10 Dark TV Shows That Have A Sitcom Feel

Dark comedy TV shows have the unique ability to bounce between meaningful and deep storylines and comedy. These enthralling TV shows embrace the absurd hilarity of humanity while pushing boundaries, exploring societal issues, and challenging expectations. A delicate balance between humor and darkness can make each aspect of the TV show feel stronger and more prominent. The dark and tragic nature of life can be highlighted in contrast to comedic scenes, and life’s chaotic joys and eccentricities are better appreciated in the face of brutal reality and darkness.

Mind-bendingly dark TV shows often contain complex and multidimensional portrayals of human nature, morality, and emotions. When mixed with comedy, these shows explore the intricacies of humanity in an enjoyable and amusing manner. Ranging from satire to tragicomedy, dark TV shows with a sitcom feel are captivating and unparalleled experiences for audiences and can leave them laughing and crying.

10 Bad Sisters (2022-Present)

Bad Sisters is a black comedy series that revolves around a group of sisters on their mission to murder their abusive and controlling brother-in-law, John Paul Williams (Claes Bang). The award-winning series follows the Garvey sisters as they hide their murderous plot from their sister Grace (Anne-Marrie Duff) who is married to John Paul. Stephen King praised Bad Sisters for its villain, John Paul, whose behavior as an abuser and manipulator makes him a chillingly realistic monster.

Bad Sisters balances the truly dark premise of the show and the character of John Paul with heartwarming and comedic scenes between the lovable Garvey sisters. The sisters’ dynamic as their murder attempts continue to fail in increasingly implausible ways makes the dark TV show a surreal yet highly enthralling experience. Bad Sisters explores dark themes such as grief, sexual assault, and abuse and the show shines due to its comedic charm and well-developed character dynamics. Bad Sisters season 2 premiered on Apple TV+ on November 13, 2024.

9 WandaVision (2021)

The groundbreaking Marvel Studios TV seriesWandaVision is a brilliant exploration of grief and loss through the usage of meta-television and sitcom tropes. WandaVision follows Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) who inadvertently creates an illusion where her husband, Vision (Paul Bethany), is still alive, and the couple are happily married with two children and living an idyllic sitcom life. WandaVision‘s depiction of Wanda’s grief and mental health used the sitcom format and tropes to highlight how Wanda was coping with her loss.

Olsen and Bethany’s chemistry and heartwarming portrayal of the tragic couple is perfectly blended with a sitcom feel of WandaVision. The Marvel show tells a heartwrenching story of love and loss through the lens of television and classic sitcom tropes. Despite revolving around grief, WandaVision emphasized the joys of love and the importance of mourning with lighthearted comedic scenes. WandaVision spawned a spin-off miniseries, Agatha All Along, following the exploits of the main antagonist Agatha Harkness (Kathyn Hahn).

8 Based On A True Story (2023-Present)

Based on a True Story a thriller that examines society’s obsession with true crime stories and explores how far true-crime enthusiasts will go to achieve fame. The comedy series Based on a True Story subverts tropes and expectations by using the sitcom classic of a zany struggling married couple that resorts to bizarre solutions to fix their financial woes. Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina) resort to monetizing a serial killer’s heinous crimes by creating a podcast.

Based on a True Story is a perfect blend of thrills and comedy with its usage of misunderstandings, plot twists, and witty dialogue. In spite of its comedic elements, Based on a True Story is a dark and gore-filled show revolving around true crime and murders. The dark TV show goes from horror to comedy while exploring themes of the ethics of true crime content and morality. Based on a True Story season 2 was released on November 21, 2024, on Peacock.

7 The Flight Attendant (2020-2022)

The Flight Attendant is a dark mystery thriller based on a novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. The HBO Max series follows Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco), a flight attendant and alcoholic who finds herself entrenched in a mystery after waking up in a hotel room next to a dead body. Cassie attempts to unravel the events that led to her waking up next to the murdered stranger while doubting her own innocence.

The character-driven The Flight Attendant is perfectly cast with Kaley Cuoco embodying the messy yet lovable protagonist Cassie as she struggles with her alcoholism and her hallucinations of the deceased Alex Sokolov (Michiel Huisman). The Flight Attendant is able to switch between suspenseful thriller and comedy as Cassie maintains her charm and wit despite her struggles. Unfortunately, the award-winning show The Flight Attendant was canceled after two seasons.

6 What We Do In The Shadows (2019-Present)

What We Do in the Shadows is a comedy mockumentary series based on the film of the same name. The show follows four vampires living together in Staten Island with a familiar desperate to become a vampire as they continuously clash with humans, other vampires, and supernatural creatures. While What We Do in the Shadows is a sitcom at its core with its eccentric supernatural characters and bizarre situations, the show is filled with murder, gore, and darkness.

