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21 Unexpectedly Dramatic Scenes From Comedy Shows That You Never Saw Coming

Schitt's Creek made me cry too much to be considered a comedy.

Tessa Fahey
by Tessa Fahey

BuzzFeed Staff

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the best dramatic scenes from comedy TV shows. Here are the results:

🚨 Warning: Spoilers ahead! Also, some submissions include topics of abuse and sexual assault. 🚨

1. When Marshall found out his dad died on How I Met Your Mother.

Lily telling Marshall that his dad died
CBS

"It was completely improvised and gets me every time."

—nicolamolloy1

2. When Dr. Cox from Scrubs didn’t realize a patient died of rabies and used her organs for three patients who end up dying as a result.

Doctor Cox breaking down and then saying, "He wasn't about to die, was he, Newbie? Could've waited another month for a kidney"
NBC

—lexirblesi

3. When Cory gave a lesson on The Diary of Anne Frank in Boy Meets World after learning that racism still exists.

Cory saying, "What if you lived in a country where I could kill you just because of your mom's last name?" and then, "A 15-year-old girl is dead, doesn't anybody care?"
ABC

—eivor1612

4. On Barry, when Barry couldn't stop thinking about his friend's family finding out about his death while delivering a line in a scene from MacBeth.

Barry thinking about a woman crying on the phone and then saying, "My lord, the queen is dead" while crying
HBO

—a4075b729b

5. When Patrick came out to his parents on Schitt's Creek.

Patrick coming out to his parents
Pop TV

—lilyw4c7b80502

6. When Roy hugged Jamie on Ted Lasso after a confrontation with Jamie's abusive father.

Roy hugging Jamie who begins to cry
Apple TV+

—lilyw4c7b80502

7. When Chandler and Monica found out they'd probably never have biological children on Friends.

Chandler saying, "It means that we can keep trying, but there's a good chance this may never happen for us," and Monica responding, "Oh my god"
NBC

—s463b03bd4

8. When Alex's friend on Family Ties died in a car crash that he was also supposed to be in.

Alex asking why he's still alive
NBC

"That episode was hard to watch. The way they wrote that episode with Alex contemplating everything was so in your face and kind of sad and frightening. Definitely one of the best episodes I have seen of that show."

—s4bb472acb

9. When Kurt came out on Glee.

Kurt coming out to his dad
Fox

"It was done wonderfully, with some fantastic acting to boot."

—everynowandthenifallapart

10. When the Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode "Show Me Going" showed all of the characters' reactions to Rosa being caught in an active shooter situation.

The squad finding out Rosa is responding to an active shooter situation
NBC

—fuzzywuzzykoala

11. When Jesse's grandfather died on Full House and they had to inform the girls about it.

Michelle asking Uncle Jesse if it's okay to cry
ABC

—s4bb472acb

12. When Alexis and Ted on Schitt's Creek made the mutual decision to end their relationship.

Alexis and Ted talking about their relationship
Pop TV

—lilyw4c7b80502

13. In How I Met Your Mother, when Barney meets his daughter for the first time.

Barney saying, "You are the love of my life, everything I have and everything I am is yours forever"
CBS

—polidominop

14. On Who's the Boss?, when Samantha's grandfather died and Tony had to convince Samantha to talk about it.

Samantha saying it's not fair and Tony explaining that she has to keep loving people
ABC

"The actor who played her grandfather died in real life, which made this much more sad."

—s4bb472acb

15. When Aimee's friends on Sex Education joined her on the bus to help her confront her fears after her assault.

Six girls sitting on a bus
Netflix

"It's such a beautiful display of friendship and solidarity and girls supporting other girls. Gets me every time."

—stella93

16. When Rosa came out on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Rosa coming out as bisexual to her parents
NBC

"It encapsulated how the experience doesn't always go well for some folks and their parents might not be accepting. But if there are people around you who do accept you, it helps so much."

—lucyt410579ade

17. When Chidi talked to Eleanor on The Good Place about the Buddhist idea of the wave and that he decided to exit.

Chidi: "Picture a wave in the ocean. It's there, you can see it, you know what it is. And then it crashes on the shore, and it's gone. But the water is still there. The wave was just a different way for the water to be for a little while"
NBC

"What seemed to be a lighthearted sitcom turned into something so emotional and beautiful."

—thirumalarp

18. On One Day at a Time, when Elena’s father abandoned her at her quinceañera for being gay and the rest of her family came forward to dance with her instead.

Elena's family coming forward and dancing with her
Pop TV

—kelyhernandez

19. When Dorothy confronted her doctor on The Golden Girls about dismissing her illness.

NBC

"Dorothy's experience is actually based on the creator's battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It sheds light on chronic illness and the way women are often dismissed, especially if they are older."

—fakefattrusty

20. When Mateo was taken by ICE on Superstore.

Mateo being taken away in a van
NBC

—thelittleredheadthatcould

21. And finally, on Never Have I Ever, when Devi barely made it in time to scatter her father's ashes alongside her family.

Devi crying and saying, "Did I miss it? Am I too late? I'm so sorry"
Netflix

"Small family, small ceremony, small moment, but big emotions."

—hiitsnicetomeetyou

Did we miss your favorite dramatic scene? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.