# TV series that revolve around the lives of miserable or dysfunctional comedians **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052 "2015-04-19T17:27:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/21 "2015-04-21T18:56:58Z")
And I didn’t even mention Jerry mugging the little old lady for the marble rye! ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/22 "2015-04-21T19:35:52Z")
Does _The Critic_ count? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/23 "2015-04-21T22:52:42Z")
While the lead character of _The Dick Van Dyke_ show wasn’t really dysfunctional, he was surrounded by some really odd types: Sally, Buddy and most notably Alan Brady. The work side focused on the insides of the comedy business, but the family side of the show dominated most of the time. Some later shows borrowed a lot from this prototype. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/24 "2015-05-10T04:24:46Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > While the lead character of _The Dick Van Dyke_ show wasn’t really dysfunctional, he was surrounded by some really odd types: Sally, Buddy and most notably Alan Brady. The work side focused on the insides of the comedy business, but the family side of the show dominated most of the time. > > Some later shows borrowed a lot from this prototype. And Mel. Mel was miserable. Largely because of Alan but Buddy didn’t help with his constant ribbing. ---
**Author:** ![Celan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Celan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/25 "2015-05-10T12:41:04Z")
Do the Bob Newhart show count? They were not about comedians, but he was the central actor in both and he was miserable. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/26 "2015-05-10T13:05:02Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I recall the ep. where Jerry was dating “himself” in his current girlfriend. He broke it off because, as he put it, he hated himself. And he was pretty enthusiastic about _Taking A Vacation From Himself_ in that episode where they grow mustaches. (George pulls off the look; Jerry doesn’t.) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/27 "2015-05-10T22:14:40Z")
Yeah, Bob Newhart’s shows don’t seem to count. He was, respectively, a shrink, an inn owner/writer, a comic book writer. I checked the specs on the latter, _Bob_, and he wrote a super hero comic, not a humor one which might have qualified. Anyway, this got me thinking about _The Duck Factory_ with Jim Carrey. Animator for the Dippy Duck cartoons. So sort of a comedy-type person. Lived in a fantasy world, IIRC. Miserable, dysfunctional? Maybe the latter??? Along similar lines of “probably not” is _Caroline in the City_. Lea Thompson as a cartoonist. Not really miserable/dysfunctional other than the usual sitcom single female tropes. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/28 "2015-05-11T09:02:13Z")
Not sure if the 1969-70 sitcom “My World and Welcome to it” starring William Windom quite fits. It was based on the cartoons and humor of James Thurber. > **[My World and Welcome to It](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_World_and_Welcome_to_It)** > > My World ... and Welcome to It is an American half-hour television sitcom based on the humor and cartoons of James Thurber. > It starred William Windom as John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist who works for a magazine closely resembling The New Yorker called The Manhattanite. Wry, fanciful and curmudgeonly, Monroe observes and comments on life, to the bemusement of his wife Ellen (Joan Hotchkis) and daughter Lydia (Lisa Gerritsen). Monroe's frequent daydreams and fantasies are usually ... ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2015, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/29 "2015-05-11T09:38:51Z")
There was an early 80’s UK show called Shelley(sp?). I think the character Shelley was a dysfunctional comedian. Can someone confirm? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/30 "2020-05-01T04:20:06Z")
Bumping because After life with Ricky Gervais is pretty good and worth watching too. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/31 "2020-05-01T05:00:52Z")
**The Bernie Mac Show**. Bernie Mac played himself, as a comedian and comedic actor. His nieces and nephew were from a dysfunctional family, and Bernie and Wanda were trying to make them functional. I never watched **Seinfeld** , so I don’t know how they compare regarding meta-references, but TBMS was, IMO, very skillful in that regard. Bernie looked at Vanessa’s (older girl) college applications and said, “What’s this – ‘Guardian: Bernard McCullough’?” “That’s your name.” “Yeah, but who the hell’s Bernard McCullough? You wanna put Bernie Mac!” There was a full episode about Bernie being in a children’s film because it was appropriate for all the kids, and whaddya know, Briana (younger girl) was terrified, on account of Bernie had played the villain. And there was the neutral zone, but **Titus** did that first. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/32 "2020-05-01T05:11:55Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Bumping because After life with Ricky Gervais is pretty good and worth watching too. But it doesn’t really fit your OP does it? He’s not a comedian in the show, he’s a local journalist. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/33 "2020-05-01T05:19:48Z")
[Crashing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crashing_(American_TV_series)) seems to meet the criteria, depending on how loosely you want to interpret “miserable or dysfunctional”. It’s a fictionalized version of Peter Holmes and his start in stand-up. There’s certainly some miserable or dysfunctional moments but I think at his core the character is reasonably well balanced. It’s a good show, I enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/34 "2020-05-01T05:51:16Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > But it doesn’t really fit your OP does it? He’s not a comedian in the show, he’s a local journalist. The intent of the thread wasn’t that the main character is a stand up comic in the show, more that the main character is played by an actor who is a stand up comic and plays a miserable character. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/35 "2020-05-01T14:44:17Z")
_The Sarah Silverman Program_ sounds like a fit for this thread but I’ll admit I haven’t watched it. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/36 "2020-05-01T16:33:13Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > There was an early 80’s UK show called Shelley(sp?). I think the character Shelley was a dysfunctional comedian. Can someone confirm? No, [Shelley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelley_(TV_series))was a philosophical layabout, mostly unemployed. Not a comedian. You may be conflating with [Kelley Monteith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Monteith)’s BBC show, also called Kelly Monteith. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/37 "2020-05-02T02:32:42Z")
English comedian Jack Dee in [Lead Balloon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Balloon). Also Bojack Horseman started his career doing stand-up before moving into sit-coms. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052/38 "2020-05-02T06:00:47Z")
EXTRAS by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The main character is not so much a “comedian” as - in the show’s second and more brutal season - an aspiring dramatic actor forced to degrade himself in a wretchedly awful BBC sitcom. Like everything that Gervais and Merchant created, it’s brilliant, but do not expect laugh-a-minute hijinks. It’s a show full of vicious cynicism, brutal emotional gut-punches, and cringe-inducing awkwardness. If that isn’t your thing, do not even bother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-series-that-revolve-around-the-lives-of-miserable-or-dysfunctional-comedians/718052.md?page=1)