traumedy

scarequotes commented on the word traumedy

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2016/03/netflix_s_flaked_starring_will_arnett_reviewed.html

Honestly, though, the specifics of Flaked are less curious to me than the larger trend of which Flaked is a part. These shows—which the Transparent writers have dubbed “traumedies”—are, as Rosenberg says, what pass for prestige in the world of comedy these days. Why then are they so sporadically comedic? I do not mean these shows aren’t sometimes funny, though they are more often “funny.” But they are distinct from sitcoms in that their relationship to humor is at will. Sometimes they will try to be funny, and more often they will not. (This is why I have not lumped You’re the Worst or Master of None in with this trend, though they abut it. Both of those shows contain jokes.)

December 20, 2016