We love us a dark comedy - the kind of show that makes you laugh, gasp, and immediately question yourself.
This time last year we were hooked on The White Lotus, trying to figure out who the mass shooter was before the finale. With the hit series not returning until 2027, there’s a long wait ahead for more sun-soaked scandal and simmering tension.
Luckily, there are plenty of dark comedies that deliver the same mix of sharp satire, chaotic characters, and jaw-dropping twists that are guaranteed to have you laughing and cringing at the same time. Here’s our list of the best shows to dive into when you need a hit of mischief and morally questionable fun.
Beef
Where to watch: Netflix
Beef is dark comedy at its most unhinged. It all starts with a tiny road rage incident in a car park between Danny (Steven Yeun), a struggling contractor, and Amy (Ali Wong), a wildly stressed entrepreneur. One beep of the horn later and suddenly we’re in full-blown, life-ruining feud territory. Beneath the chaos, it cleverly explores class, repressed anger, and the kind of simmering frustration we all try to ignore. The result is sharp, tense, and brilliantly awkward television. And with season two landing on 11th April, there’s never been a better time to dive in to all the chaos.
Orange Is the New Black
Where to watch: Netflix
Honestly, Orange Is the New Black is one of the best shows to ever grace our screens. The show will have you laughing, crying, and occasionally clutching your heart in sheer disbelief. Based on Piper Kerman’s memoir, it follows Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), a privileged New Yorker thrown into federal prison for transporting drug money, and her ex-girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon), as they navigate the chaotic, often outrageous, and emotionally intense world of Litchfield Penitentiary.
Created by Jenji Kohan, the series is both funny and heartbreaking, blending dark comedy with drama while tackling important issues like racial inequality, trans rights, corruption, and the daily struggles of women behind bars. Across seven seasons and 91 episodes, it’s impossible not to get completely locked in. We strongly advise you give it a watch if you haven't already.
Black Mirror
Where to watch: Netflix
If you’ve never watched Black Mirror, this is your sign to run (not walk) to Netflix and get stuck in. Created by Charlie Brooker, each episode of this anthology series blends dark comedy, horror, thriller, and even romance, using satire and bleak humour to show just how messed up modern life can get. Some episodes, like 'Nosedive' or 'The Waldo Moment', push everyday trends to absurd and terrifying extremes, making you question your own choices all at once.
Others, like 'San Junipero' or 'USS Callister', balance drama with real emotion. With 34 episodes packed with Easter eggs, recurring companies, and brutally funny commentary about everyday life, it’s a binge that will leave you entertained, shocked, and thinking twice before hitting "post" on your next selfie.
Good Girls
Where to watch: Netflix
If the reference "Get in the car, Elizabeth" doesn't have you quietly chuckling to yourselves, stop what you’re doing right now and go and watch Good Girls immediately. The show follows three suburban mums - Beth (Christina Hendricks), Annie (Mae Whitman), and Ruby (Retta) - who, desperate for cash, pull off a grocery store heist that drags them into a dangerous underworld of money laundering, smuggling, and high-stakes crime, all while trying to juggle their family lives.
Then there’s Rio (Manny Montana), the charming but deadly gang leader who makes everything even messier - and way more thrilling. Clever, addictive, and full of twists, the series shows just how far people will go to protect or help the ones they love. All this talking about the show is making us want to binge it… again.
Atlanta
Where to watch: Disney+
Donald Glover created and stars in this darkly funny, often surreal series where the everyday collides with the bizarre. The show follows Earn (Glover), a Princeton dropout trying to manage his rapper cousin, Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles, as they navigate Atlanta’s wild and unpredictable rap scene. Along the way, it dives into race, poverty, stardom, and the weird quirks of daily life, blending dark comedy with dreamlike absurdity. Across four seasons and 41 episodes, it’s equal parts hilarious, strange, and unforgettable - a series that lingers long after the credits roll.
Misfits
Where to watch: Channel 4
This one’s an oldie but a goodie. Misfits follows five young offenders doing community service who, after a freak electrical storm, suddenly gain superpowers - and immediately make a complete mess of things. Instead of fighting crime, they’re busy covering up accidental deaths, arguing, and using their powers for selfish reasons.
Packed with foul-mouthed British humour, absurd situations, and a gritty, very real backdrop, the show blends supernatural chaos with dark comedy while sneaking in sharp, often hilarious observations about life and class. The series ran for five seasons from 2009 to 2013, and all 37 episodes are available to stream on Channel 4’s on-demand service, so really, what are you waiting for? Go watch it!
Killing Eve
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
Few shows make bad behaviour look this stylish or this funny. Killing Eve blends spy thriller tension with wicked, offbeat humour, following MI6 agent Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and the wildly unpredictable assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) as their cat and mouse game becomes increasingly obsessive and unpredictable.
The comedy comes from their chemistry as much as the danger, with razor sharp dialogue cutting through the violence. Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the early seasons in particular lean into that dry, twisted wit, making even the most shocking scenes feel darkly entertaining. The series ran for four seasons from 2018 to 2022, delivering 32 episodes of glossy, tense, and mischievously funny television.
Dead to Me
Where to watch: Netflix
Dead to Me is the kind of show that pulls you in with grief and keeps you there with secrets, wine, and wildly questionable decisions. Jen’s husband has just died in a hit and run, and the sardonic widow is determined to find out who did it. At a support group she meets Judy, an optimistic free spirit dealing with a tragic loss of her own.
Despite being total opposites, the two become inseparable, bonding over late night drinks and old episodes of The Facts of Life. But Judy is hiding a bombshell that could shatter everything. Exploring the strangely funny sides of loss and forgiveness, this dark comedy ran for three seasons from 2019 to 2022, delivering 30 twisty, addictive episodes on Netflix.
Russian Doll
Where to watch: Netflix
If the idea of reliving your 36th birthday over and over again sounds like your worst nightmare, then brace yourself for Russian Doll, because that’s exactly what happens in this Netflix series. The dark comedy follows Nadia, played by Natasha Lyonne, who keeps dying and restarting the same night at her New York birthday party like some twisted version of Groundhog Day. The deaths are often absurd, sometimes gross, and played with a sharp, cynical sense of humour that makes the existential dread go down easier.
As Nadia tries to figure out what is happening, she discovers she is not alone, and the mystery deepens. Blending sci fi, surreal twists, and surprisingly emotional moments about trauma and grief, it is smart, strange, and totally addictive. The series ran for two seasons between 2019 and 2022, and it is the kind of binge that will have you questioning reality in the best way.
Fleabag
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is basically the queen of dark comedy, and Fleabag proves why. The two-season, 12-episode series follows the sharp, self-destructive Fleabag as she navigates grief, messy relationships, and life in London. She constantly breaks the fourth wall, talking to the camera as if she’s letting you in on all her secrets.
It’s raw, raunchy, and unflinchingly honest, perfectly blending gut-busting laughs with moments that hit you right where it hurts. Originally adapted from her award-winning one-woman stage show, the series ran from 2016 to 2019 and is considered by many one of the greatest comedy shows of all time.
