Dramedy - TV Tropes

"That's a comedy without the laughs."

— Valerie Cherish, The Comeback

"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, these two genres have actually been combined for centuries, known as "Tragicomedy", 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.

Note that a dramedy is not just "drama with some comedic elements" or "a comedy with some serious moments". It must contain about equal parts drama and comedy. Elements of comic relief can appear in all but the very darkest dramas, and most stories have at least some serious elements. Because of this, expect to see them get lumped in with the sitcoms come award season (this can actually serve as a litmus test for if a show is dramedy or straight drama�can you imagine it being nominated in the same award category as a sitcom?)

While many stories contain both comedy and drama, a true Dramedy must belong to the genre of Drama- defined by stories focusing on character development, intense emotions and inner conflict as the primary source of plot. Just because it�s dark, doesn�t mean it�s a drama. Sci-fi, action-adventure stories, superhero stories and Shōnen adventures rarely qualify as Drama. Even if the comedy and drama are equally balanced with each other, if both are clearly subservient to the adventure story, it�s not a dramedy.

Examples:

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Anime & Manga

Ace of the Diamond
Air
B-Daman Crossfire
Buddy Daddies
Case File n�221: Kabukicho
Chobits
El Cazador de la Bruja
Flunk Punk Rumble: The first third of the series is almost pure comedy, but later on the series starts to focus more on interpersonal drama and the characters' worries and backstories (though it still features plenty of goofiness and remains very light-hearted).
Fruits Basket starts out as a fairly light-hearted and comedic story about a girl who meets a family where some of them turn into animals from the Chinese zodiac when hugged, but even early on there are hints at more serious drama beneath the surface. The dramatic elements become more prominent as the story continues and various characters' backstories and personal issues are revealed, though it never completely loses its sense of humor.
Great Teacher Onizuka
GTO: The Early Years
Hamatora
Kotoura-san
Kuroko's Basketball
Love of Kill
Mahoromatic
Maison Ikkoku: Widely considered to be the Ur-Example in manga/anime, especially given the directorial style of the anime.
Mob Psycho 100
Mon Colle Knights
No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular! plays much of the Otaku main character's social anxiety for Cringe Comedy, but also demonstrates just how depressed and unwell such a person would be in a similar fashion to Welcome to the NHK.
Oshi no Ko: A story that combines both humor with the dark side of the entertainment industry, mostly evenly split between the two main characters of the story.
Police in a Pod
Sakura Discord is pretty much equally split between serious parts and comedic parts.
Arguably almost every Studio Ghibli film, with the notable exception of Grave of the Fireflies, which is notorious for being their most depressing film with almost no humorous moments. Even most of their heavier tearjerker films such as The Tale of the Princess Kaguya still have plenty of humour and lighthearted moments, while even their Denser and Wackier films such as My Neighbors the Yamadas still have plenty of slower and sadder drama moments.
Tokyo Godfathers
Weathering With You
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches - while it's a very light and idealistic story and features plenty of comedy in all but a few chapters, it's still a drama at heart given that the plot is driven by emotional conflicts and sad backstories.
Your Lie in April - mostly a gentle drama with topics such as inspiration and relationships, but there is a fair amount of humorous moments.
Your Name
Yowamushi Pedal
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
Zombie Land Saga presents a very interesting case in which the sheer absurdity of literal zombies being used as idol singers also gets explored with the very real sadness and trauma that comes with being undead, giving us a show which isn't afraid of making plenty of jokes of the strange premise while also using it to explore the very real and tragic circumstances the main characters died in, as well as how they handle their new lives.

