Dramedy: The Genre Taking over TV (Video Essay)

[Music] The Queen Is [Music] Dead turn out TV is pretty [Music] cool whether it's a long running sitcom like peep show or a high tension drama like Breaking Bad I just like TV shows but there's one genre that takes over my a Waking Life every two months and that's dramedy dramedy is exactly what it sounds like it's drama and comedy mixed together into this weird depressing middle child it's a journal that's very common nowadays because a lot of writers like to write funny stuff but also want to write emotional stories they're also the only shows that win the comedy emmies nowadays sorry it's always sunny ji isn't necessarily a new genre in fact it's been a genre for years especially in cinema Wes Anderson makes dramedies Noah bomack makes dramedies but it wasn't as well known as it was in film one show most people would consider to be the first dram was Mash as it would have episodes that were mostly comedies but would get quite emotional every now and then same can be said about a lot of shows in the 2000s like Buffy or scrubs although it was n't until the 2010s where the quintessential drama started to rise some of the earliest examples include girls master of none AR the New Black insecure so on and so forth in this video I want to look at the specific things that make a dramy like tropes how they handle their episode pluss as well as the problems that modern audiences have with the J the dromes I'll be focusing on today are Atlanta flea bag and the bear this is controversial title [Music] name now before I talk about the rying of the characters and we'll talk about the visuals in my space video which you definitely watched right right I talk about how the show decided to go for a single cam s instead of a multi cam s which was very common for sitcoms back in the day I think it's very important to mention because it not only shows the shift in sitcoms but the Shi in TV as well after the laugh track sitcom died a slow death a lot of sitcoms decided to go for a single Camp setup especially past the 2010s you know shows like Brooklyn 99 Community uh young Shon most of those shows don't actually have a live audience especially like young Sheldon being a spin-off of a multicam sitcom show TV just became more cinematic as the years go by especially in dramas in h bom guy's video on VHS which I've rewatched a little too much he mentions how filmic awareness caused TV to Go a more cinematic route which definitely influence the style that drama these go for now let's talk about the visuals of our free shows even a show like flea bag which is the most simplistic visual wise compared to the other two shows but it still looks more cinematic than your average single cam sitcom its style is very natural and it doesn't have much dramatic lighting or grandiose camera movements it makes you feel like an observer in the room with them especially with her breaking the fourth wall atanta is quite similar but way different most of the episodes were directed by Hero marai who has worked with Donald Glover since the 35 music video its cinematography is also quite similar in that it stays quite natural except it has more contrast especially with the Shadows they even added this glowy film look to the show even though it's film on digital and then we have the bear that probably has the best visuals out of the three Christopher store is both the Creator and director for the show and he really does know how to portray this chaotic environment from the Quick Cuts to the closeups to the overlapping dialogue the directing really makes you feel like you're in the kitchen with these guys screaming in your is this is also way more apparent with its use of Oneness episode 7 of the B features a one take that lasts 18 minutes which I'll talk about later the B also features scenes of hallucinations and dream sequences where they play with editing and have weird visualizations the show opens with K me on a street laying a bear out of a cage and trying to tame it this scene could mean many things some say it's a representation of his emotions or even the restaurant but overall great visuals you have two shows do have these moments as well flea bag has a scene on the train with all the passengers kind of moving in beat with the song Sail by aw Nation signifying that she's on her period and Atlanta Atlanta's dream sequences all right the whole show is a dream sequence in my space video I had a whole section talking about the founding of the 20s somethings genre I mentioned how it mostly focused on relating to the next generation of young adults who were Gen X at the time this also applies to drames focusing on the generation after which is Millennials in other words a dramedy is a 20-some sitcom but with a depressed Millennial twist most dramy protagonists are young adults in their late 20s to early 30s trying to navigate adulthood whether it's through a struggling career or them trying to rebuild broken relationships but they also might have a dark past or an event that might have led them to their current situation in the bear were introduced to KI as a hardworking and resourceful individual this is from his background working in some of the best restaurants in the world restaurants Jesus this is from his background working in some of the best restaurants