Really? It's a comedy? [Orange is New Black]

Cafe Society
1

I probably shouldn’t even admit this, but I haven’t seen a single episode of “Orange Is The New Black” (yet) but I’ve read a lot about it, know the names of some of the characters, have watched a few clips…but never once have I ever heard anyone refer to it as a comedy. Not once has anyone said, “Oooh, laughed so hard at “Orange is The New Black” last night I fell off the bed!” nor “Wow, Crazy Eyes got some great laughs last night!”

Have I just been reading the wrong reviews and commentaries? Is it really a funny funny show? I’ve partially been avoiding it because I didn’t want serious drama about disadvantaged women abusing each other in prison or hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold depressing social commentary. Plus I don’t have pay TV. But it seems the marketing I’ve seen has downplayed the light-hearted comic stylings of the actors.

Am I that out of the loop?

2

It has its lighter moments, but calling it a comedy is stretching the term a bit.

3

I’d characterize it as more dramedy.

It walks a really fine tightrope between comedy and drama. There are some really hilarious, almost off the wall parts (there’s a competition to bed as many other inmates as possible by two characters), but there are also some darkly gritty parts (though it’s never in the realm of, say, Oz). You also never feel like you’re being slammed with Serious Issues, even though there are a lot of those in the prisoner’s back stories.

4

Dramedy is the right term for me as well. Some parts are just hilarious (the chasing of the chicken episode for one).

5

It’s a comedy like Fargo’s a comedy. Meaning: it’s not, but it’s funny. Humorous drama, I guess.

6

MODERATOR COMMENT: I’ve edited the thread title so that people will know what the thread is about.

PERSONAL COMMENT: We’re just starting to watch, we’ve seen the first two episodes. There’s not much “funny” so far. I would imagine that any drama needs some bits of comedy for variety/contrast – even MACBETH has the porter scene.

7

I don’t understand the OP. If you’ve never heard anyone refer to it as a comedy, then why are you asking if it’s a comedy?

8

Have you ever seen Weeds? It is from the same creator, and in the same way it is sort of humorous for the absurd situations but not a sitcom per se.

9

It was up for a lot of comedy Emmys a couple of days ago.

10

When season one came out, the first review I read of it–I think in the New Yorker–did make it sound like a hilarious comedy.

11

That explains it.

12

This

13

It’s funny, but it’s not like a laugh track sitcom with jokes. It’s also not OZ. Dramedy sums it up pretty well. Or black comedy maybe? There is definitely a lot of it that is meant to be humorous.

14

Huh… that’s a bit strange to me as I considered the first episode to be fairly hilarious in terms of Larry sarcastic responses in dealing with Piper’s incarceration and the very “Portlandia” like hipster vibe from Piper and Larry.

15

It’s a comedy in the sense that (very general statement to follow, but spoiling just in case) essentially things always end up OK for our heroine. And there are funny and twisted-funny bits along the way.

16

I haven’t seen much of * Orange is the New Black*, but I would classify Fargo as mostly a dark comedy, much like I would categorize Nabakov’s Lolita, for instance. It doesn’t quite cover all the nuances, but if someone described a work of art as “dark comedy,” I would expect something in that vein. Man Bites Dog is perhaps a clearer example of dark comedy, with much more emphasis (in my opinion) on the “comedy” side of things, but still not knee-slappingly funny.