Comic Books

Fan Works

All Things End
Avenger Goddess (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wonder Woman (2017))
Avenger of Steel (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Man of Steel)
Becoming a True Invader (Invader Zim)
C Listers (Batman, The DCU)
Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron (crossover with Code Geass and Voltron: Legendary Defender)
Code Jedi (Code Geass, Star Wars)
Code Prime (crossover with Code Geass and Transformers)
Danny Phantom: Lost Episodes Series (Danny Phantom)
Facing the Future Series (Danny Phantom)
The Flash Sentry Chronicles (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls)
For the Glory of Irk (Invader Zim)
Galactic Shift Extend (BlazBlue and Ben 10)
Group Chat (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners)
Hetalia: Axis Powers fanfic Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità: Its genres are romance and drama. It also happens to have plenty of Comedy elements within.
Infinity Train: Star Finder (Infinity Train, The Loud House)
I Just Love Killin' (Rick and Morty, Worm)
The Ketsueki Quadrilogy (Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Tekken, Soul Series)
Kingdom Hearts: Cody's Story (Kingdom Hearts , Total Drama)
Monster Chronicles (Total Drama)
My Hostage, Not Yours (Invader Zim)
- Re: My Hostage, Not Yours
The New Adventures of Invader Zim (Invader Zim)
Oh Rhonda! (Hey Arnold!)
The PreDespair Kids is a bit heavier on the comedic elements than its source material, but when Cerebus Syndrome hits, it hits hard.
Pok�mon: Remix Hearts (BlazBlue, Pok�mon)
Ranma Club - much comedy due to the Ranma side, coupled with drama from the Winx Club side. Chaos in both realms.
Recovery None (Red vs. Blue)
ResurrectedMemories (Danny Phantom)
Rick and Morty New Drama Adventures (Rick and Morty, Total Drama)
Rick and The Loud House (crossover between Rick and Morty and The Loud House)
Ruby Pair (Invader Zim)
A Second Chance (The Loud House)
The Shoebox Project, a rare fanfiction example.
Something New (Team Fortress 2)
Spidey vs. the Forces of Evil (Spider-Man, Star vs. the Forces of Evil)
Tokimeki Pok�Live! and TwinBee, a mostly lighthearted episodic fanfic series with the comedy coming from the Love Live! side and the occasionally more serious action-adventure type Side Story arcs being inspired by the Shonen aimed parts of the Pokémon franchise barring the main anime on the Pokémon side with Tokimeki Memorial-like lighthearted romance rounding things out.
Tokyo Little Shop - Much like the source material, it starts out funny and gets struck with Cerebus Syndrome near the end.
Total Drama: Cody's Redemption (Total Drama)
Total Drama Comeback Series (Total Drama)
Total Trauma (Total Drama)
The Truth Decays (Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto)
Unbreakable Red Silken Thread (Total Drama)
Universe Falls (crossover with Gravity Falls and Steven Universe)
- Momswap Rises
Where The Skeletons Lie (Recess)
Zim the Warlord: Irken Reversion (Invader Zim)

Films — Animation

Just about every film in the Disney Animated Canon.
- Just about every Pixar film as well.
The works of Don Bluth (which figures, considering he used to work at Disney).
Barnyard
Ice Age (first film)
It's Such a Beautiful Day
Mary and Max
Rock and Rule
Shrek (with the arguable exceptions of Shrek the Third and Puss in Boots)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
World of Tomorrow