in the world in the first few minutes he does a bunch of transactions deliveries and whatnot just for a days worth of food The crucial event however is ki's brother Mike offing himself which is why why he now owns the restaurant he comes into conflict with Chef staff like Richie who was a close friend of his brothers this is your brother's house okay yeah remember I was running it fine without you why didn't you leave it to you then all this while trying to navigate his job and make the restaurant a non-toxic environment this can also be applied to Atlanta but not in the same way in the first episode an isn't happy with his current life he's a job he hates he has to sleep at the mother of his child's house while still having feelings for her and his parents only think he wants to talk to them for money he's also someone who's supposed to be at Princeton but it's heavily implied that he was kicked out but after realizing his cousin Alfred AKA paper boy might be a successful rapper he takes an opportunity to get in contact and ask him to be his manager so papery I think flea bag is the most direct example of this fle bag is trying to navigate her messy love life all while struggling to keep for business to float after her friend/ business partner offs herself on top of that a whole bunch of family issues the pilot does a very good job at getting you to like the main character whil also showing her massive flaws this is due to the four W break she does in the show with both flea bag and the bear the mains are still trying to cling to the past where the person is still alive while still being haunted by aspects of it although the same could be said with Atlanta with Alfred's mom having recently died I ain't seen or heard from you since my mom funeral and the first thing I hear out your mouth is Let's Get Rich this is where most of the drama comes from characters like Richie or Natalie serve the same purpose as characters like Alfred or CLA that leads me to talk about the rest of the cast members what the main differences a dram has to sitcoms is how it adheres to tropes from friends to community all the characters are sitcom archetypes every sitcom character has to be written as a monolith so they can be distinguishable but also have Market appeal in a way the drames don't necessarily care as much with fle bag most of the characters are pre-existing with them being in the original play with the other cast members in these shows they either family past lovers or just new characters this is most apparent with fle bag we got fleabag CLA Boo the dad the Godmother the bank manager e and Harry not to mention characters like bus Road an [ __ ] guy her relationship with her sister is what you'd expect from a sibling relationship they have a strong bond but they either bicker or be very weird when expressing emotions that Jesus [ __ ] hug why the [ __ ] did you do there's also some conflict with Claire's husband who's also a terrible and annoying person Harry is fle bag's boyfriend who she breaks up with on a regular basis the first episode even introduces him with one of these breakups it's probably one of my favorite scenes of the show turn off my house drunk in your underwear won't work this time it will her relationship with her dad is complicated he's still grieving from their mother's death and tries to bond with his daughters by giving them trips to feminist lectures or women's Retreats there's also some conflict with the fact that not too long after he starts dating their mom's student who's now their stepmother they both hate each other quite equally with the Godmother being way more subtle at the end of the episode fle back decides to steal a statue from her which becomes a big piece of iconography for the show Atlanta the bear have a cast that's actually quite similar to your traditional sitcom hell there's even a theory that the Atlanta cast is a reincarnated version of the Seinfeld cast you got the performer that's starting to rise in Fame the friend who helps him out whilst complaining about how unsuccessful his life is the girl who was in some kind of past relationship with one the characters and the wacky unemployed friend the cast of characters all represent different aspects of Atlanta Alfred represents Fame in Atlanta and Howard it's not as it seems van represents the average person in Atlanta who has to go through financial troubles child care and employment and darus just represents the social and surreal side of Atlanta and as infraed by that and then you have characters like n n is the average person who's interested in the fame side this is seen as a driving force for him to become his cousin's manager and then there's a cast of The Bear we have Ki Sydney Richie Marcus Tina ebra Gary back and Natalie the bear has the largest cast outle of the free the show starts with the characters kind of taking sides Sydney who is a newcomer in the beef admires KY skill T goes for Marcus who KY inspires to improve his baking in desserts and then you have characters like Richie that prefer what the bear was before Mike died but starts to change and come to terms with it same goes for characters like Tina who goes from clashing with Sydney to actually learning from her to get better herself which is a main thing with this show it's less of a 20s something's comedy and