Legitimately Crushing Moments In Otherwise Happy Shows
Television is very often the medium that we turn to when we need to shut our brains off for 30 minutes and forget our days. It's where we go to laugh, and where we know that no matter how bad things get they'll be reset at the end of the episode. The comforting format of television is exactly why these heartbreaking TVÂ moments are so unexpectedly sad.
Some of the saddest TV shows are the ones that don't try to be maudlin, but instead make their emotional episodes feel organic. Some sad TV moments mirror a real-life moment in history, like John Ritter's untimely passing. Others just remind us of the real pain that exists in the most random moments of everyday life. These are the television moments in usually happy shows that absolutely crushed audiences.
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While working on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules with Kaley Cuoco and Katey Sagal, John Ritter suffered an aortic dissection on September 11, 2003. The actors' lives, both on and off the show, were turned upside down.
Rather than recast the role, the cast filmed an hour-long episode where the characters dealt with the in-story death of their father, mourning the character and the man behind him. The episode could have felt like a cheap ratings ploy, but instead, it dealt with the sudden nature of death and the fragility of human life in a way that we don't normally see on a sitcom.
The episode, simply titled "Goodbye," was a ratings smash and it allowed the public to mourn the passing of the John Ritter, one of the most beloved TV stars of the 20th century.
- Actors: Katey Sagal, Kaley Cuoco, Amy Davidson
- Premiered: September 17, 2002
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The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air never shied away from taking on important issues, but none of the episodes from this beloved series were as emotionally wrenching as "Papa's Got A Brand New Excuse." The episode sees Will's father coming back into his life after leaving him 14 years prior. Initially, Will is incredibly happy to have his father back in his life, but the moment he tries to create a real relationship with Lou, his dad ducks out on him again.
Smith has said that this was one of the hardest episodes of the series to film because he was still coming into his own as an actor and his co-star James Avery (Uncle Phil) was constantly pushing him to be better. In 2018, Smith told Black Streaming that after filming the emotional climax of the episode where he and Uncle Phil embrace, Avery whispered in his ear, "That’s f*cking acting right there."
- Actors: Will Smith, James Avery, Daphne Maxwell-Reid, Alfonso Ribeiro, Janet Hubert
- Premiered: September 10, 1990
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Audiences don't often think of Rugrats as an emotionally crushing television show, but its combination of surreal animation and childlike wonder is a perfect way to bring people to tears. In the Season 4 episode "Mother's Day," all of the kids work on presents for their mothers, but Chuckie is sans mother, leading his father to tell him the truth about his deceased mother.
Watching a child search for a mother that we know he doesn't have is absolutely heartbreaking, but Chuckie's decision to celebrate his father as his mother as well is enough to bring a tear to anyone's eye. But that's not the most heartbreaking moment of the episode. That comes when Chas reveals the truth about Chuckie's mother to his son. He explains that she passed from a terminal illness, and that before she went, she left a poem to remind him that she's always going to be with him.
- Actors: E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Michael Bell
- Premiered: August 11, 1991
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"Bill Moves On" wasn't supposed to be an episode of television. It should have been a personal grieving session between the actors, but instead, it was filmed in front of a live studio audience a mere four months after Phil Hartman was shot by his wife.
The in-story reason for the loss of Hartman's character, Bill, is a heart attack, and after his funeral, the characters return to the office to read letters from their former co-worker. As the actors read messages written specifically for each of them, you can see them tearing up and losing it on camera and in front of the audience.
NewsRadio was a series that thumbed its nose at the network and created one of the most rapid-fire and chaotic pieces of television of the '90s, but this episode is genuinely painful to watch. That's not because it's not good, but because it really is that depressing.
- Actors: Dave Foley, Vicki Lewis, Stephen Root, Andy Dick, Maura Tierney
- Premiered: March 21, 1995
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No one expects anything bad to happen on Full House. Or at least, nothing that can't be immediately undone by a 30-second heart-to-heart with an adult. This is the series that devoted multiple episodes to Uncle Jesse jamming with the '90s incarnation of the Beach Boys. Speaking of which, it's the coolest cat on Full House who helped bring this surprisingly sad moment directly into our homes.
"The Last Dance" sees Jesse's "Papouli" return from Greece to visit his family. After a night of merrymaking where Jesse declines to dance with his grandfather, Papouli passes in his sleep from heart failure. Everyone takes the news hard, but Jesse and Michelle are destroyed. Michelle is so distraught that she runs away from school and it's up to Jesse to have a hard conversation with her about death and bring her back to class, where he finally does the dance with Michelle that he refused to do with his grandfather. It's an absolute tearjerker.
