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** 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.
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** 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 The episode that ends "Company Picnic: Part 2" has Francis's subplot ending 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 while Malcolm's subplot ends with Malcolm him being insulted, a lot, by a girl, having a crying jag and drying his tears with poison oak. oak.
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* ''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.
to:
* ''Strike It Rich'' was even '''worse''', as unlike in ''Queen for a Day'', the Rich'': 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.
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None
%%%
%%% Please put your choices in alphabetical order.
%%%
* ''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]].
%%% Please put your choices in alphabetical order.
%%%
* ''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]].
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* ''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]].
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* 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).
* ''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.
* 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.
* 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.
* The purpose of ''Cheaters'' 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?
%%* Likewise, ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm.''
* ''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!''
* 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.
* ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris''. The name speaks for [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin itself]].
* ''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.
* 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/{{Girls}}'' in spades.
%%* Almost any Indonesian TV.
* ''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]]]].
%%* ''Series/{{MADtv}}''
* ''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/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.
* 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.
%% * Creator/TheBBC show ''Series/{{Mongrels}}''
* 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/{{Naeturvaktin}}''/''Series/{{Dagvaktin}}''/''Series/{{Fangavaktin}}''/''Series/{{Bjarnfredarson}}'' are about a DysfunctionJunction ComicTrio unintentionally (and occasionally intentionally) making each other'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.
* 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.
* ''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.
* ''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/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/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.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' was practically built around this idea. "No hugging, no learning" was the mantra in the show's formative years.
* 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.
* ''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.
* ''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.
* ''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]].
* 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/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]]
* 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]].
%%* ''Series/TheWorstWeekOfMyLife''
* ''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.
* 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.
* 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.
* The purpose of ''Cheaters'' 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?
%%* Likewise, ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm.''
* ''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!''
* 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.
* ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris''. The name speaks for [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin itself]].
* ''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.
* 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/{{Girls}}'' in spades.
%%* Almost any Indonesian TV.
* ''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]]]].
%%* ''Series/{{MADtv}}''
* ''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/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.
* 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.
%% * Creator/TheBBC show ''Series/{{Mongrels}}''
* 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/{{Naeturvaktin}}''/''Series/{{Dagvaktin}}''/''Series/{{Fangavaktin}}''/''Series/{{Bjarnfredarson}}'' are about a DysfunctionJunction ComicTrio unintentionally (and occasionally intentionally) making each other'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.
* 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.
* ''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.
* ''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/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/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.
* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' was practically built around this idea. "No hugging, no learning" was the mantra in the show's formative years.
* 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.
* ''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.
* ''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.
* ''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]].
* 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/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]]
* 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]].
%%* ''Series/TheWorstWeekOfMyLife''
