Are These TV Shows Comedies or Dramas? We Decide!

Twenty years ago, it was easy to tell TV comedies and dramas apart. Comedies lasted a half-hour and had a laugh track. Dramas lasted an hour and wrapped everything up neatly each week. But now, with the explosion of genre-defying dramedies all across the TV dial, it’s gotten a lot more complicated — and even the Emmys are confused.

After years of letting shows submit themselves as either comedy or drama, the Television Academy tried to simplify things this year by declaring that all half-hour shows are comedies, and all hour-long shows are dramas. But they’re allowing an appeals process, and hour-long shows like Glee, Jane the Virgin, and Shameless have won the right to compete as comedies. (The dirty secret here is: The competition is very stiff in the drama categories, so every show wants to be considered a comedy for a better shot at a trophy.)

But Critic-at-Large Ken Tucker and Senior Editor Dave Nemetz are here to settle this, once and for all. They’re taking a closer look at eight current series that combine comedic and dramatic elements, and deciding which category they actually belong in. Emmy voters, we hope you’re listening.

Jane the Virgin (The CW)

The CW’s freshman hit is a great example of why this comedy-or-drama idea doesn’t work anymore: Yes, it’s an hour in length, but it’s as breezy and effervescent as anything else on TV. Even the more dramatic elements of Jane’s love life and her surprise pregnancy are delivered with a light touch. Never before has a show that’s featured multiple murders seemed so upbeat. (And whatever supporting category he ends up in, Jaime Camil needs a nomination. Rogelio De Le Vega will not be ignored!) — DN
Verdict: COMEDY

Girls (HBO)

Lena Dunham is so uninterested in hewing to anything like sitcom conventions (one measure of her show’s originality) that entering Girls in the Drama category would be paying it a compliment, giving weight and respect to the emotional tussles Hannah Horvath and her pals went through this season. — KT
Verdict: DRAMA

Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

Last year, Netflix’s rowdy women-in-prison series competed as a comedy; this year, the Emmys are calling it a drama. And no, the show didn’t radically change its tone between seasons. But we understand their dilemma. OITNB is an hour-long series that shines a light on the injustice of the prison system and the haunting backstories of Litchfield’s inmates. But it also adds a lot of laughs and summer-camp shenanigans into the mix. It’s a close call, but we think the Emmys got it right this time: OITNB is ultimately a drama that’s funny, not a comedy that can get serious. — DN
Verdict: DRAMA

Glee (Fox)

Sure, we’re so used to thinking of Glee as a bright bauble of bustling energy and rapid-fire punchlines, but there’s a strong backbone of drama supporting it. The show’s strong, serious messages about the damage from homophobia, bullying, and other themes explored through emotional and intellectually thought-through scenes make an argument for taking the show more seriously by the Television Academy. — KT
Verdict: DRAMA

Louie (FX)

No series on television does more to highlight the absurdity of trying to pigeonhole a show as either “comedy” or “drama” than Louis CK’s wildly experimental FX series. It’s a half-hour show starring a stand-up comedian, so this seems like an easy call. But certain episodes of Louie go off in strange, dark directions that don’t necessarily elicit any laughs at all. And CK has also played around with episode lengths, stringing together a six-part story last season that played more like an independent film. We’re tempted to throw Louie into the drama race, because we think it can measure up creatively to any drama on TV. But in the end, it’s still wickedly, caustically funny, so we’ll keep it where it is. — DN

Verdict: COMEDY

Nurse Jackie (Showtime)

At this point in the saga of Jackie Peyton, her addictions have become so inescapable, so damaging to her family, work, and romantic relationships, that Nurse Jackie plays very much like a drama — a dark, pessimistic drama. Sure, it’s studded with bleak humor, but it pulls us in with its increasing seriousness. — KT
Verdict: DRAMA

Togetherness (HBO)

This HBO freshman is so beautifully written, it’s impossible to separate the comedy from the drama — very often, both elements figured within a single scene. I suppose Emmy voters will inevitably look at a half-hour show with so many funny lines and consider it a comedy with no hesitation, but Togetherness really has its genre-meld together. — KT
Verdict: HUNG JURY

Shameless (Showtime)

Yeah, this is one the Emmys have botched for two years straight now. Granted, it’s in Showtime’s interest to have the Gallaghers compete in the less-crowded comedy category; William H. Macy snagged a Lead Actor Emmy nomination last year because of it. But the laughs here are of the resigned, world-weary variety, and Fiona and her siblings have overcome some horrifying situations over the years: attempted suicide, alcoholism, stints in prison. In fact, the Season 4 scene where baby Liam overdoses on cocaine should permanently end all discussion. Sorry, Shameless: We love you, but you’re not a comedy. — DN
Verdict: DRAMA