- Actors: John Stamos, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin
- Premiered: September 22, 1987
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If you were a Boy Meets World fan, you definitely remember "Cult Fiction," otherwise known as the episode where Shawn joins a cult and Mr. Turner suffers a near-fatal in a motorcycle accident. This episode sees Shawn bail on Mr. Turner, the teacher who gave him a place to stay while things were bad with his own family, and join a cult because they offer him unconditional love.
After Mr. Turner gets into a horrible motorcycle accident, Shawn has to swallow his pride and visit this teacher who's more than a teacher to him. As he stands over Turner, you can see Shawn realizing that the best father figure he's ever had is slipping away from him, and the last conversation they had was snippy and shortsighted. It's a lot to deal with in a 22 minute sitcom, and it hits hard, especially if you're a preteen dealing with death for the first time.
- Actors: Ben Savage, William Daniels, Betsy Randle, Will Friedle, Rider Strong
- Premiered: September 24, 1993
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Nothing about this short-lived series hinted at such a bleak ending. Dinosaurs was created as an All in the Family-style sitcom with a major hook - everyone was a dinosaur. The gags are over the top, almost Flinstonian in their references to the Mesozoic Era, and they never avoided catchphrases - anyone who grew up in the '90s can reference "not the mama" without missing a step. But the apocalyptic environmental message of Season 4's "Changing Nature" brings a dreary end to the fun.
The episode investigates the way that massive corporations destroy plant and animal life in favor of their bottom line, and how short-sighted that is. The episode sees the destruction of all plant life on the planet, followed by a decision to place bombs in every volcano in order to produce rain clouds. Instead, the plumes of smoke block out the sun and sink the planet into an ice age.
This isn't just a bleak ending; it's uncomfortable to watch even today. When the episode aired in 1994, it wasn't just out of left field, it was like it was being beamed in from another universe. It's a far cry from a wisecracking baby hitting his dino-dad in the head with a frying pan.
- Actors: Stuart Pankin, Jessica Walter, Jason Willinger, Sally Struthers, Kevin Clash
- Premiered: April 26, 1991
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When Michael J. Fox retired from acting to focus on his Parkinson's treatment, fans were shocked. Rather than just have deputy mayor Michael Flaherty ride off into the sunset, the hour-long episode weaves a story where Flaherty takes a political hit for the mayor and resigns.
It's not that the episode is incredibly sad, but the real-life parallel of losing Michael J. Fox - someone who'd been in the lives of film and television viewers since the '80s - was a lot for viewers to deal with. Spin City was rarely an overly emotional show, but the loss of Fox was genuinely painful.
- Actors: Charlie Sheen, Heather Locklear, Barry Bostwick, Richard Kind, Alan Ruck
- Premiered: September 17, 1996
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The early seasons of The Simpsons have lots of heartwarming episodes and touching, sweet, happy endings, but rarely get crushingly sad - which is why this Season 7 episode is like being T-boned at an intersection. In "Mother Simpson," Homer reunites with his mom after he fakes his own demise to avoid cleaning up litter on the highway with the rest of the drones at the power plant. She reveals that she had to leave him in 1967 because she's wanted for her role in an act of hippie-based espionage.
After Homer and his mother reconnect, she's spotted by Mr. Burns and has to leave her son all over again. It's a rare moment of sentimentality for such a goofy show, and it's absolutely crushing when Homer watches his mother ride away with a group of hippies for a second time. The credits roll over a shot of Homer sitting on his car, looking at the stars, with no words.
- Actors: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria
- Premiered: December 17, 1989
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Michael Scott leaving Dunder Mifflin wasn't just the end of an era for primetime television - it was an emotional event that blindsided a lot of viewers. Audiences knew that Michael was moving to be with Holly, but watching him walk through the airport and remove his microphone pack is such a real moment that it feels like you're watching a friend leave you for good.
To add to the unexpected sentimentality of the episode, Michael leaves a day early while his co-workers prep for his goodbye. In the episode's epilogue, there are no tears shed for Michael because everyone is already dealing with Deangelo's weird food issues. Seeing everyone move on so quickly is in line with the series, but it's a little painful to watch.
- Actors: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Ed Helms
- Premiered: March 24, 2005
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Much of the joy of Parks and Rec comes from the interplay between Leslie Knope's never-ending positivity and the realism of Ron Swanson. To say that it's jarring to see that the two friends are no longer speaking in Season 7 is an understatement, but the truth behind the breakdown of their relationship is heartbreaking.
