, its infamous finale has the characters facing the news that a major ice age is on the way and that dinosaurs will soon all go extinct. While this mirrors the real-world fate of the dinosaurs, it’s brutal to see the characters we grew to love over four seasons facing the existential reality of the end of their way of life.
M*A*S*H
From the jump, a military hospital might have seemed like an odd place to set a sitcom. M*A*S*H was a lighthearted and even occasionally crass show early on, but it matured throughout its run and focused on the horrors of war in some of its later seasons.
Fleabag
Fleabag isn’t a traditional sitcom, but it is a deeply funny show that still spends a lot of time contemplating loneliness, relationships, and the nature of living as a single adult in a messy world. It’s a great watch, but it might leave you a bit misty-eyed and angsty by the end.
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Scrubs
The beloved medical sitcom Scrubs was famous for pulling the rug out from under the audience at the most unexpected times. The most famous example comes during the episode “My Screw Up,” which includes a great guest appearance by Brendan Fraser. There are numerous cases where patients suddenly pass away despite the doctors’ best efforts, echoing the show’s ethos that life is precious but fleeting.
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BoJack Horseman
What starts as a funny animated sitcom about anthropomorphic animals slowly morphs into a dark, existential look at the human condition. BoJack is concerned with themes of legacy, memory, morality, justice, and, of course, mortality. Back in the 90s, you see, BoJack was in a very famous TV show, and… well, just watch it to find out.
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