The best dark comedy movies and TV shows go for the jugular. It’s not enough to just be edgy, or even malicious. You need to tap into deep, disturbing levels of discomfort… and build a summer home.
We made the ultimate list of dark comedy movies and TV shows, plus a video essay that takes a deep dive into one dark comedy, The Lobster. Let’s jump into our list of the best dark comedy movies and TV shows.
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Dark Humor Definition
What makes the best dark comedies?
Some of the movies on this list don't really set out to be dark comedies, but they still make us laugh at things that are truly unfortunate or just plain sad.
Some of the best movies in existence are dark comedies, and they are often built on cynical representations of otherwise dramatic subjects.
Other times, they are films that make us laugh despite being rather accurate representations of society or powerful institutions.
Dark Comedy Definition
What is dark comedy?
Dark comedy, black comedy or black humor is a sub-genre of comedy where commonly objectionable topics and events are used in a satirical manner as a source of humor in a narrative work. A dark comedy can be a movie, TV show, novel, podcast, or any other form of narrative art.
Dark comedies intend to make light of events that would otherwise be considered too painful to discuss. The hope is that viewers will gain a cathartic experience, or simply laugh at some absurd situation.
You will probably disagree with this list in one way or another. Maybe you don’t think a particular film should be considered a dark comedy.
We drew a very simple line...
“Do the tragic events on screen make us laugh throughout the film?”
If the answer was, “yes”, then the film was considered for our list.
We’ve defined dark humor, so here’s our list of the best dark comedies.
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Best Dark Comedy Movies
1. Fargo
The Coen Brothers created this dark comedy about greed and inferiority. The filmmaking techniques in this movie are some of the best ever, and worth study. Highly human, and a great protagonist. Oh yeah? Ah jeez.
Fargo | Truecoat
IMDB Synopsis: “Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.”
Best Black Comedies
2. American Psycho
Much like the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, this dark comedy movie directed by Mary Harron shows us that just because we're following a serial killer doesn’t mean the story has to be all gore and gloom.
Hold onto you funny bone for this dark comedy. Sorbet?
American Psycho Business Card Scene • Subscribe on YouTube
IMDB Synopsis: “A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Stanley Kubrick directed one of the earliest and truly one of the best dark comedies ever. You can't get much darker than nuclear war, and Kubrick filmed this movie made a single war room cinematic.
Dr. Strangelove | Total Commitment
IMDB Synopsis: “An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a War Room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.”
Best Black Humor Movies
4. Fight Club
This dark comedy directed by David Fincher could be considered a lot of different things, like one of the greatest films of all time, but it has the great ability to make you laugh at just pure violence.
I haven't laughed like that since grade school.
Fight Club | I Wan't You To Hit Me
IMDB Synopsis: “An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.”
Best Dark Comedies
5. Pulp Fiction
This dark comedy from Quentin Tarantino took the classic crime stories and gave them a twist. Adrenaline shots to the heart, burning pop-tarts, samurai swords, gimps, and speed bumps pave the way for this dark comedy movie that changed cinema forever.
Pulp Fiction | Ready, Honey Bunny
IMDB Synopsis: “The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
6. Burn After Reading
The Coen Brothers are mainstream filmmakers with a dark sense of humor who make dark comedies like no one else. this dark comedy begins like a John Le Carre spy novel but quickly becomes one of the best dark comedy movies of all time.
Burn After Reading | Osbourne Is Out
IMDB Synopsis: “A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
7. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Terry Gilliam can be considered a surrealist filmmaker, and each of his movies has a rich psychological theme attached. This dark comedy is centered around Hunter S. Thompson on assignment in Las Vegas.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | Somewhere Around Barstow
IMDB Synopsis: “An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.”
List of Dark Comedy Movies and TV Shows
8. The Big Lebowski
The Coen Brothers attack with one of the greatest comedy films of all time. Quite possibly their best film overall. Think this film should be number one on our dark comedy movie list?
You know what I say? Mark it zero.
