History Main / SadistShow

* Many of the Website/GoAnimate "[[YouAreGrounded Grounded]]" videos are this. Most of them involve one or more troublesome kids (especially ones from preschool shows, particularly WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} and WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer) getting grounded (said word being usually repeated over and over) for absurdly long periods of time for the slightest offenses. Many of these videos are [[SoBadItsGood just so over-the-top that they're funny]], but when the video maker decides to get cruel with the characters' punishments, ''hoo boy'' does it get cruel. The parent characters become utterly sociopathic (if not outright AxCrazy) compared to their kids and often come out on top [[DesignatedHero even when they clearly don't deserve it]], the kids [[DisproportionateRetribution don't do enough to warrant the long groundings]], and the preschool show characters are hated and frequently humiliated/grounded/arrested/''killed'' by everyone in the universe [[DesignatedVillain when they don't even deserve it]], or even just for being from preschool shows.
* All of the main characters in ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' are relentlessly abused chew toys, sometimes getting to the level of CosmicPlaything. At least one of them gets killed horribly in nearly every episode, and if it isn't, injuries of any kind are still to be expected.

* ''LightNovel/BludgeoningAngelDokuroChan'', which is about an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent and the insane MagicalGirl who kills him repeatedly. Removing her halo causes massive bouts of diarrhea. Another angel shows up and tries to kill protagonist-boy with a cattle prod because he's going to invent immortality in the future...but only for women, and it makes them all look twelve, so everyone decides he's a pedophile. Very much a CrossesTheLineTwice sort of show.

* The original ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'' shorts were like this. Good things almost never happen to Retsuko and most of the other characters are either jerks or just annoying to Retsuko and never face any consequences for their behavior. The Netflix series is much less sadistic, as although good things still rarely happen to her, the series shows her learning and maturing from her experiences. Although the first season ends with her continuing to take abuse from her coworkers and bosses, she is a lot more positive about it than at the beginning of the series.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' makes ''you'' the sadist, shooting up innocent civilians for no good reason and eventually blowing up a power plant and destroying everything around it.

* ''WebAnimation/MariKari'': It’s like the paranormal ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' meets the vulgar, blood and guts & mayhem of WesternAnimation/SouthPark.
--> "MARI, MARI! Sweeter than a cherry. Head is kinda airy. SHE LOVES YOU!!! KARI, KARI! Horrible and Scary! If you mess with Mari; SHE'LL KILL YOU!!"
--> -- The Theme Song of Mari-Kari.

* ''WebVideo/MariKari'': It’s like the paranormal ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' meets the vulgar, blood and guts & mayhem of WesternAnimation/SouthPark.

* Comicbook/MonicasGang used to be this trope, but thanks to years of fans (and MoralGuardians, since the comic is for children AND starred [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood by children]]) complaining about how the characters suffer ungodly amounts of name-calling and [[ButtMonkey slapstick]] for no justifiable reason([[VitriolicBestBuds specially amongst themselves]]), all [[AllForNothing their efforts]] [[ShaggyDogStory to accomplish a goal]] [[CruelTwistEnding be in vain]], as well as their abusers constantly getting away [[KarmaHoudini scot-free]], it resulted in the franchise becoming LighterAndSofter. Thought it still ventures to its sadist roots from time to time.

* Comicbook/MonicasGang used to be this trope, but thanks to years of fans (and MoralGuardians, since the comic is for children AND starred [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood ny children]]) complaining about how the characters suffer ungodly amounts of name-calling and [[ButtMonkey slapstick]] for no justifiable reason([[VitriolicBestBuds specially amongst themselves]]), all [[AllForNothing their efforts]] [[ShaggyDogStory to accomplish a goal]] [[CruelTwistEnding be in vain]], as well as their abusers constantly getting away [[KarmaHoudini scot-free]], it resulted in the franchise becoming LighterAndSofter. Thought it still ventures to its sadist roots from time to time.

* Comicbook/MonicasGang used to be this trope, but thanks to years of fans (and MoralGuardians, sicne the comic is fro children AND the main characters [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood are children]]) complaining about how the characters suffer ungodly amounts of name-calling and [[ButtMonkey slapstick]] for no justifiable reason([[VitriolicBestBuds specially amongst themselves]]), all [[AllForNothing their efforts]] [[ShaggyDogStory to accomplish a goal]] [[CruelTwistEnding be in vain]], as well as their abusers constantly getting away [[KarmaHoudini scot-free]], it resulted in the franchise becoming LighterAndSofter. Thought it still ventures to its sadist roots from time to time.

