The creativity of showrunners and their peers come out in a myriad of ways. From the crafting of storylines to unique quirks, the allure of entertainment comes from the opportunities it allows for creatives to flourish and conjure up great and memorable series. Part of what makes a show so recognizable lies within the title of its name. While shows such asLostandGirlscarry so much significance in spite of their seemingly tame titles, other shows choose titles that match the ridiculousness of their premise.
Not only does it shine a light on the whimsical nature of their creators, but these titles reveal quite a lot of information. One of the most enthralling experiences as a consumer of television is the moment when everything clicks, where the title of a given show suddenly makes sense. It is then, when the heart of the series and its potential are unearthed, that makes falling in love with a show all the more impactful. Some of the most hilarious comedies and riveting dramas generally speak to a universal truth or to more urgent developments in one’s lifetime. Financial worries, disillusionment with one’s greater society, or a fear of detrimental events can be expressed in a matter of a few words.
For better or for worse, some of these series have enjoyed monumental success, while other series have debuted to little fanfare and have been lost in the vastness that is the history of television programming. Moreover, there have been shows that may not be the pinnacle of entertainment but were hits whose success were contained to their respective decades, niche genres, and channels.
12The End of The F***ing World
One of Channel 4’s strongest original series, the British dramedyThe End of the F***ing Worldfollowed the awkward adventures of James (Alex Lawther), a 17-year-old teenager with a bloody habit, and Alyssa (Jessica Barden), another teenager with a rebellious streak. Based on the Charles Forsman-penned comic-book series of the same name, audiences from around the world could not help but laugh, stare in disgust, and ultimately sympathize with the two protagonists.
James is introduced as a loner who questions his mental health frequently, accusing himself of being a psychopath. He has an innate desire to feel any emotion, resulting in an incident where he placed his hand in a deep fryer. In search of said feelings, he frequently slaughters animals and at the time of the first episode, attempts to do the same to whatever unlucky human he approaches. Enter Alyssa, a classmate of his known for her moody demeanor. With both teens having a troubling relationship with their parents and a genuine discontent with the world around, the two decide to skip town and carve out an adventurous life of their own. Nevertheless, a series of bumps in the road make this escapade a rather violent experience.
The title itself suggests that the carelessness of the protagonists stems from a nihilistic point-of-view. Both Alyssa and James are ostracized due to their existence. Given the pervasive ableism and misogyny that exists both in real life and in the series, James and Alyssa are rendered as villains in everyone else’s stories and flattened down to their worst moments rather than being acknowledged as the complex individuals they are. That is all to say, that level of isolation and abandonment can feel like the end of the world. The profanity in the title only accentuates the frustration of the characters in this series, making it an urgent declaration.
In the end of the world, some people lament over their last moments on the planet while others decide to make the most of it. With that in mind, Alyssa and James choose the latter and both Lawther and Barden do an amazing job at capturing their range of emotions while on the run.
11I Hate My Teenage Daughter
The idea of a parents holding disdain for their child is not as uncommon as many would like to believe. Despite the inflammatory nature of declaring such a statement, parents and children may resent each other for reasons both serious and frivolous. However, the 2011 Fox sitcom,I Hate My Teenage Daughterexplores the relationships between two moms worried that their daughters are maturing into the type of teenagers that made their high school experience unbearable to say the least.
Annie (Jamie Pressley) and Nikki (Katie Finneran) attempt to punish their daughters for their selfishness and cruelty, with both girls doing everything form locking a student with disabilities in the bathroom to disregarding their academics. Meanwhile, the two mothers also have to contend with their romantic endeavors as well as their personal goals.
Despite a premise that promises to engage with topics such as bullying, growing pains, and mother-daughter relationships, critics found the series' writing to be lackluster and the show overall to be a waste of a particularly talented cast. As a result, the series only ran for a single season before being canceled in 2012.