The Big Lebowski | I'm The Dude
IMDB Synopsis: “Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.''
Best Dark Comedy Movies
9. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Coen Brothers show up again with this dark comedy movie that is an adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. The Coens take one of the earliest stories in history and ask “What if it was meant to be a dark comedy?”
O Brother, Where Art Thou? | Your Truly
IMDB Synopsis: “In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.”
Best Dark Comedies
10. In Bruges
Martin McDonagh broke onto the scene with this dark comedy. The entire movie is an essay on good, bad, heaven, hell, purgatory... and Bruges. It has definitely earned a place on our list of the best dark comedy movies.
In Bruges | A Lollipop Man
IMDB Synopsis: “Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.”
Best Dark Humor Films
11. Very Bad Things
This dark comedy from Peter Berg is one of the best. The rhythm of the edit, the camera movement, and the use of every department to support the theme of dark comedy show why this film is such a classic.
IMDB Synopsis: “A prostitute is killed during a bachelor party and the attendees turn on each other as the wedding approaches.”
List of Black Comedy Films
12. The Death of Stalin
Stalin’s death is far from tragic, but this dark comedy from Armando Iannuci shows us the mad dash for power in a struggling Soviet Union, and how the passing of a “great leader” is a comedy-rich subject.
IMDB Synopsis: “Moscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for power.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
13. Snatch
The dark comedy directed by Guy Ritchie showed the world how Ritchie commands tone in his films, and much like Wes Anderson or The Coen Brothers, he can jump back and forth more effectively than most.
IMDB Synopsis: “A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.”
BEST DARK COMEDIES
14. Falling Down
The dark comedy directed by Joel Schumacher is one of those $25 million dollar films you wish Hollywood would still make. The opening scene may be one of the greatest examples of sound design and emotion.
IMDB Synopsis: “An unemployed defense worker frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society, begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
15. Birdman
The dark comedy directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu not only won the Academy Award for Best Picture, but it also made a lot of people laugh at violence, sexual harassment, and Broadway. Dark stuff my friends.
Birdman
IMDB Synopsis: “A washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
16. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson’s dark comedy about a hotel concierge wrongly accused for the murder of his elderly lover may be Anderson’s best film yet. Wes Anderson is a true auteurist filmmaker, and a funny one at that.
IMDB Synopsis: “The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous hotel from the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the first and second World Wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.”
Best Dark Comedies
17. Death to Smoochy
This dark comedy directed by Danny Devito boasts a really great cast and a great premise. You need directors like Danny Devito who find the comedy in the greed that surrounds children’s entertainment.
IMDB Synopsis: “A kids show host, Rainbow Randolph, is fired in disgrace while his replacement, Sheldon Mopes, aka Smoochy the Rhino, finds himself a rising star. Unfortunately for Sheldon, the business of kids television isn't all child's play.”
List of Dark Humor Films
18. The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos directed this dark comedy before The Favourite, and his tone, location, and performances from his actors cement this as one of the best dark comedy movies that really leans into the dark comedy definition.
IMDB Synopsis: “In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
19. The Cable Guy
This dark comedy directed by Ben Stiller follows a normal guy with some mild bravery issues, and a social outcast raised by television. This film is a really great example of how to humanize your antagonist.
IMDB Synopsis: “A lonely and mentally disturbed cable guy raised on television just wants a new friend, but his target, a designer, rejects him, with bad consequences.”
Best Dark Comedies
20. Hot Fuzz
Hot Fuzz is the best of the dark comedy movies directed by Edgar Wright, because it is both the darkest and the funniest. This movie may, at times, be a parody of other films... but Wright has reinvented comedic cinema.
Hot Fuzz
IMDB Synopsis: “A skilled London police officer is transferred to a small town with a dark secret.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
21. God Bless America
Another dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait that shows, very clearly, what the definition of dark comedy means. Very rarely will you find yourself cheering on the exact person we hate to see in the news.