* Comicbook/MonicasGang used to be this trope, but thanks to fans (and MoralGuardians) complaining about how the characters suffer ungodly amounts of name-calling and [[ButtMonkey slapstick]] for no justifiable reason([[VitriolicBestBuds specially amongst themselves]]), all [[AllForNothing their efforts]] [[ShaggyDogStory to accomplish a goal]] [[CruelTwistEnding be in vain]], as well as their abusers constantly getting away [[KarmaHoudini scot-free]], it resulted in the franchise becoming LighterAndSofter. Thought it still ventures to its sadist roots from time to time.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}''. Everything that happens to [[ChewToy Charlie]] [[ButtMonkey Brown]]. Linus is not much better off, having such a big sister as [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Lucy]].

* Comicbook/MonicasGang used to be this trope, but thanks to fans (and MoralGuardians) complaining about how the characters suffer ungodly amounts of name-calling and [[ButtMonkey slapstick]] for no justifiable reason([[VitriolicBestBudsspecially amongst themselves]]), all [[AllForNothing their efforts]] [[ShaggyDogStory to accomplish a goal]] [[CruelTwistEnding be in vain]], as well as their abusers constantly getting away [[Karmahoudini scot-free]], it resulted in the franchise becoming LighterAndSofter. Thought it still ventures to its sadist roots from time to time.

* ''WebVideo/DarkSimpsons'' is basically taking clips from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and throwing the characters from the show into BlackComedy situations which more often than not result in trauma or death ([[BreadEggsBreadedEggs or both]]).

!!Examples:

* ''Anime/ExcelSaga''. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Everything Il Palazzo assigns to his henchgirls ends up in failure]], Hyatt is [[IllGirl so ill that she continually dies and comes back to life]], [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption all of Menchi's attempts to escape Excel's ownership end in failure]], [[ButtMonkey Mr. Pedro]] lost ties with his family to Gomez, Nabeshin is prone to lose loved ones only moments after he reunites with them, and Excel's neighbors are led by one hell of an iron-fisted bitch.

* Virtually every character in ''WebAnimation/SonicForHire'' either die, get seriously injured, or are screwed over in some way. In fact, death usually happens to the one-shot characters; the main and recurring characters get to stay alive because watching their constant misfortunes is [[RefugeInAudacity much more funnier instead]].

