Who doesn’t love a good comedy show? From skits and sketches to slapstick and sight gags, comedy has the power to brighten even the darkest of days. Some shows, though, start out as pure comedy and evolve into something far more complex — blending humor with deeper, often darker, dramatic threads. These shows challenge expectations and sometimes even redefine their own identity. Many began life as a simple source of laughs but eventually grew into narratives that resonate on multiple emotional levels.
From unexpected plot twists to the exploration of real-world struggles, these eight comedies-turned-dramedies demonstrate that laughter and heartfelt emotion needn’t be mutually exclusive.
‘Boy Meets World’ (1993 – 2000)
Starting when lead protagonist Cory Matthews was just 11 years old, the first season of Boy Meets World plays out like your run-of-the-mill school comedy in the vein of early Saved by the Bell. Cory and his friends face typical preteen challenges involving crushes, school problems, and wanting to be “cool.”
From Schoolboy Antics to Adult Decisions
Lasting seven years, the show follows them as they progress from childhood to adulthood. As they grow, so does the nature of their challenges. It can be argued that Season 4, Episode 8 — when Shawn approaches Cory about letting a girl who is abused by her father stay at his house — was the moment the show evolved from a typical teen comedy into something deeper. Later episodes explored more dramatic and mature themes, including sexual harassment, underage alcohol abuse, and poverty.
‘Sex and the City’ (1998 – 2004)
Following the romantic and professional lives of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha as they navigate life in the Big Apple, Sex and the City witnessed a shift from a breezy, feel-good comedy series into something altogether deeper.
Audiences Grew Emotionally Attached to the Characters
With the stories weaving in more serious explorations of issues like vulnerability, heartbreak, aging, cancer, and infertility, viewers grew increasingly invested in the show’s cast of characters, helping it become one of the most successful and enduring shows of its time.
‘Morel Orel’ (2005 – 2008)
Morel Orel is a stop-motion, adult animated comedy series that follows the titular Orel Puppington, a young, happy-go-lucky, and naïve Protestant as he fights to maintain his commitment to God in an increasingly morally corrupt world. The first two seasons were praised for their quirky, satirical humor, while the third, bleaker season cemented its status as a cult classic.
Things Got Very Dark
In the first two seasons, Morel Orel is predominantly a straightforward satire of the archetypes of Middle American suburban life, modern-day White Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture, and religious fundamentalism. However, this all changed with the final two-part episode of Season 2, which delves into profound emotional territory, exploring themes of parental neglect, trauma, and the loss of innocence, setting the tone for Season 3.
Season 3 saw a shift in the series from a satirical comedy to a nihilistic and bleak psychological drama, exploring heavy topics such as child sexual abuse, rape, abortion, and latent homosexuality.
‘Saved by the Bell’ (1989 – 1993)
A continuation of Good Morning, Miss Bliss (which has since been renamed Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years), Saved by the Bell sees Zack Morris, Lisa Turtle, and Screech progress from junior high into Bayside High, where they befriend A.C. Slater and Jessie Spano. The show follows the group of friends as they navigate teenage life and the ups and downs of high school. While the show begins as your typical lighthearted, high school teen sitcom, it later began to touch on more serious social issues such as drug use, driving under the influence, homelessness, remarriage, death, women’s rights, and environmental issues.
The Drama Gradually Increased
Saved by the Bell’s evolution was gradual but noticeable. The Junior High Years was focused on childish school antics, but following the transition to Bayside High, the show began to introduce a few “teachable moments,” touching on things like cheating on tests and lying to impress.
From Season 3 onwards, these “teachable moments” became more serious in nature, with notable moments including Jessie’s caffeine pill addiction and Zack’s drunk driving accident. As the teens aged and approached adulthood, the series started reflecting bigger anxieties of teenagers, moving away from high school hijinks and shifting towards issues like relationships, future planning, and identity.