IMDB Synopsis: “On a mission to rid society of its most repellent citizens, terminally ill Frank makes an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
22. Raising Arizona
This is one of the first dark comedies from The Coen Brothers, and it is one of the more sadistic to boot. Nick Cage is great, The Coens really dipped into stylistic filmmaking that they scale back for later films, but never lose.
Raising Arizona
IMDB Synopsis: “When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
23. American Beauty
Sam Mendes directs this dark comedy that proved to producers that he could handle other laugh riots like... Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road and a few James Bond movies. Stars Kevin Spacey.
IMDB Synopsis: “A sexually frustrated suburban father has a midlife crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
24. Thank You For Smoking
Jason Reitman directs this dark comedy that defends the world of big tobacco or at least one human behind big tobacco. He uses cinema and cutaways in a very clever way to add the necessary style to this movie.
Thank You for Smoking
IMDB Synopsis: “Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son.”
Best Dark Comedies
25. Election
Alexander Payne directs this dark comedy about a high school class election and shows why he is one of the best American comedy directors working today. Payne would then direct Sideways and The Descendants.
IMDB Synopsis: “A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections, particularly with an obsessive overachiever determined to become student body president.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
26. Trainspotting
Danny Boyle directs this dark comedy that took junkie culture and made it both funny and a bit hard to watch… so I guess that’s just junkie culture. Double feature this with Requiem for a Dream for a fun night.
IMDB Synopsis: “Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and the influence of friends.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
27. Adaptation
Spike Jonze directs this dark comedy that allowed the world to finally get what it had been wanting for years… two servings of Nick Cage. This is another great dark comedy that also has a heart.
IMDB Synopsis: “A lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.”
Best Dark Comedies
28. Seven Psychopaths
Martin McDonagh makes his second appearance on this list with this dark comedy. He plays with cinema and screenwriting in a rather unique way and gives some nice variety from In Bruges… minus Colin Farrell.
IMDB Synopsis: “A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
29. Monty Python's Life of Brian
Terry Jones directs this dark comedy about Christianity and shows how a few changes in history could have resulted in a quarter of the world worshipping a dude named Brian. Always look on the bright side of life.
IMDB Synopsis: “Born on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
30. A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrick directs one of the more fringe dark comedies on this list, not because of the subject matter, but rather the approach. This movie is funny… but I wouldn’t blame you if you squint and tilt your head right now.
A Clockwork Orange
IMDB Synopsis: “In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.”
Best Dark Comedies
31. The Royal Tenenbaums
Call back stabbings, BBs lodged in the skin, and a HILARIOUS shaving scene are just some of the funny moments you’ll find in this dark comedy movie directed by Wes Anderson. Do you speak for everybody?
IMDB Synopsis: “The eccentric members of a dysfunctional family reluctantly gather under the same roof for various reasons.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
32. Barton Fink
Barton Fink may not be the best of the dark comedies directed by The Coen Brothers, but it definitely set the stage. If you want to see where The Coens began to build their unique film language, check this movie out.
Barton Fink
IMDB Synopsis: “A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
33. In The Loop
Armando Ianucci directs this dark comedy about the political will and desire of two countries to start a war with a very thin amount of evidence. This movie gave HBO reason to give Ianucci his own show, Veep.
IMDB Synopsis: “A political satire about a group of skeptical American and British operatives attempting to prevent a war between two countries.”
Best Dark Comedies
34. MASH
This dark comedy directed by Robert Altman would later go-on to be a popular television show. This film was instrumental in continuing the anti-war sentiment and rejection of jingoistic filmmaking during the 70s.
IMDB Synopsis: “The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horrors of war.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
35. Office Space
Mike Judd directed this dark comedy after the success of Beavis & Butthead, and created some of the best catch phrases and iconic scenes that have been beaten to death by the online meme community.
Office Space
IMDB Synopsis: “Three company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
36. Rushmore
Wes Anderson isn’t the first name that pops up when you think of dark comedy, but he should be up there. His droll film style and willingness to build selfish characters allows for a lot of good dark comedy in his films.