* [[WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland Battle for Dream Island]] may look like a lighthearted {{Object Show|s}}, but [[CrapSaccharineWorld can be quite mean-spirited]] as each contestant gets eliminated one by one (until the final 3), you get to see them get locked in a metal box FOR MONTHS! This is also justified due to the fact that when a character dies, they don't just die, but are perfectly fine in the next shot, but actually dead, and need to be revived.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Extremely common in British sitcoms, especially those which follow a FawltyTowersPlot format. ''Series/FawltyTowers'' itself features an incredibly unpleasant hotel owner who is astonishingly rude to his staff and guests. Whilst Basil himself is a deeply unpleasant man, and he deserves everything he gets, the cruel ways in which his lies fall apart can be particularly indulgent to watch. Additionally, his wife and several of his guests are portrayed as almost as unpleasant as he is, and even more sadistic. Basil and Sybil's marriage could be a SadistShow all on its own.
* ''Series/QueenForADay'' is a show in which five female contestants describe in excruciating detail their horrible RealLife problems (such as deaths in the family, cancer, job loss, poverty, homelessness, even ''mental illness'') in order to win prizes, the host often doing some jokes to avoid things from getting sour, with the only result often being that the audience had no chance but ''laugh'' at their predicaments. When the winner was announced, the other contestants have ushered off the stage and were given ''nothing'', not even bus fare home.[[note]](From the viewer's standpoint, anyway. The losers actually ''did'' get a small consolation prize, such as a toaster oven or camera, but this was never mentioned on-air to avoid getting liars as contestants.)[[/note]] This passed for family entertainment for ''twenty years'' on American TV.
* ''Strike It Rich'' was even '''worse''', as unlike in ''Queen for a Day'', the contestants that did not win were given ''nothing'', often having to rely on charities (although viewers were urged to call a hotline if they desired to help them). An issue of ''TV Guide'' called it "a despicable travesty on the very nature of charity.", which came out as very strong criticism at the time. The late 1950s game show ''It Could Be You'', in which women were prized for embarrassing situations and were given comically useless gifts, was basically a jab at the show.
* Teen soaps are prone to this half of the time, apparently to show you that some TeensAreMonsters. However, {{Creator/Nickelodeon}}'s sitcoms usually leads this trope, especially Creator/DanSchneider-created shows that employ DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale. ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' and ''Series/ICarly'' are poster-children for ComedicSociopathy, both having a massive KarmaHoudini in the form of Megan and Sam, with their targets Drake & Josh, and Freddie respectively.
%%* Almost any Indonesian TV.
* The series ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' finds its characters, particularly Michael Bluth, constantly having brief opportunities at success yanked away from them. Oftentimes, it will be the culmination of the decisions of everyone in the house working against each other to completely void any progress they may have made. The mildly likable Michael Bluth often finds that as soon as he himself is willing to be the slightest bit lax in his principles he is karmically punished, as when he condemns his family for spending their shares of company stock only to have it immediately revealed that he has used his shares to buy a new car (though, in all fairness, a car is way more useful than a boat and gaybar in a terrifying neighborhood).
* The humor in the BBC TV series ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and ''{{Series/Extras}}'' comes from the continual humiliation of the main characters, especially the second series of Extras. [[Series/TheOfficeUS The US adaptation]] will occasionally flirt with this, but seldom rely on it. The same goes for ''Series/TheITCrowd'', often in a big way.
* The BritCom ''Series/{{Bottom}}'' (as well as its spiritual predecessor ''Series/TheYoungOnes'') exists entirely so the audience can watch two only-slightly-sympathetic {{Loser Protagonist}}s sharing an apartment, arguing, dreaming up {{Zany Scheme}}s that inevitably fail, beating the hell out of each other, and suffering fatal injuries at least once every three episodes. Edmondson, Mayall, and Planer also joined forces for ''Series/FilthyRichAndCatflap''. This sort of show is really Edmondson and Mayall's specialty.
* ''Series/PeepShow'' is another BritCom to fit this trope, a cringingly awkward black comedy following, once again, two only-slightly-sympathetic {{Loser Protagonist}}s as they ruin their own chances in life and love.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''. What redeeming moments the characters had were very few and far between, and such moments were almost always the exclusive purview of Al and to a lesser extent Bud.
%%* ''Series/TheWorstWeekOfMyLife''
%%* ''Series/{{MADtv}}''
* ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'', to some extent. There are no more than token efforts to solve the DysfunctionJunction situation. Ray is a wuss when it comes to standing up to his wife and mother, although he does get better at this in the later seasons; Frank is an insensitive JerkAss; Deborah is a mean, overly angry housewife; Robert is a self-loathing whiner who expresses {{Wangst}} despite the fact that he's in his forties; and Marie is simply the personification of the devil who uses guilt to get what she wants in addition to being meddlesome.
* ''Series/DinnerImpossible'' could be fairly accurately summarized as "Food Network tries to kill Robert Irvine." ''Series/RestaurantImpossible'' allows him to spread the suffering around a bit more. That said, he enjoys the sadism a bit as he doesn't perform so well in other shows.
** From the same network, a lot of the "Food Network Specials" basically consist of the audience waiting for the cake to fall over.
** Or shows like ''Series/{{Chopped}}'' and ''Series/CupcakeWars'' which is a stage-by-stage elimination show where 3 out of 4 chefs' dreams gets crushed one chef at a time.
** ''Series/HellsKitchen'', getting eliminated early there is practically suicide for your career in the culinary field, you will be stuck working for slave wages after this at a low-quality dining place if you were eliminated early.
** And then there's ''Series/CutthroatKitchen'', which is a show about a cooking competition where chefs strategically screw each other over.
---> ... where sabotage is not only encouraged, ''it's for sale!''
* All the fans watch ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' to see the Winchesters suffer and see how Dean will fall apart this week (except for the [[FanDumb portion of the fandom]] [[MisaimedFandom that thinks Dean is a saint]]). And everyone loves to watch Sam and Dean [[ManlyTears cry]]. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by an InUniverse fan of the ''Supernatural'' books, who points out that the best moments are [[TearJerker when the boys cry]]. Dean is very annoyed.
* ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris''. The name speaks for [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin itself]].
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' was practically built around this idea. "No hugging, no learning" was the mantra in the show's formative years.
%%* Likewise, ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm.''
* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' is this trope in ''spades''. The main cast of five has virtually ''no'' redeeming qualities and their attempts to improve anything ''always'' makes it worse. Sweet Dee was originally conceived as the voice of reason, but very quickly lost that aspect of her character and is now just as horrible as the rest of them.
* ''Series/{{Lexx}}'' is another WorldHalfEmpty example. The characters are less than sympathetic, and while you'd kinda root for them at first, by the third season you'd wish [[KillItWithFire they died in the pilot]], for the ''entire Universe's'' sake. The third season tries to redeem them, but some even consider [[spoiler:[[CrossesTheLineTwice blowing up Heaven and Hell planets]]]] to deserve them the fate above. The fourth season goes to [[spoiler:Earth]], which doesn't have that much luck or sympathy either, and is destroyed chunk by chunk [[spoiler:until it is blown up and between the survivors manage to wind up [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent President Buffoon]], the MadScientist partly responsible for Earth's destruction (and his {{Fangirl}}s), and of course, [[{{Satan}} the devil himself]]]].
%% * Creator/TheBBC show ''Series/{{Mongrels}}''
* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''. This show has "Life is Unfair" as its slogan, after all:
** The series is wall-to-wall power struggles and emotional warfare. The rule on that show is that whatever makes the characters (especially Malcolm) the most miserable is what will happen. Just two examples: the episode that ends with Francis dragged naked behind a Zamboni on a skating rink (after trying to stop getting deeper in debt to his evil employer), and the episode that ends with Malcolm being insulted, a lot, by a girl, having a crying jag and drying his tears with poison oak.
** There was an in-universe example of this as well... In one episode, Francis babysits his brothers and sets up a "contest" to see which brother loves him most by doing random tasks for him. This quickly devolves into a brawl, and Francis briefly cuts in, saying something to the effect of "Whoa, whoa. This was supposed to be about love, and you've turned it into something ugly! ...Carry on." He then sits down with a drink and watches his brothers fighting, saying "This, too, pleases me."
* ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' is a relentlessly cynical, sadistic show about [[DirtyCoward dirty cowards]] and a near VillainProtagonist. The characters who aren't self-serving and malicious are hideously incompetent, and they all inhabit a realm where idealism goes to die.
* ''Cheaters''. The show's purpose is to be a private investigator service for people who think their significant other is being unfaithful. [[{{Dissimile}} Except without the "private" portion.]] If the SO is indeed cheating, you don't have to pay any fees for hiring the show, but you are expected to confront them and the Other (Wo)Man in public with the host and camera crew trailing behind like {{Ambulance Chaser}}s, getting in the broken-hearted peoples' faces and asking "How do you feel?" Never once have they shown an investigation that exonerated the SO or had a happy ending. Is it any wonder the host was once stabbed on-camera by an enraged man?
