Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

4 Classic Sitcom Episodes That Still Feel Too Dark for TV

From Diff’rent Strokes to The Jeffersons, some classic sitcoms dropped the laugh track and wandered straight into nightmare territory.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

Theoretically, if you were planning on launching your own sitcom, you’d probably go out of your way to make it as funny as possible, right? After all, the word “sitcom” does heavily imply that the situations your characters will be going through are at least intended to be comedic in nature.

Be that as it may, even comedy shows that have gone on to be considered the greatest of all time have ventured into serious territory every now and again, with varying results. Here are a few examples that remain uncomfortable to watch.

1. THE JEFFERSONS: GEORGE GETS STABBED

In the Season 8 episode “The Strays: Part 1,” a delivery boy at one of George’s dry-cleaning stores gets robbed by a female street gang. After confronting the girls, George ends up getting stabbed and left for dead........

© Vice