What We Do in the Shadows is filled with death and horror as the vampires brutally murder and drink the blood of unsuspecting humans with no remorse. The show features ancient vampires’ struggle and inability to navigate present-day New York City and the difficulties of existing in the modern digital and capitalist world. What We Do in the Shadows puts its powerful and old-fashioned vampires into hilarious and absurd scenarios, making the show a comedic delight. What We Do in the Shadow’s final season started premiering on October 21, 2024, and the series finale will air on December 16, 2024.

5 Dead To Me (2019-2022)

Dead to Me is tragicomedy TV show revolving around two women who met in a grief support group and form an unbreakable bond. Jen Harding (Christina Applegate), a realtor with anger issues is mourning her husband who was killed in a hit-and-run. Jen meets Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini) in a grief support group and the duo form an unlikely bond. Jen’s dedication to solving her husband’s hit-and-run case and Judy’s need to help and support Jen, despite being the hit-and-run driver make the friends a compelling dynamic.

Despite the dark and tragic premise, Dead to Me provides audiences with moments of levity, joy, friendship, and laughter amidst the stressful high-stakes thrills and suspense. Dead to Me’s unexpected friendship creates a dark narrative about guilt, rage, revenge, justice, and moral ambiguity through its flawed yet lovable main characters. Jen’s grief and rage over her husband’s death along with Judy’s guilt over the accident creates a perfect storm of emotional devastation and comedy.

4 BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)

The adult animated dark comedy series BoJack Horseman is set in Hollywood in a surreal alternate world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist. BoJack Horseman revolves around the titular character, an anthropomorphic horse who is a washed-up star of a 1990s sitcom. The intelligent show follows BoJack Horseman, a depressed, self-loathing, self-destructive, and alcoholic horse who strives to return to fame.

BoJack Horseman seamlessly shifts from brutally realistic life lessons to comedy as it explores themes like addiction, mental health, and sexual harassment. The absurd comedy takes a deep dive into BoJack’s character and unravels how his childhood trauma, failures, and mental health impact him and the decisions he makes. The deep dive helps make BoJack a multi-faceted character that audiences can sympathize with, despite his cruel actions. Despite its appearance as an ordinary adult animated comedy, BoJack Horseman often addresses real issues, cementing the show as a deep, meaningful, and hilarious tragicomedy series.

3 Barry (2018-2023)

Barry is a crime drama black comedy series starring Bill Hader as the titular character Barry Berkman. The show follows Barry, the U.S. Marine turned hitman struggling with his guilt, trauma, depression, and loneliness. After Barry follows a target into an acting class, he finds his passion for acting and a purpose in life. The dark and thought-provoking TV show focuses on Barry’s attempts to start a new life as an actor and distance himself from his past acts as a hitman.

The juxtaposition between Barry’s life as a heartless hitman and his life as a budding actor perfectly represents the show, as Barry switches between thrilling suspense and violence to comedy in typical black comedy behavior. The dark TV show Barry is filled with chaotic and quirky characters that keep audiences hooked and entertained. The show’s in-depth exploration of Barry’s motivations, redemption arc, and tragic yet fitting end solidifies it as one of the best dark TV shows with comedic elements.

2 Beef (2023-Present)

Beef is an exploration of rage and frustration sparked by a road rage incident that spirals into an obsessive vendetta. Small business owner Amy Lau (Ali Wong) and contractor Danny Cho’s (Steven Yeun) road rage encounter takes over their lives as the incident begins to consume their thoughts and they embark on a mission to get revenge. Beef begins its exploration of rage through a seemingly petty interaction as a moment of road rage kickstarts an obsessive spiral that consumes the lives of both parties.

The presumably comedic and bizarre premise unveils how financial difficulties, cultural identity, and frustration can spark an all-consuming rage that destroys lives. Beef’s absurd premise provides the perfect base for humor. Meanwhile, Amy and Danny’s inner turmoil and their shared connection make it a flawless blend of dark themes and comedy. Beef season 2 was confirmed in October 2024.

1 Kevin Can F*** Himself (2021-2022)

Kevin Can F*** Himself is the quintessential dark TV show that has a sitcom feel as the fresh and creative dark comedy’s cinematography switches between the bright sitcom setting and the dark and gritty drama setting. The unique show follows Allison McRobers (Annie Murphy), a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage with the man-child Kevin (Eric Petersen) after she decides to murder her husband. Kevin Can F*** Himself utilizes the stereotypical sitcom format as a narrative device that showcases different perspectives of Allison’s life.

Kevin Can F*** Himself’s scenes with Kevin are portrayed like a bad sitcom, overly bright and filled with misogynistic jokes backed with laughter tracks. However, as soon as Kevin leaves the show switches to the typical drama format, bleak and gritty but more realistic. The dark TV show utilizes the stereotypical sitcom format as a narrative device that showcases different perspectives of Allison’s life, seamlessly switching between comedy and drama.