* ''Series/{{Naeturvaktin}}''/''Series/{{Dagvaktin}}''/''Series/{{Fangavaktin}}''/''Series/{{Bjarnfredarson}}'' are about a DysfunctionJunction ComicTrio unintentionally (and occasionally intentionally) making each others's lives worse in a CrapsackWorld. ''Series/{{Dagvaktin}}'' is the most extreme, dealing with the cast committing or enduring rape, murder, and child abuse, as well as embarking upon a MushroomSamba and breaking the index finger of a {{Jerkass}} surgeon with million-dollar hand insurance.
* ''Series/OohLaLaCouple'', a 2012 KoreanDrama, constantly has its characters in awkwardly funny situations that should generally be serious and heartbreaking, but are juxtaposed to hilarious reactions.
* ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'': Not only do wizards have to give up their powers and [[SiblingRivalry fight their siblings to be the only one in the family to keep them forever]], but even Alex, Justin and Max Russo, the ''main trio of siblings'' in the show, have been shown to be {{sadist}}s ''themselves'' who will joke about killing someone for [[DesignatedEvil holding a revolution to make sure no wizard ever has to give up their powers and consider them "evil" for doing it.]][[note]]See "The Good, The Bad, and The Alex", where Justin considers Alex to be evil after she joins [[DesignatedVillain Stevie Nichols]] in her revolution to make sure no one ever has to give up their powers, but then Alex freezes Stevie before Max can take a picture for their revolutionary flag and Max knocks her over, shattering into pieces next to her brother, who's unconscious after touching the power transmitter, which gave him a "Full Wizard" cap and tie and Alex reveals that she was just playing along with Stevie to gain her trust and remarks, "That's a nice brother-sister moment," making fun of Stevie shattered into pieces of ice next to Warren, who's unconscious.[[/note]]
* ''Series/ANTFarm''. While the main character isn't too bad, everyone else is either an inconsiderate jerk or a complete idiot.
* ''Series/BlackBooks'' is nothing more than an embittered Irish drunk taking out his anger and frustration on the world, usually in the form of [[ButtMonkey Manny]]. It's good.
* Much of the appeal of ''Series/DirtyJobs'' is seeing Mike Rowe get absolutely filthy and try (and mostly fail) to perform tasks that would make most people cringe while his hosts (who do this for a living) look on with amusement. One of the most popular episodes involves Mike getting bitten by snakes. Multiple times.
* The SketchComedy series ''Series/CameraCafe''. The two main characters are {{Anti Role Model}}s {{Villain Protagonist}}s with no redeeming qualities. Everyone else is a jerk, a ChewToy, an idiot, or all three of them. It's a show where DomesticAbuse is PlayedForLaughs and everybody believes ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption.
%%* ''Series/Girls'' in spades.
* Although largely downplayed, the entire premise behind ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' is that a man is stranded in space by a couple of mad scientists and forced to watch bad movies until he goes insane. The whole thing is played for laughs of course, but some of the movies are truly punishing.
* ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' '''lives and breathes''' this trope, featuring the most disgusting excuses for human beings [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin dying in a number of strange ways]] for the audience's amusement.
** Averted for the first season, which had a more suspenseful tone, with the victims being killed by the negligence of another person.
* Every episode of ''Series/WorldsDumbest'' features the commentators poking fun at 20 complete idiots either being humiliated or [[AmusingInjuries ending up hurt]]/damaging property, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking or the celebrity panelists' "rock-bottom" moments]].
* Almost every character in ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' is a {{Jerkass}} or [[TookALevelInJerkass becomes one]] and [[KarmaHoudini never receives any comeuppance for their actions]] (which sometimes cross over into criminality). The few characters that are decent or half-decent are [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished constantly abused for it.]] Alan is an obvious example, he's [[ButtMonkey abused by everyone around him]] and only ever [[ThrowTheDogABone catches a break]] after he TookALevelInJerkass.
* ''Series/TreintaYUnMinutos'' is a puppet show WorkCom for kids and allegedly an EdutainmentShow that at points looks more like an ''Creator/AdultSwim'' parody of one. The cast is extremely flawed, ranging from annoying to downright criminally irresponsible and even just criminals. The biggest assholes seem to always have a KarmaHoudini card at hand, ShaggyDogStory and BrokenAesop are a given and as always the [[ButtMonkey nicest guy]] in the whole cast [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished is the one who suffers the most]].
[[/folder]]

