Comedy Drama

[optimusskids]

What is a comedy drama ?

It seems to be one of those terms like romantic-comedy that gets hung on programmes or films which don't really fit into it but it's easier to sell it that way . I imagine someone pitching it to some suits using power-point so what we have here is a comedy drama. In fact I can't remember the last time something was marketed as a just a straight romance when there was the minutest element of humour in their which meant it could be plugged as a rom-com

For example the recent prequel to Only Fools and Horses, Rock and Chips was definitely a drama and it may have had some lighter elements in it but I wouldn't have called it a comedy despite its relationship to Only Fools and Horses

It's not as if anyone felt the need to label other genres in this fashion.

Buffy or NCIS has humorous moments but no-one has felt the need to label them as Comedy-Fantasy or Comedy Crime Procedural

Here is the official definition

Comedy-drama, also called dramedy or seriocomedy,[1] is a style of television, theatre and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content.

What do people think?

What are good examples of Comedy Dramas

[Wildrider]

'Ally McBeal', 'Sex and the City'? 'Desperate Housewives'?That lawyer thing with Johnny Lee Miller? Although the latter is a bit sci-fi isn't it? But I stand by the first three. Ooh ooh! 'Diagnosis Murder'! What?

Having sat through all of them with my ex at length, they all have dramatic undertones, but branch regularly into bouts of comedy without losing the dramatic narrative.

There's probably a reason the only examples I can think of are what I consider to be aimed at a primarily female audience, probably because the male of the species lack the sophistication or book smarts to handle the two side by side.
Besides as men we tend to like either or rather than simultaneous, we can't multi-task so I've been told.

Some things like Scrubs and Ugly Betty are pure comedy, due to their reticent goofiness and random surrealist moments, certainly any intended dramatic sub-plots in Scrubs are often rended moot by a musical number, which is ace.

Outside the medium of Television it's probably a lot more subjective as you have a variety of cult odd ball films that have dramatic and comedic themes in equal parts. Films like 'Fargo' and 'Three Kings' perhaps?

Directors such as the Cohen Brothers, David O'Russell and to a lesser extent Wes Anderson tend to make films with a dramatic and comedic theme in unison, but media is open to interpretation, some others may regard them as film noir, action comedy, war porn, odd ball, or cult.

Much like yourself I rarely isolate myself to a particular genre and try an enjoy each film on it's own merit and try not to think too much about whether I should be liking it or not based on what box I can, or can not, put it into.

Besides I regard 'American Psycho' as one of the best comedies around, but is it a pure comedy? Parody? Horror (hardly)?

*shrug*

[Halfshell]

Here is the official definition

According to the National Department of Fiction?

[CounterPunch]

Something such as Burn Notice I would consider a comedy drama, it has serious undertones, and while I am only a few episodes in, all the episodic plots (and the over arching plot also) are vary serious, but the characters are funny. Chuck... Leaning more on the comedy side? Altho that is fairly "drama/action" orientated.

[inflatable dalek]

I suspect the reason for Only Fools Would Keep Making More Only Fools And Horses being branded a comedy drama rather than a comedy is that someone's finally noticed the complete lack of comedy in episodes since 1996.

[Denyer]

I prefer "dramatic comedy" as there doesn't tend to be enough comedy for it to come first in the description...

The Book Group is something I think would class as one. And I suppose I'd grudgingly put Ugly Betty in the category, since apparently it's meant to be amusing.

[Cliffjumper]

Oh, come on, an attractive woman made up to look frumpty wears stupid clothes. How hilarious is that?

Doctor Who?

[optimusskids]

According to the National Department of Fiction?

Yup and you better not annoy them as Fiction has all the best Criminal and Killers.

[Heinrad]

Due South is a good example of comedy/drama, as well as underscoring the differences in attitudes between the US and Canada.

CSI's a good comedy/drama, though that might be more to do with gallows humor......