IMDB Synopsis: “The extracurricular king of Rushmore Preparatory School is put on academic probation.”
Best Dark Comedies
37. Shaun of the Dead
Edgar Wright directs this dark comedy that shows the early signs of a true auteur. This film would lead to another dark comedy, Hot Fuzz. The comedy is visual, which makes the film that much more effective.
IMDB Synopsis: “A man's uneventful life is disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
38. Throw Momma From The Train
This dark comedy directed by Danny Devito is sort of a meta-parody of Strangers on a Train. This movie makes great use of angles and cinematic gags to amplify the awkward moments into some true comedy.
IMDB Synopsis: “A bitter ex-husband wants his former spouse dead. A put-upon momma's boy wants his mother dead. Who will pull it off?”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
39. World’s Greatest Dad
This dark comedy directed by Bobcat Goldthwait takes some of the most uncomfortable moments and finds a way to make them truly funny. It also poses a great question, like, “What would you do in this situation?”.
IMDB Synopsis: “When his son's body is found in a humiliating accident, a lonely high school teacher inadvertently attracts an overwhelming amount of community and media attention after covering up the truth with a phony suicide note.”
Best Dark Comedies
40. Being John Malkovich
Spike Jonez directs this dark comedy written by Charlie Kaufman that shows why Jonez made the leap from skate videos and music videos into feature films, and helped change how we look at surreal directing.
Being John Malkovich
IMDB Synopsis: “A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
41. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Directed by Shane Black, this dark comedy is a great example of how dark comedies can also have a bit of a heart, and a bit of mystery. This dark comedy has something for everyone, so put it on your list.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
IMDB Synopsis: “A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
42. Death at a Funeral
Frank Oz directs this dark comedy that takes the ultimate taboo subject, death, and builds a celebration of comedy. This movie uses many of the space and blocking to keep the entire funeral connected to the comedy.
IMDB Synopsis: “Chaos ensues when a man tries to expose a dark secret regarding a recently deceased patriarch of a dysfunctional British family.”
Best Dark Comedies
43. The Foot Fist Way
Jody Hill came onto the scene with this dark comedy starring Danny McBride, and brought a truly uncomfortable experience to the screen. Truly tragic and truly funny, a film to be studied by young directors.
The Foot Fist Way
IMDB Synopsis: “An inept tae kwon do instructor struggles with marital troubles and an unhealthy obsession with fellow tae kwon do enthusiast Chuck "The Truck" Wallace.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
44. Matchstick Men
This dark comedy from Ridley Scott is not only a really well written film, but it is the go-to movie for anyone who wants to see how advanced film language can really help to build a great dark comedy.
Matchstick Men
IMDB Synopsis: “A phobic con artist and his protégé are on the verge of pulling off a lucrative swindle when the former's teenage daughter arrives unexpectedly.”
Best Dark Comedies
45. Heathers
This dark comedy directed by Michael Lehmann is all about a plot to kill the cool kids at school. Recently a Heathers TV show was created, but shelved because it was considered too inflammatory for release.
Heathers
IMDB Synopsis: “In order to get out of the snobby clique that is destroying her good-girl reputation, an intelligent teen teams up with a dark sociopath in a plot to kill the cool kids.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
46. Stretch
Joe Carnahan directs this comedy after years of making action films, and the experience shows. This is a great movie if you want to see how to blend fun, exciting sequences with gallows humor and a dark comedy spin.
Stretch
IMDB Synopsis: “A hard-luck limo driver struggles to go straight and pay off a debt to his bookie. He takes on a job with a crazed passenger, whose sought-after ledger implicates some seriously dangerous criminals.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
47. Observe and Report
This dark comedy from Jody Hill shows us Seth Rogen at his darkest. The main success of this film was having a group of characters who were unlikeable, had poor (but clear) motivations, and frightfully accurate.