Films — Live-Action

10 Items or Less
13 Going on 30
27 Dresses
3 Idiots
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
(500) Days of Summer
About Last Night...
About Schmidt
Accidents Happen
Adam
Adam & Paul
The Adam Project
Adult Life Skills
Adventureland
Afternoon Delight
Alfie
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Alice's Restaurant
All Monsters Attack - While being a Denser and Wackier Clip Show film for the Godzilla series, the film still balances out with having a coming of age dramedy be the framing device.
Almost Famous
American Beauty - Either this trope or Black Comedy.
American Graffiti
The Americanization of Emily
...And Justice for All
Annie Hall
Another Round
The Apartment
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
As Good as It Gets
Author! Author! (1982)
The Barbarian Invasions
Beaches
Beautiful Girls
The Bells of St. Mary's
Benny & Joon
The Best Two Years
Bicentennial Man
Big Fish - The more grounded parts are more serious, while some of the fantastical story/flashbacks can be wacky.
The Big Sick
The Black Balloon (2007)
Blindspotting
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Boy (2010)
Boys on the Side
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Breakfast Club
Breaking Away
Brewster McCloud
Brigsby Bear
Broken Flowers
Calendar Girls
Camp (2003)
The Candidate
Carnal Knowledge
Catch And Release
Catch Us If You Can
Celebrity
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Chasing Amy
Chocolat
Chungking Express - the first story is a straight-up romantic drama, while the second story is more of a romantic dramedy featuring a Manic Pixie Dream Girl
- Its side-story Fallen Angels is just as much of a dramedy while being considerably Darker and Edgier
Click
The Cobbler
CODA (2021)
The Confirmation
Crazy, Stupid, Love
A Crime in Paradise
Crossroads (2002)
Cyrus
Dan in Real Life
The Death of Stalin
Defendor
Definitely, Maybe
The Descendants
The Devil Wears Prada
The Dilemma
Diner
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Dog (2022)
Don't Think Twice
Dope
Do the Right Thing
Driving Miss Daisy
Dumas (2010)
Dummy
Dust
Dutch
Easy A
The Edge of Seventeen
EDtv
Election
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Elizabethtown
Empire Records
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Everything Everywhere All at Once - fitting to its title: it is a fantasy/sci-fi martial arts action film, a surrealist comedy, and an existentialist family drama, all at the same time.
The Family Man
The Family Stone
The Farewell
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fatso
Fighting with My Family
The Five-Year Engagement
Florence Foster Jenkins
For Keeps
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Forrest Gump
The Four Seasons
Frances Ha
French Twist
Fried Green Tomatoes
Friends with Money
The Front
Funny People
Garden State
Geek Charming
Georgy Girl
Ghost
Girlfriends
Global Heresy
Going My Way
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande
Good Bye, Lenin!
The Good Girl
Good Morning, Vietnam
A Good Year
The Graduate
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Green Book
Guarding Tess
Hannah and Her Sisters
Happiest Season
Happythankyoumoreplease
Harold and Maude
Harry and Tonto
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
Henry Poole Is Here
He Said, She Said
He's Just Not That into You
Here Today
Hiding Out
The Hollars
The Hospital
The House Bunny
How to Be
Hustlers
Igby Goes Down
I ♥ Huckabees
I Love You Phillip Morris
I'm Not Rappaport
I'm Your Man (2021)
Instructions Not Included
Interstate 60
In the Land of Women
Irreconcilable Differences
I, Tonya
It's Kind of a Funny Story
I Used To Go Here
Jeff, Who Lives at Home chiefly a drama film with occasional warm moments, but made hysterical by the antics of the two brothers.
Jerry Maguire
Jersey Girl
Joy (2015)
