"Dramedy" is a neologism formed from a combination of the words
Drama and
Comedy to describe a genre of film and television, such as
M*A*S*H, blurring genre lines to combine comedy and drama elements in a consistent fashion. Though this has become popular in recent times, one of the first times the two genres were ever combined was in the
Charlie Chaplin film
The Kid, making this
Older Than They Think.
Dramedies sometimes make use of
Magic Realism. Due to its nature, the genre is especially vulnerable to
Mood Whiplash. Despite Dramedies often having serious plotlines, expect to see them get lumped in with the sitcoms come award season.
Examples:
- Adventureland
- Ally Mc Beal
- Aqui No Hay Quien Viva
- La Que Se Avecina
- Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
- Being Human
- The Big C
- Bittersweet Candy Bowl
- Bones — started as straight Police Procedural, but is definitely a dramedy now.
- Boston Legal
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer - and in fact virtually all of Joss Whedon's oeuvre (see below)
- Burn Notice - and in fact pretty much all USA original series
- Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe - a telemovie spinoff
- Castle
- Chuck
- Community
- Crownies
- Daria
- Dead Last
- Dead Like Me
- Desperate Housewives
- The Dilemma
- Doc Martin
- Doogie Howser, M.D.
- The Dreamer
- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
- Due South
- Ed
- El Cazador de la Bruja
- El Goonish Shive
- Eli Stone
- Elizabethtown
- Family Ties — Some episodes, the Very Special Episodes in particular, can be so painfully serious at times. Notably, the 2-parter from 1987 about Alex P. Keaton reflecting on his past to a psychiatrist while mourning the death of his friend Greg, which still keeps some of the comedic tone.
- Fairly Legal
- The Finder
- Firefly
- Frankling And Bash
- Franks Place
- Freaks and Geeks
- Fruits Basket
- Futurama - several episodes and sideplots can qualify, especially, ironically enough, the Comedy Central episodes.
- GCB
- Gilmore Girls
- Glee
- Greek
- Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left
- Hellcats
- Hill Street Blues
- House
- How I Met Your Mother
- I Love You Phillip Morris
- Kaboul Kitchen
- The Kid - One of the first times the two genres were ever blended, at least on film.
- Knockin' on Heaven's Door
- Las Lindas
- Leverage
- Lilyhammer
- Love Monkey
- M*A*S*H — believed by its actors and writers to be the first televised dramedy.
- Misfits
- Monk
- Moonlighting
- Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
- Mr. Brain
- NCIS
- Northern Exposure
- One Piece
- Parenthood — the 1989 movie.
- Parenthood — the TV series on NBC.
- Picket Fences
- Popular
- Psych
- Pushing Daisies
- Rain
- Red Dwarf - during Season 7.
- Rescue Me
- Rizzoli And Isles
- Robson Arms
- Round the Twist
- Royal Pains
- Scrubs
- The Shoebox Project, a rare fanfiction example.
- Shut Up Flower Boy Band
- Los Simuladores
- Slayers
- The Sopranos - described as a dramady when it premiered.
- South Park (since season 5, some episodes, especially the multi-part ones, tend to be more serious while not dropping the overall comedic tone)
- Total Drama Island
- Total Drama Action
- Total Drama World Tour
- Sports Night -and in fact just about anything from Aaron Sorkin
- Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
- Tinsel
- The Truman Show
- Twin Peaks
- Ugly Betty
- Veronica Mars
- Waitress
- Weeds
- The West Wing
- The Wonder Years
- Wonderfalls