‘Only Fools and Horses’ (1981 – 2003)
Spanning seven series and multiple specials, Only Fools and Horses is set in working-class London and follows the life of Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter, his younger brother Rodney, and their hare-brained “get rich quick” schemes. Full of eccentric, well-developed supporting characters and brilliantly crafted storytelling, it combines sharp wit with genuine heart and emotional depth, making it among the most beloved British sitcoms of all time.
‘Only Fools and Horses’ Was Ahead of Its Time
Only Fools and Horses started as a hilarious but fairly formulaic sitcom following a similar structure to its contemporaries, relying on familiar character dynamics and recurring set-ups. However, as it evolved, it began to focus heavily on character development and emotional storytelling instead of the one-liners and episodic comedy most sitcoms at the time were built around. This blend of laugh-out-loud humor, soul, depth, and long-form storytelling is evident in more recent, critically acclaimed sitcoms like The Office, Ted Lasso, Scrubs, and BoJack Horseman, but was relatively unheard of during the ‘80s.
‘Scrubs’ (2001 – 2010)
Unlike most shows on this list, Scrubs’ shift from pure comedy to dramedy is far less straightforward. Its tone swung between slapstick, absurdism, and drama throughout its run. It began as a gag-driven sitcom with quick-fire jokes and an undercurrent of dark humor. Season 2 omitted much of that darkness, establishing it as a typical, yet slightly zany, sitcom.
From Season 4 onwards, it leaned heavily into surreal cutaways and absurdist comedy. Following this shift in tone, it gradually began to weave in emotional depth, poignant character arcs, and heavier themes alongside its wacky humor.
‘Scrubs’ Is a Show of Many Styles
It wasn’t long, though, before the pendulum swung once again. After what was meant to be the final season — which had adopted a suitably reflective and nostalgic tone — the show continued, and Season 9 aired less than a year after the “finale.”
Essentially, it was a different show with a different style and a cast of mostly different characters. The tone was more akin to a traditional sitcom — brighter visuals, more structured gags, and fewer of the surreal cutaways that had defined earlier Scrubs. While it tried to mix in heartfelt stories, it never found the same tonal balance, which is why many fans don’t count it as “real” Scrubs and it received mixed reviews from critics.
Now to see which direction they’ll be taking the upcoming reboot.
‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ (1990 – 1996)
Before the Oscar win, the controversy, and the blockbuster smashes including Independence Day, Bad Boys, and Men in Black, Will Smith was making rap records under the name The Fresh Prince with his friend Jeffrey Allen Townes, a.k.a. DJ Jazzy Jeff. The duo’s family-friendly, curse-free brand of hip-hop found great success and won them the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance, landing Smith directly on the mainstream’s radar. As a result, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was pitched to Smith, who reluctantly accepted the role despite having never acted before — the rest, as they say, is history.
‘The Fresh Prince’ Began To Address Important Social Issues
While the show started as a typical fish-out-of-water family sitcom, it later began to introduce more dramatic themes into its narratives. A pivotal moment was the change in Aunt Vivian’s actress from Janet Hubert-Whitten to Daphne Maxwell Reid in Season 4, which coincided with the show’s move to explore heavier themes.
Instead of just jokes, The Fresh Prince began to address complex issues such as discrimination, identity, and familial struggles in a more profound way.
‘M*A*S*H’ (1972 – 1983)
Starting life as a broad comedy show using slapstick and outlandish antics to satirize the absurdities of war, M*A*S*H revolves around a group of doctors and staff at a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War. Lasting an impressive 11 years, it was one of the most popular shows of its era, adept at adapting and evolving with the times to remain relevant, fresh, and exciting.
‘M*A*S*H’ Was Used To Highlight the Horrors of War
One of the key ways in which M*A*S*H stayed fresh was its willingness to introduce deeper and more dramatic themes. By the end of its run, it had become more than just a comedy show — it was a tool to highlight the darker realities of war, focusing on issues around mental health, loss, trauma, and the ethical dilemmas faced by wartime doctors.