IMDB Synopsis: “Bi-polar mall security guard Ronnie Barnhardt is called into action to stop a flasher from turning shopper's paradise into his personal peep show. But when Barnhardt can't bring the culprit to justice, a surly police detective is recruited to close the case.”
Best Dark Comedies
48. Happiness
Todd Solondz directs this film that is one of the best examples of a dark comedy movie that you will ever find. Solondz understands that terrible situations and pure truth are some of the quickest paths to cringe worthy laughs.
IMDB Synopsis: “The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
49. Choke
This dark comedy directed by Clark Gregg (took a sabbatical from S.H.I.E.L.D) and written by Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club) is a great example of a true dark comedy. This movie was better than the reception.
IMDB Synopsis: “A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
50. Super
This dark comedy directed by James Gunn stars Rainn Wilson as a defeated ex-husband who just wants his wife back. This film would oddly lead to Gunn directing The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & 2.
Super
IMDB Synopsis: “After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, but lacking in heroic skills.”
Best Dark Comedy Movies
51. Grosse Pointe Blank
This dark comedy from George Armitage is a great example of a dark comedy that is also a romantic comedy. It takes such a different approach to dark comedy that cuts against the tone of many films on this list.
IMDB Synopsis: “Martin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there at the same time.”
Best Dark Comedies
52. The Rules of Attraction
This dark comedy directed by Roger Avary is… not as good as American Psycho, but it definitely doesn’t hide. If you’ve ever had a doubt about youth and their complicity in their own problems, watch this film.
IMDB Synopsis: “The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.”
List of Dark Comedy Films
53. Drop Dead Gorgeous
This dark comedy directed by Michael Patrick Jann is a mockumentary style film about vanity, competition, and the lengths people will go to achieve even the smallest and most trivial of victories.
IMDB Synopsis: “A small-town beauty pageant turns deadly as it becomes clear that someone will go to any lengths to win.”
Related Posts
Best Dark Comedy TV Shows
1. South Park
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the kings of dark comedy. They have provided the purest form of social satire for 22 years, and have reinvented how people approach animation, dark comedy, and TV in general.
3 Types of Satire Explained • Subscribe on YouTube
IMDB Synopsis: “Follows the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.”
Best Dark Comedies on Television
2. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Rob McElhenny and Glenn Howerton created one of the best dark comedy shows ever made. The filmmaking style shows that camera placement and camera movement are just as important to comedy as the performances.
IMDB Synopsis: “Five friends with big egos and slightly arrogant attitudes are the proprietors of an Irish pub in Philadelphia.”
Best Dark Comedy Shows
3. Rick and Morty
Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland created this dark comedy that has captured the hearts of eight year olds and forty-somethings everywhere. This is one of the best animated dark comedy shows of all time.
Rick and Morty
IMDB Synopsis: “An animated series that follows the exploits of a super scientist and his not-so-bright grandson.”
Best Dark Comedy TV Shows
4. The Larry Sanders Show
Dennis Klein and Garry Shandling created this dark comedy show about the complicated, awkward, and depressing world behind late night television. This show influence both 30 Rock and... Entourage?
The Larry Sanders Show
IMDB Synopsis: “A comedic behind the scenes look at a late night talk show.”
Best Dark Comedies on Television
5. Veep
Armando Ianucci created this dark comedy show about the realities behind a political career, and has found a way to make the most objectionable dialogue somewhat charming. Check in out on HBO.
Veep
IMDB Synopsis: “Former Senator Selina Meyer finds that being Vice President of the United States is nothing like she hoped and everything that everyone ever warned her about.”
Best Dark Comedy Shows
6. Family Guy
Created by Seth MacFarlane and David Zuckerman, this show dips into dark comedy and reference humor as much as it can before returning to the saccharine sitcom morality for one more sarcastic joke.
IMDB Synopsis: “In a wacky Rhode Island town, a dysfunctional family strive to cope with everyday life as they are thrown from one crazy scenario to another.”
