# Why is everything so dark? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-so-dark/828305 "2019-01-24T01:18:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-so-dark/828305/61 "2019-01-25T07:12:24Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > _A Series of Unfortunate Events_ poses as dark and depressing - the narrator constantly tells you that terrible things are going to happen and that you should definitely watch something else - but it’s actually very silly and campy. If nothing else it’s worth watching for Neil Patrick Harris’ performance as Count Olaf. I’ll second this. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-so-dark/828305/62 "2019-01-25T14:48:48Z")
A lot of the common trend to darkness is due to overcompensation from the years television was considered the bottom of the entertainment world. Now that television is considered the hip media, simply being entertaining is not enough. To be taken seriously, every show must be (or seem to be) dealing with the deepest fears and themes. Plus the contemporary media climate factors in too. With the Nielsen ratings virtually useless these days, tweets/blogs/Facebook posts are the most important way to measure a show’s popularity. And guess what, people are not going to have a big social media reaction to conventional shows with self contained episodes. Nor will they have big reactions to shows with relatively low risk cliffhangers/plot lines. No, it’s got to be death of name characters to move the needle. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-so-dark/828305/63 "2019-01-25T17:17:45Z")
We started to watch [There She Goes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_She_Goes_(TV_series)) with David Tennant. Listed as a comedy-drama. Nope. Full on downerville. Barely made it thru 1 episode. Increasingly the phrase “dark comedy” just means “no comedy at all”. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-so-dark/828305/64 "2019-01-25T17:45:02Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > _Lucifer_ is fun. I would definitely second Lucifer, it sounds like it would be a fairly serious show, but it’s definitely fun and has a lot more light moments than dark. And you really look forward to the dark ones where Lucifer gets to spread his wings. ---
**Author:** ![Haldurson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/51bf81/32.png) [@Haldurson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haldurson)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-so-dark/828305/65 "2019-01-27T04:04:08Z")
Try “Atypical” on Netflix. It’s a family drama/comedy series that deals sensitively with Autism. There’s been two season so far, and the cast is great. I also recommend “Sex Education” and “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”. The latter has a dark premise, but really is very light (abnormally so, which is part of its charm). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-everything-so-dark/828305.md?page=3)