After Leslie and Ron are locked into their old office to hash things out, it's revealed that once Leslie left the Parks Department, Ron felt alone without all of his friends and former co-workers. When Ron swallows his pride to ask Leslie for a job at the National Parks Service, he asks Leslie to meet him at the diner so they can discuss his decision over lunch, but she's so busy with her new job that she stands him up.
He'd never admit it, but Ron is such a proud person that the slight leads him to leave the Parks Department without explaining himself to anyone.
- Actors: Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt
- Premiered: April 9, 2009
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The Season 5 breakup of Sam and Diane is one of the saddest moments in the history of television. After years of an on-again, off-again relationship, the characters are finally engaged to be married. But when Diane receives an offer from a publisher for her book, she worries that she won't be able to juggle success and a happy marriage.
Rather than tell Diane to stay with him in Boston, Sam convinces Diane to move away and finish her book, effectively ending their relationship. Producer Rob Long told The Hollywood Reporter that as much as he wanted the characters to stay together, the writers said that it would never be possible because of who they are. He said:
[Show Creators] Glen and Les [Charles] wrote that last episode. I'm softy saying to them, "Can't we get them together?" and they're looking at me like, give me a break kid. This is supposed to be a love-hate relationship. That's what made their relationship fun to watch. It wasn't just they'd get over it or go to a therapist and work it out. No, these two people would be locked in mutual antagonism for their whole lives.
- Actors: Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, Shelley Long, Kirstie Alley
- Premiered: September 30, 1982
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Somehow, in the Season 2 episode of Rick and Morty, “Auto Erotic Assimilation," the creators managed to delve into Rick's substance abuse and the way in which it fuels his toxic narcissism, as well as the reasons behind his out-of-control drinking. What was once used as a bit is revealed for what it really is - a coping mechanism that Rick uses to escape from himself.
The episode follows Rick as he reconnects with an ex who is a literal hive mind; after getting back together, she breaks things off with him after realizing that they're not good for one another. Distraught with the very notion that he's a toxic personality, Rick botches his own suicide with his haphazard machine.
Rick and Morty never shies away from hard messages, but the final moments of this episode are especially hard to watch.
- Actors: Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer, Chris Parnell
- Premiered: December 2, 2013
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This isn't so much of a single moment in Adventure Time but rather a slow realization about the Ice King that anyone who's ever watched a loved one slip into dementia will understand. After Simon Petrikov purchases a jeweled crown and starts wearing it around, it causes him to blackout and quite literally lose his mind.
Petrikov's mind deteriorates over time thanks to this magical crown, and the loss of his fiancée causes him to stay on the eternal hunt for a "princess." Throughout the course of the series, the Ice King doesn't remember his old life, and doesn't even recognize himself in an old videotape. Adventure Time is full of deep ruminations on life, but it's rarely as heavy as it is when diving into the deterioration of the Ice King's memory. Lev Grossman, a former book critic with Time magazine, spoke about the character and his real-world parallels with NPR:
[He's] psychologically plausible. He's an old lecherous man who has a magical crown. It's made him into this strange, awful individual who goes around capturing princesses... Which is this rather moving tension, and he doesn't remember who he used to be, but other people do. It's very affecting. My dad has been going through having Alzheimer's, and he's forgotten so much about who he used to be. And I look at him and think this cartoon is about my father dying.
- Actors: Jeremy Shada, John DiMaggio, Hynden Walch, Tom Kenny, Olivia Olson
- Premiered: April 5, 2010
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Every season of Veep is excellent satire, but the final season is just a brutal reckoning with the horrible lengths to which people will go to attain the highest office in the land. *SPOILER ALERT* if you haven't watched the final season of Veep, move on.
After spending every waking moment essentially working as Selina's servant, Gary is repaid for his hard work with a frame job that leaves him holding the bag for funneling money through her faith-based initiative. In this moment, she literally sells out the last actual human who cared about her. The fact that she does it before going out to give a rousing speech about taking command of your own life is an extra kick in the teeth. Julia Louis-Dreyfus told Entertainment Weekly about how hard it was to play that scene:
There is a part of Selina that recognizes that Gary is maybe the only one who’s ever really loved her, and she’s giving that up. It is a decision she’s made. I think it was hard not to infuse that scene of saying goodbye to him in the wings with too much emotion that was coming from me, personally. Because Selina doesn’t go there very frequently. She’s not sympathetic toward others. She doesn’t have empathy for others. So that was... tricky. Tricky.
The episode ends with Gary appearing in a flash-forward moment to the future that is incredibly emotionally devastating, especially on a show that's so often built on total cynicism and the unfeeling nature of political actors.
- Actors: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Reid Scott, Tony Hale
- Premiered: April 22, 2012
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