10How To Live With your Parents (For The Rest of Your Life)
What makes sitcoms particularly exciting is the willingness to engage and experiment with the family structure. Despite the nuclear family being a relatively new framework in the grand scheme of things, there is no doubt that the nuclear family is perceived as the ideal familial structure in the West. However, life comes with many surprises and instances such as divorces and death can complicate the overarching structure.How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)findsPolly (Sarah Chalke) and her daughter Natalie (Rachel Eggleston) moving back with her parents following her divorce. In the state of the struggling economy, her decision seems understanding, but that does not erase the feeling of humiliation that comes with gaining and suddenly losing the independence one worked so hard at trying to earn.
As one can see, the title of the series doesn’t leave much to the imagination, sending a sense of dread into the audience as most Americans have been accustomed to living on their own the minute they enter adulthood. However,How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life)provided audiences with a glimpse inside the comical complications, initial anxieties, and previously unknown benefits that come with having an extended family. In spite of such, the series only ran for one season before being canceled in June 2013 only two months after its premiere.
9Kevin Can F*** Himself
Kevin Can F*** Himselfis just one of many seminal projects from AMC. Premiering in 2021, the Annie Murphy-led series focuses on a woman names Alison who frequently voices her dissatisfaction with her marriage. The titular Kevin, Alison’s husband is known for his lack of motivation, lack of interest in Alison’s life, as well as his lack of maturity.
Once beginning the series, it is easy to recognize the archetypes and comedic tropes that the show attempts to satirize, as well as the real life patterns of behavior the show excellently analyzes and critics. The dialogue, the inclusion of both multi-camera and single camera set-ups, as well as the canned laughter only highlights the showrunners and creatives depth in knowledge and makes the innovative approach to filming all the more satisfying for audiences. The title is seemingly the cherry on top but clearly defines the entire premise of the series in four crude words.
One notices the title and feel inclined to learn about Kevin and how he has infuriated Alison. While the title points to Kevin, the series introduces audiences to Alison. With Murphy’s acclaimed performance, it does not take long for viewers to empathize with Alison and look at how the series examines misogyny in the comedy genre.
8It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiahas a saccharine title that is a clearly ironic take on the series as a whole. What reads as a children’s book title actually serves as an introduction to the lives of a myriad of miserable personalities. The series follows a group of characters whose questionable bonds have been labeled a friendship for better or for worse. With stars such as Rob McElhenney, Danny DeVito, and Kaitlin Olsen, and Charlie Day, the series debuted in 2005 to little fanfare. However, the series stands as the longest running live-action American sitcom in 2023.Related:Funniest TV Comedies That Got Ridiculously Dark, Ranked
“The Gang” as they are referred to, co-own a failing bar by the name of “Paddy’s Pub”. Serving as the central location of the series, the friends routinely plot on how to one-up one another in the cruelest ways possible. The crude plots tend to go quite far with examples including attempted cannibalism, kidnapping, waterboarding and grave robbing. The showrunners and the characters themselves show an awareness of the latter’s wrongdoing, and builds a dark, humorous comedy around such, one that has garnered a cult fanbase of its own and earning the title of one of FX’s most acclaimed series. With the title sitting in one extreme and the show in the other, the former acts as the biggest clue to just how depraved its protagonists are.
7Cougar Town
The Courtney Cox-ledCougar Townwas a comedy series that ran from 2009 to 2015 on ABC initially and then TBS for the final three seasons. While the title suggests a series focused on the romantic and sexual exploits of middle-aged women, the actual series contains amusing scenes and captivating storylines centered around divorce, the intersections of ageism and misogyny, stigmas around motherhood, and ultimately an engaging contribution to vast discussions about the demonization of femininity.
The term “cougar” has often been used as a pejorative, with the woman in question being flattened to a caricature that society can objectify and demean as they please. When one initially thinks of a “cougar”, many can not help but consider the symbols and attitude attached to women called “cougars”: their promiscuity, their concerning attraction to younger men, and in some cases, their hyper-femininity.
Not only doesCougar Towncenter the town around the “cougar” herself but works to dismantle harmful notions hurled towards middle-aged women who are sexually active. While initially debuting to mixed reviews, the series has enjoyed retrospective acclaim for its characterization, and it shows in the strong writing and tenderness that the showrunners have towards Jules (Cox) and the world around her.