Best Dark Comedy TV Shows
7. Louie
Louis C.K. created this dark comedy show, and it is one of the best to contribute to the genre. Difficult conversations, tragedy, and laughs everywhere.
IMDB Synopsis: “The life of Louie C.K., a divorced comedian living in New York with two kids.”
Best Dark Comedies on Television
8. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David created this dark comedy about himself. How his life is basically one big dark joke that includes hundreds of millions of dollars, rainy golf courses, and having to live with himself. One of the best.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
IMDB Synopsis: “The life and times of Larry David and the predicaments he gets himself into with his friends and complete strangers.”
Best Dark Comedy Shows
9. The Office
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant created this dark comedy show that ran in the UK before being adapted into the American version. The UK version of the show is much darker, and that’s why it made this list.
IMDB Synopsis: “The story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.”
Best Dark Comedy TV Shows
10. Eastbound & Down
This dark comedy show created by Ben Best, Jody Hill, and Danny McBride is one of those shows that makes you look away while you watch. Each season deals with Kenny Powers in a unique way, and stays fresh.
Eastbound and Down
IMDB Synopsis: “Many years after he turned his back on his hometown, a burned-out major league ballplayer returns to teach Physical Education at his old middle school.”
Best Dark Comedies on Television
11. Peep Show
Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, and Andre O’Connor created this dark comedy show that films predominantly from each character’s point of view. What would it be like to see the world from someone else's eyes?
Peep Show
IMDB Synopsis: “Mark and Jez are a couple of twenty-something roommates who have nothing in common - except for the fact that their lives are anything but normal. Mayhem ensues as the pair strive to cope with day-to-day life.”
Best Dark Comedy Shows
12. Archer
Adam Reed created this animated dark comedy show that really needs to work on its phrasing. Black turtlenecks and off-black turtlenecks have never been so funny… or covered in vodka. A great show for yucks.
Archer
IMDB Synopsis: “Covert black ops and espionage take a back seat to zany personalities and relationships between secret agents and drones.”
Best Dark Comedy TV Shows
13. Fargo
This dark comedy anthology created by The Coen Brothers and Noah Hawley is a great example of how a great movie can be adapted into a pretty outstanding show. Each episode give you something new.
IMDB Synopsis: “Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. Yet all of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota.”
Best Dark Comedy Shows
14. BoJack Horseman
This animated dark comedy created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg shows that having a ridiculous name won’t stop you from your own Netflix series. This is a truly unique show, and uses animation to its full advantage.
BoJack Horseman
IMDB Synopsis: “BoJack Horseman was the star of the hit TV show "Horsin' Around" in the '90s, now he's washed up, living in Hollywood, complaining about everything, and wearing colorful sweaters.”
Best Dark Comedy TV Shows
15. Pushing Daisies
Bryan Fuller created this dark comedy show that brought Lee Pace into the conversation as a leading man in Hollywood. They also mixed interesting cinematic techniques like stop motion to add dark humor of the show.
Pushing Daisies
IMDB Synopsis: “A pie-maker, with the power to bring dead people back to life, solves murder mysteries with his alive-again childhood sweetheart, a cynical private investigator, and a lovesick waitress.”
Best Dark Comedies on Television
16. Shameless
Paul Abbott and John Wells created this dark comedy show that takes no prisoners and leaves no survivors. You can see a truly frantic world filmed to perfection that will leave you wondering if you should be smiling so much.
Shameless
IMDB Synopsis: “A scrappy, fiercely loyal Chicago family makes no apologies.”
Best Dark Comedy Shows
17. Trailer Park Boys
Mike Clattenberg created this dark comedy show about a group of ex-cons in a Canadian trailer park that became a cult sensation. This FREE 7 part masterclass will help create your own television show from start to finish.
IMDB Synopsis: “Three petty felons have a documentary made about their lives in a trailer park.”
Up Next
List of the Best Comedy Movies
Now that you have a list of the best dark comedies, why not zoom back and check out a list of the best comedy movies of all time.
Up Next: Best Comedy Movies of All Time →
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