Julie & Julia
Jumping the Broom
Junebug
Juno
Karen
Kathy O'
Kick-Ass
- Kick-Ass 2
The Kid (1921) - Possibly the Ur-Example for film.
The Kid (2000) (which, despite the name and genre, is not a remake of the above)
The King of Staten Island
The Kings of Summer
Kinky Boots
The Kissing Booth
- The Kissing Booth 2
- The Kissing Booth 3
Knocked Up
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Lady Bird
La La Land
Lars and the Real Girl
The Last Days of Disco
The Last Kiss
Last Train To Christmas
Latter Days
A League of Their Own
Lemonade Mouth
Liberal Arts
Liberty Heights
Licorice Pizza
Life (1999)
Life Is Beautiful
Life of the Party
Little Children pokes fun at the absurdity and hidden dysfunctionality of suburbia, but it still treats its main characters with sympathy and their problems are taken seriously.
Little Darlings
Little Miss Sunshine
Little Shop of Horrors - For nearly an hour, there is a good bit of comedy, but it becomes and stays mostly dramatic afterwards.
Local Hero
Lost in Translation
Love Actually
Lucas
Made In Italy
Magic Mike
The Majestic
Manhattan
Marriage Story
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is this, having a mostly lighthearted and humorous tone while having plenty of intensely dramatic moments.
M*A*S*H
Mermaids
Metal Lords
The Meyerowitz Stories
The Milagro Beanfield War
Millions
Minari
The Mirror Has Two Faces
Molly (1999)
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Moscow on the Hudson
Mrs. Winterbourne
Mumford
Muriel's Wedding
My Dog Skip
My Night at Maud's - In fact, almost every film directed by �ric Rohmer would fit.
My Old Lady
Mystic Pizza
Nashville
Nebraska
Network
Next Stop, Greenwich Village
The Night After
Nobody's Fool
The North Avenue Irregulars
Nothing in Common
Obvious Child
Of Dice and Men
Off The Rails 2021
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
On Golden Pond
Only the Lonely
On the Rocks
Our Idiot Brother
Our Ladies (2019)
Paper Man
Paper Moon
The Paper Tigers
Parasite (2019)
Parenthood
Parting Glances
Party Girl (1995)
Patch Adams
Petulia
Philomena
Pieces of April
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The Players Club
Playing by Heart
Pleasantville
Please Stand By
The President's Last Bang
Pretty in Pink
The Pretty One
Pride and Prejudice
A Princess for Christmas
Punch-Drunk Love
Pushing Tin
Queens Logic
Raising Helen
Real Women Have Curves
Remember the Night
Return of the Secaucus Seven
Ricki and the Flash
Roger Dodger
The Royal Tenenbaums
Ruby Sparks
Rushmore
Sam the Man
Savannah Smiles
Save the Date (2012)
Say Anything...
School Daze
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - just like the comic it's based on.
Secretary
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Shampoo
She Hate Me
She's Gotta Have It
She's Out of My League
Short Cuts
Sideways
Silver Linings Playbook
S1m0ne
Singles
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Skeleton Twins
Somebody I Used to Know
Some Kind of Wonderful
Soul Food
Spanglish
Stalag 17
Stand by Me
Standing Up Falling Down
The Station Agent
Stealing Home
Steel Magnolias
Stepmom
Stoker
Stuart Saves His Family
St. Vincent (2014)
Summer of '42
Sunshine Cleaning
Super
Sweet and Lowdown
Taking Woodstock
Tangerine
Teachers (1984)
The Terminal
Terms of Endearment
There's Always Vanilla
A Thousand Clowns
Thumbsucker
Tin Men
Transamerica
Trees Lounge
Troop Zero
The Truman Show
Tully
Two for the Road
Undrafted
The Ugly Truth
An Unmarried Woman
Uptown Girls
Unpregnant
Vacation from Marriage
Waitress
The Way, Way Back
A Wedding (1978)
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
What's Cooking?
Where the Boys Are
Where the Heart Is
Whip It
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?
Who's That Knocking at My Door
With Honors
Woman of the Year
Wonder Boys
The World of Henry Orient
Your Sister's Sister
Zola