* A common complaint about ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' was how mean-spirited it was towards the protagonist. The first half of the series had Renton being humiliated and abused by the rest of the Gekkostate (especially from [[JerkAss Holland]] and [[BrattyHalfPint Eureka's children]]). Most of the time, it was PlayedForLaughs, but many saw it as DudeNotFunny.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'': WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck. In his own words: "You can't win. You just can't win."
* Several shows like ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', ''WesternAnimation/TexAveryMGMCartoons'' and ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' have their source of humor based on this trope, complete with violence that is over-the-top but still family-friendly (no blood or gore involved).
** A notable example was ''WesternAnimation/TheDucksters'', featuring a ShowWithinAShow 'Truth or AAAAAAAAH!'. The penalties for missing answers on that show were ... probably not going to make it past the FCC these days. Winning wasn't much better-- the prizes had a tendency to be ''dropped'' on you.
** ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner'' is probably the biggest example. The show consists of making Wile E. suffer every scene in every way possible.
** Famous Studios' ''WesternAnimation/HermanAndKatnip'' is effectively ''Tom & Jerry'' with the violent sadism stretched as far as it can go. The crew of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has confirmed that ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' is based more on this series than on ''Tom & Jerry''.
* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' is all about the adventures of a paranoid, short-fused man who tries to enact revenge on almost anyone who slights him. Fortunately, [[KickTheSonOfABitch almost everyone he targets turns out to completely deserve it]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' is all about heroes and villains who are failures.
* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', as well as other Creator/AdultSwim shows, are very liberal in regards of characters suffering disgrace and misfortune for the sake of it.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': All the characters are put through terrible physical and/or emotional torment just for the audience's amusement. Due to the ResetButton, some of them have even ''died'' and been fine in the next episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': A megalomaniac alien, a deranged hedonistic robot, a paranormal-obsessed lunatic and his self-centered, sociopath sister and negligent father in an ignorant, cybergothic CrapsackWorld, wherein ''everyone'' within it is destined to fail at ''everything'' they try ''' ''almost all the time.'' ''' The only ones who usually come out okay are the ones who don't care about anything or are too dumb to know any better. Dib tries to foil Zim's latest plan to destroy Earth? Best case scenario is that Dib probably succeeds and Zim's plan fails, but Zim has learned nothing, Gir has destroyed half the lab (again), Dib's forced to take the blame for whatever damage Zim wrought on the world, and Gaz walks by to rub salt into his wounds by calling him a kook that cares too much. [[PyrrhicVictory Pyrrhic victories]] and [[DownerEnding downer endings]] all around, nobody grows, and the world is worse off. Some variant of this happens in ''nearly every other episode''.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' starts to become this after its second revival, and it only gets worse with each season.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': While not quite as prominent an example as Seth's [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy other]] [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow shows]], there's some frequent BlackComedy and the majority of the cast [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist are less than]] [[ComedicSociopath morally sound]] to say the least.
** An in-universe example is shown in "Morning Mimosa" with the titular ShowWithinAShow. The entire show is dedicated to humiliating its guests on live TV, with the hosts even going so far as to get their entire audience drunk on mimosas and provoke them into physically attacking said guests. Francine outright describes it as the "most hostile audience in television," and Steve finds this out the hard way when he becomes a Website/YouTube cooking celebrity and is invited onto the show.
** An in-universe example is shown in "Trophy Wife, Trophy Life". The Smiths learn that a Korean TV studio is filming their neighbor Tuttle for a show. The audience seems to enjoy the fact that Tuttle is a depressed sad sack. Notably, the show's ratings drop when the Smiths (hoping to get on the show) start hanging out with Tuttle and his mood improves.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** The series is the only show ever to have a famous running gag involving ''child abuse''. And everything that happens to [[TheChewToy Hans Moleman and Milhouse]]. "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E23HomersEnemy Homer's Enemy]]" and "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E18TheBoysOfBummer The Boys Of Bummer]]" are some noteworthy examples.
** WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror. It's easier to justify constant examples of TookALevelInJerkass and TookALevelInDumbass in episodes where AnyoneCanDie.
** ''[[ShowWithinAShow The Itchy & Scratchy Show]]'', in which Itchy the mouse comes up with a sadistic new way each episode to kill Scratchy, who's just minding his own business.
** And then there's an in-universe example being that Japanese game show in ''Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo'', which involves things like skunks, human pinatas, lightning, volcanoes, and scorpions.
* ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' - Especially in the third season, when it stopped pretending to be a comedy.
* Pick one of the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' derived series from WB in the 90s, such as ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}},'' and tell yourself it isn't sadistic, you won't be able to.
%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2021}}''
%%* ''WesternAnimation/FriskyDingo''
* When ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' isn't about taking the piss out of RealityTV (the original premise which it dropped in the second season) or [[AnimationTropes cartoons]], it's about heaping abuse on the dysfunctional housemates. Fortunately, they all retain strong {{Jerkass}} tendencies, so there's little room for sympathy save for Captain Hero, who was originally the biggest of the Jerkasses but developed into the most sympathetic character.
* ''WesternAnimation/StressedEric'': The entire point of this show was to have ''every single thing'' in the protagonist's life goes horribly wrong. At the end of every episode, he collapses of a heart attack or some other such stress-related malady.
%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow''
%%* ''WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken''
* ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'' is a cynical BlackComedy set in a CrapsackWorld where a lot of the humor comes from how miserable the eponymous brothers' lives are and how [[YankTheDogsChain they rarely succeed at anything]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', particularly after the [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie first movie]]. It's a rare occasion that [[{{Jerkass}} jerks]] like Squidward did something positive toward [=SpongeBob=]. Squidward and Plankton are two of the biggest [[ButtMonkey butt-monkies]] yet, but the other characters also receive a fair amount of AmusingInjuries, [=SpongeBob=] included at times. The show (namely in the Paul Tibbitt episodes, and even in some of the episodes before or after) pretty much revolves around pain.
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''. It's a rare occasion that the neighborhood kids did something positive toward the Eds. [[spoiler:It changed by the end of the movie--the neighborhood kids actually start liking the Eds at that point.]] Although the Eds usually take the most abuse, the other characters also receive a fair amount of AmusingInjuries. The show pretty much revolves around pain.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': The moral of the show appears to be "Life sucks, then you die. Then life continues to suck, and you die ''again''." And if you are a reasonable child SurroundedByIdiots or a NiceGuy in a WorldOfJerkass, you're going to get the short end of the stick quite often.