more of a workplace comedy like cheers there's a lot of differences when it comes to dramas and comedies I remember when I was a kid I used to confuse drama with melodrama and think I was going to end up crying by the end of it which isn't necessarily true drama is characterized by the stakes and story lines whereas comedy focuses on story lines that make you laugh both make you care about the characters in different ways but with comedies it's more so like oh these characters are hilarious but dramas just got to do with them succeeding at their goal and sometimes that goal can be life friending at times think about shows like Breaking Bad in TV most dramas are serialized which means they have every episode connected one after the other because of their overarching storyline whereas sitcoms are episodic meaning every episode handles a different plot the term sitcom is in fact short for situational comedy dramedies usually do the latter focusing on the problem of the day format from sitcoms what makes drames a little different are the consequences which is what they take from drama to give it a more serialized feel for example in Atlanta the first episode ends with one of the main characters going to jail and so the next episode would be about that certain aspects are treated with more severity than they would be in the sitcom let's look at how our shows handle their comedy and drama with their episode plus fle bag's funniest moments come from her either saying how she truly feels to the audience or people around her there are even a lot of scenes that show fle back not necessarily adhering to things relating to feminism especially with the events her dad sets up for her and her sister but a lot of the drama comes from not only the dark reality of the event that happened with Buu but also from how she feels about her own actions not only that but the people around her start to not take her self-destructive behaviors anymore there's one episode where she talks about the weird tactics she does when breaking up or getting back together with Harry I don't think this is working that episode ends quite hilariously but ends with a somewhat sad ending for fle back as she realized she can't keep acting this way now what about Atlanta well what's unique about Atlanta is it's well building which is a weird term to use when talking about dramedy but when Donald Glover was asked to describe his show Atlant he called it Twin Peaks with rappers I don't see it but at the same time I do okay I'll stop I'll stop just just watch the space video okay it's surreal storytelling is one of the trademark aspects of the show like meeting up with Migos or doing an interview for a fictional version of bet or taking part in a charity basketball match with Justin Bieber who's also black back in this show it definitely comes from Donald Glover's experience as a rapper and just coming from Atlanta Georgia it even takes events from the news and social media both serious and unserious the comedy comes from the characters having to constantly go through hard or awkward situations to get something which is very similar to a sitcom episode but like I said before there are real consequences if they don't succeed okay see I'm poor darious okay and poor people don't have time for Investments because poor people are too busy trying not to be poor when I mentioned that the characters represent different aspects of Atlanta this is what the episodes usually are about Alfred has to deal with the frustrating scenarios that any celebrity would have to go through except times that by 11 like he really suffered more than Jesus I mean you'll be all right though you know what I'm saying the song Hot bro probably go platinum or some [ __ ] I ain't making no money off that [ __ ] song and story lines always involve him trying to get Alfred gigs and get paid both from the gigs and just overall but those scenarios don't always go to plan thing with Van whose episodes involve her trying to get by financially or having to be in very awkward social situations most of the time some episodes even feature n like the juneth episode and Darius he doesn't necessarily have that many singular episodes but when he does he nearly dies Atlanta does a good job at not only satirizing what it means to be a rapper in Atlanta but also just black in America and then we have the bear when it comes to to the episode plot section of the bear I felt like it need to have its own segment because it brings out a problem that a love drama's face which is aren't they just dramas for this bit I want to dress like Richie from season 2 but yeah this sh is it's quite oversized but overall still cool with the bear there's been a huge debate on whether it's more of a drama than it is a comedy this has especially been an issue with it sweeping the emies in fact networks are trying to move the bear into the drama category like that's how much people care about this a lot of people including the writers say it's a comedy because it's 30 minutes long but I don't think that's necessarily true like I still think it's pretty funny in my opinion it all has to do with where the comedy comes from like I said before most comedy and sitcoms comes from the situations as as well as the character in The Bear the episode plots aren't inherently comedic trying out a new