6BoJack Horseman
Having an anthropomorphic horse-man as a protagonist sounds ridiculous enough. Thus, the idea of a show namedBoJack Horsemannot only adds to such ridiculousness but manages to fit the animated comedy’s absurdity into fourteen letters. The titular protagonist, portrayed by Will Arnett, is an established 90s sensation in his own right, hoping to get an autobiographical novel into bookstores. With the help of Diane (Alison), his ghostwriter, Horseman hopes to eventually release the book, but also must come to terms with the relationships between him and his agent (Amy Sedaris), his former rival (Paul F. Tompkins), and his roommate (Aaron Paul).
The beauty of a show likeBoJack Horsemanlies in the imaginative spirit that flourishes within its world, both its creation and the end result. Taking place in an alternate world where humans and animals co-exist and communicate without a species barrier, the absurdity draws audiences in to a world that may look different butis ultimately a mirror of the real world.Discussions on mental health, bigotry, and sexuality have been met with widespread praise, continuing the tradition of using the abstract or the experimental to provide meaningful commentary on the mundane.
Apple’s dominance over technology and entertainment have made it so that anyone who notices a lowercase “i” before a word instantly associates said word with the company. The CW seriesiZombieis no different, despite the lack of a clear correlation between the life of zombie detective (Rose McIver) and the beloved iPhone many of the world’s inhabitants carry by their side. Premiering in 2015, the series follows Olivia “Liv” Moore (McIver), a woman whose life is turned upside down after being turned into a zombie. Needing to feed on human brains to retain her sanity and morality, Liv decides to work at a morgue and befriends her boss Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli). The duo use their talents to help Seattle police officers solve murders.
While the series does not depend on advanced technology, Liv’s abilities as a zombie eerily mirror that of an Apple product. After consuming a human brain, Liv has access to the memories of the deceased, which then serve as clues during murder investigations. Much like LIv, products such as iPads and Apple watches retain their owner’s information, consuming data for personal use as well as criminal investigations.
4Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Crazy Ex-Girlfriendis another series with a title that does not hold back on the alarmist undertones, suggesting that the protagonist is someone that should be feared, disregarded, and questioned. Starring writer and director Rachel Bloom alongside Vincent Rodriguez III and Santino Fontana, the series follows Rebecca (Bloom) a Yale and Harvard graduate who, at the time of the series' premiere, works as a lawyer. When news of a promotion reaches her, she panics and deserts her life in New York City for a quaint life in California after running into her high school sweetheart Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III). Throughout the series, Rebecca’s metamorphosis, as well as the development of her peers, are analyzed through a mental health lens, as well as female sexuality and parenthood.
As suggested before, the title takes a common pejorative and expands on the term, humanizing a woman whose past traumas and current predicaments would have been likely laughed off as “hysterics” or deemed irrelevant. Furthermore, the series also delves into the mental health of characters like Josh, but also her friends Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) and romantic partners Nathaniel (Scott Michael Foster) and Greg (Fontana, Skylar Astin in season four).
Many television watchers and current fans of the Channel 4/Netflix series Lovesick fell in love with the romantic comedy back when it debuted in 2014 asScrotal Recalland yet the name did not deter them but rather drew them to the series altogether. Starring Johnny Flynn, Antonia Thomas, and Daniel Ings, the series followed the lives of university students living together in Glasgow’s West End neighborhood. The show’s original title reveals its significance after Dylan Witter (Flynn), protagonist of the series, learns that he has chlamydia and attempts to reach out to his lovers.Related:The Most Underrated Romance TV Shows, RankedLarry Sanitsky Kyle A. Clark Lina WongThe series focuses on Dylan’s various relationships in the past as well as his current relationships with his friends Evelyn (Thomas), Luke (Ings), and Angus (Joshua McGuire). The series earned praised from critics who highlighted the series for presenting viewers with fascinating stories about relatable protagonists. While the original title painted an accurate picture of the premise,Lovesickgets the point across while being marketable as well as expanding beyond themes of sex and sexuality to encompass love and community in different forms.