Literature

Brothers Keepers
Date A Live
The Devil Wears Prada
Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left
Haruhi Suzumiya, being a Genre-Busting series, has this as an overall tone. The fourth novel, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, slams it hard towards the "drama" end of the spectrum.
The Haunted Bakery, Centers on a baker his partner and his sister living and working, with comedy and drama mixed in.
Intertwined
- Intertwined II The Lost Spirits
- Intertwined: The Series
The North Avenue Irregulars
Okuyyuki
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha is a Coming of Age dramedy about a boy growing up, following his childish antics with his friends, while at the same time telling the story of his parents crumbling marriage and how he is slowly loosing his childhood at only age ten.
Slayers
Toradora!
Welcome to the NHK mixes comedy and drama interchangeably. Especially at first it's a comedy, but becomes increasingly dramatic over time.
Paul Murray's books tend to fit this genre:
- Skippy Dies is a character study of a group of troubled teens, and would be an outright tragedy if not for the large amounts of humor.
- The Mark and the Void: A farce about the banking system that takes its characters seriously and packs in a lot of social and political criticism.

Live-Action TV

800 Words
Adderly
The Afterparty
Akavet starts as more of a traditional comedy, but starts to have a lot more serious moments and realistic Character Development later on. It never lets go of its comedic feel, though.
Almost Paradise
Ally McBeal
Amber Brown (2022)
Andi Mack, like Boy Meets World below, is this, except it does combine both Kid Com and Teen Drama elements in one show, giving it its dramedy feel.
Aqu� no hay quien viva
Atlanta
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
Avocado Toast
Babylon
Ballers
Barry
Baskets
Battleground (2012)
The Bear (2022)
Being Erica
Better Call Saul
Better Things
The Big C
Bones — started as straight Police Procedural, but is definitely a dramedy now.
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World — started as a standard sitcom, gradually added more dramatic elements, became a dramedy by season 5 or so.
The Brink
Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, combined with an Urban Fantasy setting
- Angel
All Creatures Great & Small (2020)
Bull
Bunheads
Burn Notice
- Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe - a telemovie spinoff
Californication
The Carrie Diaries
Castle
Chuck
Cobra Kai
The Comeback
Community
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Crownies
Daughter From Another Mother
Dead Last
Dead Like Me
Desperate Housewives
Dirty Lines
Disjointed
Doc Martin
Doctor Who. Especially the 2005 reboot.
Doogie Howser, M.D.
- Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.
D.☆P.
Due South
Early Edition
Ed
Eight is Enough
Elementary
Eli Stone
Escouade Nine Nine
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Fairly Legal
Feel Good
The Finder
The Flash (2014), combined with Super Hero and Sci-Fi settings.
Fleabag
Forever (2018)
Franks Place
Franklin & Bash
Freaks and Geeks
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Friends.
Full House
- Fuller House
GCB
Gavin & Stacey
Gilmore Girls
Ginny and Georgia
Girl Meets World
Girls
Glee
The Good Place
Gordita Chronicles
Grace and Frankie
The Greatest American Hero
Greek
Hart of Dixie
Hellcats
Hello Tomorrow!
High Maintenance
How I Met Your Mother
I Am Frankie
The IDOLM@STER.KR
The Imperfects
The Indian Detective
Insecure
Janda Kembang; half of the cast is involved in a serious Love Triangle drama and the other half is living a sitcom.
Jane the Virgin
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
Kaboul Kitchen
Kidding
The Kominsky Method
L.A. Law
Last Tango in Halifax
A League of Their Own (2022)
Legends of Tomorrow (Moreso in Season 2)
Leverage
Lilyhammer
Louie
Love
Lovejoy
Love Monkey
Lovesick
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
M*A*S*H — believed by its actors and writers to be the first televised dramedy, possibly the Trope Namer.
- After M*A*S*H
Master of None
Men of a Certain Age
Metrosexuality
Midnight Diner
A Million Little Things
Mimpi Metropolitan
Minder
Misfits
Modern Family
Mom
Monk
Moonlighting
Mop Girl
Mr. Brain
Mrs. Davis
NCIS
New Girl
The Newsroom
Northern Exposure
Nurse Jackie
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
Only Murders in the Building
Orphan Black - Alison Hendrix's Story Arcs add huge amounts of Black Comedy to the overall serious Conspiracy Thriller.
The Orville - cast and crew explicitly refer to the series as this, not as a comedy
Parenthood
Picket Fences
Player
Please Like Me
Poker Face
Popular
Prodigal Son
Psych
Psychopath Diary is partially a thriller about a serial killer and partially a comedy about an amnesiac who thinks he's a serial killer. The two genres combine to provide plenty of Black Comedy.
Pushing Daisies
La que se avecina
Ramy
Red Dwarf - during Season 7.
- Back to Earth counts as well. Especially Part 3.
Remember WENN
Remington Steele
Republic of Doyle
Rescue Me
The Righteous Gemstones
Robson Arms
Rock And Chips
Room 222
Round the Twist
Royal Pains
Russian Doll
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Scoundrels (2010)
Scrubs
Search Party
Sex and the City
Sex Education
Both the original British and American versions of Shameless
She's Gotta Have It
Shut Up Flower Boy Band
Simon & Simon
Spotless
Los Simuladores
Six Feet Under
The Sopranos - described as a dramedy when it premiered.
Sports Night - and in fact just about anything from Aaron Sorkin
Steptoe and Son
Stranger Things
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Succession
Takin' Over the Asylum - Mostly in the first half of this 6-Part Scottish miniseries.
Tattingers
Ted Lasso
Terriers
This Is Us
This is Wonderland
Tinsel
Togetherness
Transparent
Trophy Wife
Turner and Hooch (2021)
Tyler Perry's House of Payne
Ugly Betty
The Unicorn
United States of Tara
Untoppable High Kick
Upload
The Watcher
Wednesday
Weeds
Whiskey Cavalier
Why Women Kill: The basic premise — three women across different eras are all driven to kill by their traitorous husbands — is straight out of a dramatic thriller. However, the show has a very dark sense of humor that keeps it from being a straight drama.
Wilfred. At first glance, it looks like just another sitcom full of black comedy and crude humor. But the series gradually becomes more of a comedy-drama / psychological thriller about a young man trying to deal with his failing mental health and social relationships.
Willow (2022)
The Wonder Years. One of the first TV series to be widely promoted as a dramedy, popularizing the term.
Wonderfalls
Workin' Moms
WandaVision
The Wrong Mans
You, Me and the Apocalypse
You Me Her
Younger
Youngers
You're the Worst