Chef system caring a kid's birthday party handling a bad health inspection review the situations aren't comedic but the way the characters handle them are and I think season 1 does this more than season 2 in my opinion it's just a lot more comedic circumstances when it comes to the restaurant run with no money and a dysfunctional staff it's a trademark workplace comedy in that sense which was technically the season that won won the awards last em season in season 2 they have an overarching goal of renovating their restaurant which is a lot more of a serialized drama plot than it is a comedy flop a lot of comedy shows would keep the shop how it was instead of trying to change it as that's where the hilarity comes from that's like cheers is renovating their bar into weather spoons I I don't know what the equivalent to weathers is in the US please let me know in the comments although it isn't too much for a comedy to have an overarching plot Seinfeld had a whole season dedicated to making the pilot of the show but let's focus on where the comedy comes from in the bear on an article by Catherine Porter for Pace magazine she says the comedy is in the chaos of the disaster the characters face oh W that's oh my God but comedy is in the chaos of the disaster the characters face and while that's not what a traditional comedy is known for it doesn't mean that it isn't a comedy episodes like review and fishes are very K but hilarious at the same time there's some comedy in the way Mike marcks Uncle Lee but there's some sadness in the way Lee calls him useless knowing how he ends up all this matched up with the 20 other things that happened in the episode so I'm not going to spoil it too much cuz it's really good same goes for everyone's outb in review as they quickly go insane smashing Donuts stabbing each other by accident although I do understand how audiences may feel these scenes cause more anger and stress in the viewer than they do laughter but honestly those emotions are quite close to laughter I'm sorry I giggle and I get nervous I can quote a billion lines from episode 7 just because of how hilarious it is I don't know I may need help nearly every episode is filled with a comically chaotic environment where everything goes wrong but there's a large focus on the serious aspects sometimes even more than the comedic it handles subjects of grief depression and generational trauma that is very heavy-handed for comedy but nonetheless handles these themes very well which is one of the biggest strengths of the bear while the show is intense and depressing most of the time there are a lot of Great Character moments where they learn to Bear themselves and work together to make the restaurant a better place and if there's anything that this show has has coming to your traditional comedy show it's half or harf I got Heth you're going to need funny this is a dilemma a lot of drames face some shows just struggled to balance two genres some shows are more comedies than they are dramas and some shows are more dramas than they are comedies with the bear the writers probably focus more on having great character development and good writing with high stakes than writing an absolutely hilarious show [Music] in conclusion fine let's talk about Barry let's talk about but before I talk about the show let's talk about Bill haer himself bill haer is apparently a big film NAD he originally wanted to become a filmmaker and worked as a production assistant for years but he didn't have his break through until he joined SNL where he thrived with his character acting and Impressions even became a creative consultant on South Park and eventually starred in a bunch of comedies in the late 2000s especially joined the Jud appal comedy era after being in the industry for decades he was finally able to create his own TV series and honestly it's probably the best drama it was created by Bill haer and Alec Berg as well as being directed mostly by Bill himself the plotting of itself sounds quite comedic Barry is about Barry a Hitman who was on a mission decid he wants to join an acting class and become an actor you know how you and I talk all the time about my purpose you think acting could be your purpose first let's talk about the characters the characters consist of Barry stakus fuk Sally the acting class and noo Hank Barry does slightly fit the criteria of dry protagonist as he's trying to run away from his past but instead of trying to mend old relationships he just wants to leave those as soon as possible especially with fukes the episode plots are quite serialized with the episodes before being important to watching the next one the drama also comes from him trying to run from his job as well as his own internal issues like his PTSD and his anger and he gets angry a lot the comedy usually comes from the character's stupidity or cluelessness or irrationality whether it's from the characters from the acting class or the chat M there's always a trait that's going to make them hilarious the show is very Co and brothers esque when it comes to its character writing their films usually involve characters trying to cheat their way through situations but karma gets the best of them so I wouldn't be surprised if Bill got some influence from them because he does like their films I repeat he does like their films