%%* From its second season and onward, ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' often wound up being this.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBuzzOnMaggie'' is an interesting example where the protagonist isn't quite a saint, but nearly everyone else isn't much better, if at all. While Maggie tends to be self-centered, her older brother Aldrin is a JerkJock who would one-up his sister, their parents can be wet blankets (especially their dad), Maggie's best friend Rayna can be just as petty and [[WithFriendsLikeThese throw her under the bus]], and Dawn is an AlphaBitch who rarely gets her comeuppance. One of the only nice characters is Maggie's kid brother Pupert, but even he would occasionally dip into this.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDrinkyCrowShow'', a series about a crow who drinks to escape the rigors of reality and tries to commit suicide regularly. What do you think?
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'': It has a sadist Willy Wonka-looking character for a prison warden.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfTim'': When [[ButtMonkey Tim]] isn't the victim of his own social ineptitude, he's suffering for being too meek and unassertive to turn down his friends and coworkers' terrible ideas.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{MAD}}'' does this to its character ''and'' the celebrities they mock within their sketches.
* From its third season and onward, ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' often wound up being this. Characters going through hell for little reason, many of the ones who cause trouble [[KarmaHoudini get away Scot free]], while more well-meaning characters often wound up in trouble.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'': Most episodes revolve around ways to just torture Timmy in the cruelest ways possible, especially from Seasons 4 - onward. Heck, even his parents get in on the act more often than not. In addition, Timmy is rarely heroic and most of his exploits are usually for selfish reasons.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' certainly qualifies. Dexter is rarely heroic and most of his exploits are usually for selfish reasons. And if that's not the case, he'll end up being the victim of Deedee's shenanigans.
* ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'': Almost all of the humor comes from the main characters being complete dicks to each other. Tuddrussel abuses Larry, Larry tries to kill Otto, Otto attacks Tuddrussel, etc. The most vicious cases of this are when the writers had decided to make entire episodes dedicated to making sure that Otto is completely miserable, like having him abandoned on islands only inhabited by blood-thirsty baboons. If it's not the main guys, you can bet that some of the jokes come from either Tuddrussel beating people up for stuff they didn't even do or historical figures being stupid or jerks and their inventions or ideas cause mayhem.
* ''WesternAnimation/FraidyCat'': The premise alone is cosmically sadistic; A cat is on his last life, and he has to avoid calling out numbers 1-9, or else his previous lives will come and make things worse for him.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': When the main character gets an erection at the idea of his mother's death and the RunningGag of Lana trying to kill him is not to be taken seriously, you know you have one of these.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sidekick}}'': The show takes place in a city that is such a hive of villainy that there is an entire section where being a good person is literally forbidden. There are superheroes to fight the villains, but every single one we see is completely useless, and the only one we ever actually see doing something is only slightly more moral than the villains he fights. It's widely accepted in this universe that it's the job of the sidekicks, the real focus of the show (hence the name), to do all the real work while the superhero takes all the credit. Unfortunately, all the sidekicks we see are either completely incompetent, {{Jerkass}}es with little to no concern for those around them, or both. The only two characters who get a ''relatively'' sympathetic portrayal are Eric and Kitty, both of whom are subjected to a constant stream of mockery and humiliation by everyone including each other.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': What else can you call a show where the Grim Reaper is the OnlySaneMan of the main characters?
* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' thrives on this, being rife with cruel and often violent slapstick and other forms of humiliation directed towards everyone, from Jimmy himself to random background characters. It's pretty much how the show does its BlackComedy. But what else did you expect from a cartoon that's set in a place that is pretty much just {{Hell}} by another name known as ''Misery''ville?
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' is prone to this, due to the main characters being jerks to each other. It's one of the reasons why the show is unfavorably compared to the [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans 2003 series]]. The worst offenders are "Staff Meeting", "Money Grandma", and "Boys vs Girls".
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'', as a parody of the shamelessly sleazy and exploitative nature of actual reality TV, goes as far as being ''hosted'' by a sadist who pretty much personifies the show's love of hurting and humiliating its characters and making them as miserable as much as possible. By the time of the fourth season, the original cast is so sick of all the hellacious torture they've gone through that many have sworn to never be on the show again in any capacity, only coming back when called for because of their legally binding contracts. DJ ''freaked'' when he found himself back at Camp Wawanakwa in the fourth season for a challenge, and he was there as a ''judge''.
** Generally averted by ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'', which is the only entry in the franchise not to be hosted by a sadist. While there are definitely moments every now where the comedy comes from the torment the more immoral challenges inflicts on the contestants, the characters are generally treated with a great deal of more dignity compared to the parent series.
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' expressly and shamelessly averts this, as explained by the creators in this [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190719190040/https://www.wired.com/2010/11/mf_phineasandferb/ article.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey'': Ordinary kid Adam Lyon tries to survive in a SuckySchool where everyone is a {{Jerkass}}, TheDitz, or both. [[YankTheDogsChain He fails constantly.]] Sometimes he wins... only for [[ResetButton his life to go back to being crap for him]].
* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'': It's easier to list the characters who aren't selfish jerks who'd take advantage of one another. Though this is a lighter example then most since some most resolution end up for the better.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Robotomy}}'' takes place on a planet known as Insanus, mostly at [[SuckySchool Harry S. Apocalypse]], which is filled with extremely violent robots who mutilate each other at any possible moment. Almost every scene has some mutilation going on.
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'': Basically taking pop culture icons from the '80s and '90s and throwing them into BlackComedy situations which more often than not result in trauma or death ([[BreadEggsBreadedEggs or both]]).
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCrampTwins'': Pretty much similar to ''Johnny Test'' where the majority of the characters are major jerks that often cause trouble for others. One of the main characters is the show's biggest ButtMonkey that constantly suffers abuse from his brother. Said brother (named Wayne Cramp) cannot go a single episode without torturing his brother or even other kids. The twins' mother, in fact, is such a NeatFreak she is even willing to test dangerous products on her own family and said products are even deadlier than acid!
* ''WesternAnimation/RabbidsInvasion'' is prone to this, especially in the earlier seasons. The endless mischief caused by the Rabbids has led to more than a few human characters suffering to varying degrees, while the Rabbids themselves regularly get into fights and treat each other like dirt. And that's not even getting into all the AmusingInjuries that the Rabbids bring upon themselves.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': The series protagonist, 11-year-old Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only male sibling of a house and family of ten sisters, is almost always the victim of the antics and bullying from his sisters and many other characters.
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{MAD}}'' series from Creator/CartoonNetwork. Much like ''Robot Chicken'' above, it bases a large amount of its humor around popular characters getting severely injured/killed, all while [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids abiding to the minimum quota of what qualifies as "child friendly"]].
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* ''Fraidy Cat'': The premise alone is cosmically sadistic; A cat is on his last life, and he has to avoid calling out numbers 1-9, or else his previous lives will come and make things worse for him.