Music

��The Dead Kennedys�� make angry songs about very dark and serious political topics, but they take the piss out of it at the same time.
System of a Down, possibly the only group that can fit in songs about mass genocide and Kombucha Mushroom People on the same album.

Podcast

Frootch: Even though it talks about the misadventures of a stand-up comedian wannabe, comedic moments are overshadowed by key plot points being dramatic (especially on the second season).

Theatre

Driving Miss Daisy
Don Giovanni
Hamilton
Little Shop of Horrors
On Golden Pond
William Shakespeare made much of his plays to be this. His tragedies often had several light moments, and his comedies often had several dark and sad moments.
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - Possibly the oldest, well-known example.
- Romeo and Juliet - Many people back then interpreted the play as a Black Comedy, and light moments are interspersed throughout the tragedy.
  - Many of the characters are straight out of Commedia dell'Arte: Romeo and Juliet are the Innamorati, Friar Lorenzo the Tartaglia, Mercutio the Arlecchino, Benvolio the Pierrot and Tybalt the Capitano.
She Kills Monsters
Wicked

Video Games

Grand Theft Auto contains a lot of Black Comedy from its Video Game Cruelty Potential and social satire, but also has stories with some very serious moments. This depends partially on game, with earlier games like Grand Theft Auto III leaning more towards black comedy and later entries like Grand Theft Auto IV being more purely dramatic, and others like Grand Theft Auto V taking a more balanced approach.
Metal Gear - While being a serious Military Science Fiction saga on the surface, none of the games have a shortage of humorous moments interspersed within.
Mother - There's a reason why the taglines include "No crying until the end" and "Strange. Funny. Heartrendering."
- Mother 3 fits the bill here the most out of the trilogy.
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, compared the more laid-back and comedic franchise it's apart of, is the series' attempt at being a true balance between comedy and drama, with the game getting progressively more dark as it goes along and less silly. As it was designed to be Grand Finale to Sam and Max's story that started in 1987, it's easy to see why this was done.
Sonic the Hedgehog has equal elements of wacky cartoon hijinks and angsty Shōnen Demographic dramatic action elements, though much of this depends on the game.
YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG contains humorous moments of the 1990s while having a intense plot involving the fate of a missing woman and the entire world.

Visual Novels

AI: The Somnium Files
CLANNAD
Danganronpa
Extracurricular Activities
Minotaur Hotel - A story centering around the Minotaur's traumatic past while still managing to have a tone that's both lighthearted and leisurely.
Morenatsu
No, Thank You!!!, especially during the New Game Plus.
One Thousand Lies
Sukeban Games, the makers of VA-11 HALL-A, make most of their games this, as they feel like Comedy-Dramas are uncommon in the video game/visual novel medium.^note