I'm not reaching this time and the last thing I want to talk about are the visuals who hear the style of directing allows for the show to be able to balance not only comedy and drama but action thrill art and even horror at times especially with episodes like Ronnie ly or 710n if you want to know how to film and frame physical comedy you should definitely watch this show like it's generally really good at these things the show also has probably some of the best hallucination and dream sequences I've seen not only on television but in media I don't know why this has become a criteria in this video I don't know why his experience in comedy and love for film really made for one of the best TV shows on telev bear in mind this this was the show that everyone was like oh no it's not a comedy it's too depressing like what the better I get it but with [Music] this Ramy is a show created by comedian Ramy yusf he plays Ramy Hussein a first generation Muslim living in New Jersey and it followed his struggles with being a good Muslim in America whether it has to do with his love life or with his struggle to keep in touch with his Egyptian side it's definitely one of the most honest shows I've seen on television and I'd highly recommend you all give it a watch insecure was a show created by Issa Ray follows Issa and her friend Molly as they navigate their careers and relationships as black women in the Contemporary world now while I haven't watched most of the show it's definitely important to include it as being a big part of the drum the genre in the mid-20s especially as it was originally a web series called awkward black girl so yeah give in Secure [Music] watch the white Lois was created by Mike White it's an anthology show that follows Rich tourists going on vacation to a resort called the white Lois it's also a new part of the miniseries that was too successful so they turned it into an anthology show H the out of those shows it fits this show the best each season is set in a different country which allows for great commentary on the country tourism colonialism as well as stuff dealing with familial problems and relationship Dynamics also one of them gets murdered each season dreaming W black is a show created by Ali Hughes and adani Salon it follows queno a young black filmmaker trying to get his short film made but has to deal with the struggles of being a black filmmaker in England and what it really takes to make it quickly became one of my favorite shows of 2024 mainly cuz I I watched it three to four times 6 30 minute episodes okay shut up shut up but yeah I'd highly recommend you all binge the show because if this doesn't get a second season then we have failed as a society [Music] this is I don't know why this is a thing now comedy's in a weird place at the moment whether it's all comedians blaming cancel culture or just a lack of comedic media overall I've seen two or three videos about how there's not many pure comedies anymore especially from like big directors that were very big in the 2000s Adam McCay doesn't make Step Brothers anymore he makes a tonee polical dramy that's come from someone that likes Vice this is no different from how people feel about sitcoms especially with the rise of drama these I do think the way most people see this genre is a little bit reductive you know they see it as a sometimes sad sometimes funny genre you know but I do understand why people aren't really into it because a lot of people want pure comedic media people want white bread but have to deal with 50/50 because of woke but you know I don't mind 50/50 I think the genre is a great mix for telling stories with emotional depth while also being super hilarious drames have been a great representation of maturity and adulthood especially with the quarterlife crisis being a main thing with these shows it's also been a great way of telling stories about marginalized groups showing not only the struggles they face but the joy and hilarity of being who they are this is further shown with shows like flea bag in Atlanta even shows like Barry and the bear have great critiques of masculinity even though they're quite that's toxic masculinity the [ __ ] is that the criterias I mentioned in this video are honestly quite useless which is why I talked about Barry because Bill isn't a millennial he's Gen X big mistake I made when writing this video was comparing these shows to sitcoms because at the end of day it's its own genre no matter how dark the themes of these shows are they're still Comm IES even if it's just 50/50 but with the current Emy situation you can understand why people care so much all the main shows I've talked about have won multiple Emmys and deserve them 100% so it does make you wonder if this is the standard for not only comedy television but comedy media overall but I don't necessarily think it's for the worst in conclusion do I think drames are replacing the sitcom no because AB Elementary exists go watch it sweet baby Jesus and the grown one to [Music] [Applause] [Music] take your and take my time [Music]

Channel: ArifIsCreative

Views: 2,310

Keywords: atlanta, barry, dramedy, emmys, fleabag, fleabag video essay, sad millenial, sitcom, the bear, video essay

Id: dljwcTHeCfg

Length: 30min 12sec (1812 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 26 2024