* The SketchComedy series ''Series/CameraCafe'' is this UpToEleven. The two main characters are {{Anti Role Model}}s {{Villain Protagonist}}s with no redeeming qualities. Everyone else is a jerk, a ChewToy, an idiot, or all three of them. It's a show where DomesticAbuse is PlayedForLaughs and everybody believes ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption.

* Many of the Website/GoAnimate "[[YouAreGrounded Grounded]]" videos are this. Most of them involve one or more troublesome kids (especially ones from preschool shows, particularly WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} and WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer) getting grounded (said word being usually repeated over and over) for absurdly long periods of time for the slightest offenses. Many of these videos are [[SoBadItsGood just so over-the-top that they're funny]], but when the video maker decides to get cruel with the characters' punishments, ''[[UpToEleven hoo boy]]'' does it get cruel. The parent characters become utterly sociopathic (if not outright AxCrazy) compared to their kids and often come out on top [[DesignatedHero even when they clearly don't deserve it]], the kids [[DisproportionateRetribution don't do enough to warrant the long groundings]], and the preschool show characters are hated and frequently humiliated/grounded/arrested/''killed'' by everyone in the universe [[DesignatedVillain when they don't even deserve it]], or even just for being from preschool shows.

* [[WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland Battle for Dream Island]] may look like a lighthearted show, but [[CrapSaccharineWorld can be quite mean-spirited]] as each contestant gets eliminated one by one (until the final 3), you get to see them get locked in a metal box FOR MONTHS! This is also justified due to the fact that when a character dies, they don't just die, but are perfectly fine in the next shot, but actually dead, and need to be revived.

* The series ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' revolves around the titular character getting vengeance on anyone over minor accidents...and most of it is played for comedy too. It also becomes justified at times since most of the folks Dan tries to take vindictive action on coincidentally ''do'' end up being worse.

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' is all about the adventures of a paranoid, short-fused man who tries to enact revenge on almost anyone who slights him. Fortunately, [[KickTheSonOfABitch almost everyone he targets turn out to completely deserve it]].

%%* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs''

** A notable example was 'The Ducksters', featuring a ShowWithinAShow 'Truth or AAAAAAAAH!'. The penalties for missing answers on that show were ... probably not going to make it past the FCC these days. Winning wasn't much better-- the prizes had a tendency to be ''dropped'' on you.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
%%* ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' is rather huge on this trope. The main character is a ButtMonkey because his MeanBoss and his [[TheAce favorite henchmen]] bully him for being TooDumbToLive. The fact it once aired during Cartoon Network's "Stop Bullying" campaign could count as a meta-example.
[[/folder]]