21 Emotional Gut Punches In TV Comedies No One Was Expecting

    "She's a mother without a baby."

    Hannah Marder
    by Hannah Marder

    BuzzFeed Staff

    The best sitcoms* are filled with sweet moments and lovable characters. They manage to tug at the heartstrings and make us cry as much as they make us laugh.

    Fox

    *If you can't tell, no, I don't like Seinfeld.

    A while back, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the saddest TV scenes, and a lot of people submitted some great sweet scenes from comedies — here are 21 times sitcoms went for an emotional gut punch.

    1. In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, when Rosa's family cancelled her family game night after she came out, so the gang came over for game night instead:

    Rosa asks what's going on, and the gang says "family game night" and comes in, and holt tells rosa that every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place
    Fox

    "I can’t type it out without tearing up."

    —deekshal

    2. On Fuller House, when Jackson got upset that DJ was giving away his father's suit, so Steve had it altered and gave it to him instead:

    Netflix

    "I bawled like a baby."

    —elisabethefergusone

    3. On Community, when Abed revealed he'd created the chicken tenders mafia (it makes sense if you watch the episode, LOL) because he wanted to be able to connect with people, and Jeff asked Abed to help him become a better person:

    Jeff asks Abed what he was "close" to — the group? People in general? Abed says he wants to be able to connect to people the way Jeff can, and Jeff says he'll help him and Abed can help Jeff do a better job with people
    NBC

    "Abed learns how to connect with people by finding a way to give them chicken fingers, but that is only temporary. ... Abed said 'he was almost close,' which is inferred to understanding people. This scene is more bittersweet than sad...but also kinda somber in the way that Abed has finally been able to connect with people. ... He's not ready to go back to how he was before, where he felt semi-alone."

    —charlisestewart

    4. On How I Met Your Mother, when Ted imagined going to see Tracy 45 days before they ended up meeting, because after her death he wished he had those extra days with her:

    Ted introduces himself to Tracy and says that in 45 days they'll meet and fall in love and have 2 kids, but he wants to meet her now because he wants those 45 days, or at least the 45 seconds before her boyfriend shows up
    CBS

    "It truly never fails to make me tear up."

    —teenwolflovebot

    5. On Full House, when Michelle was supposed to bring her great-ngrandfather to class to teach a Greek dance but he died, so she decided to teach the class the dance on her own...but she forgot it, so Jesse stepped in and finished the dance with her:

    Michelle says she can't remember the rest, and Jesse says "I can" and steps in to dance with her
    ABC

    Suggested by a42d2dc837

    6. On New Girl, when Jess impersonated Elvis at Nick's father's funeral after the original impersonator passed out drunk:

    Schmidt, Nick, and Winston smile as they see Jess singing and dancing as Elvis in the funeral home
    Fox

    I know this was played for laughs, but that face Nick makes when he comes back from sobering up to give his father's eulogy and sees Jess just kills me. It's such a sweet moment in a really sad situation that shows just how much Jess is committed to caring about her friends, and how much Nick loves her for it.

    —hannahmarder

    7. On The Middle, when Mike told his mother-in-law that she was the only mom he had and then danced to "Dancing in the Moonlight" with her at the gas station:

    Mike says "I lost my mom pretty young so for a long time now, you've kind of been the only mom I've got" then dances with his mother in law at a gas station
    ABC

    "It’s such a sweet moment and always makes me tear up."

    —pepperopigeon

    8. On How I Met Your Mother, Marshall finally decided to listen to the voicemail from his father after his funeral, hoping to have a last message from him, but it was just a pocket dial...and then it turned out not to be after a minute of static:

    in the voicemail, Marshall's dad realizes he's been pocket dialing him and says he had a great time with him and that he loves Marshall, and Lily tells Marshall that his dad came through one last time
    CBS

    Suggested by feliciadelacour

    9. On The Good Place, when Tahani and Kamilah's parents finally came to the Good Place and told Tahani and Kamilah they loved them and also apologized for all they'd done:

    Tahani and Kamilah's parents hug their daughters and say "we love you both so much. we have a million things to talk to you about, but first...we are sorry. We'll just be endlessly sorry, forever and ever"
    NBC

    Suggested by zeilerra

    10. On Futurama, when Fry was able to visit his mother's dream and hug her:

    Fry hugs his mom and then she wakes up and looks at a photo of him
    Fox / Comedy Central

    Suggested by rdh29

    11. On Community, when Jeff said goodbye to Annie and Abed at the airport, and went in for a second hug with Abed:

    Jeff hugs Abed, lets go, then hugs him again
    NBC

    "Jeff's second hug with Abed in the Community finale emotionally destroyed me."

    —thehairdryer

    12. In The Office, when Erin finally met her birth parents:

    Erin's mom says "Erin" and Erin says "mom" and she goes to hug her parents
    NBC

    Suggested by migyyyyyy0315

    13. When Michael left on The Office and Pam ran after him to say goodbye:

    Pam and Michael hugging then talking, but we can't hear what they're saying
    NBC

    Suggested by Sakshi

    14. On Boy Meets World, when Cory hugged Shawn after he joined a cult:

    Cory hugs Shawn and says "this is a hug, and this is when you hug somebody, when you care about them and you want them to know that"
    ABC

    Suggested by a42d2dc837

    15. In Friends, when Chandler convinced Erica to let him and Monica adopt her baby:

    "I love my wife more than anything in this world. And it kills me that I can't give her a baby. I really want a kid. And when that day finally comes, I'll learn how to be a good dad. But my wife, she's already there. She's a mother without a baby"
    NBC

    "I always cry in that episode of Friends when Monica and Chandler are trying to adopt and are mistaken for a reverend and a doctor and go along with it because they so desperately want a child. And when they come clean they almost don’t get the baby until (the part that makes me cry) Chandler gives that speech to Erica about how when he becomes a dad he will learn how to be a good father, and then he says, 'But my wife, she’s already there. She’s a mother without a baby'...that line has me sobbing every time. Even just thinking about it makes me emotional.

    Sending love to all those mothers who are still waiting for their children, whether it’s through natural, adoption, surrogate, IV, whatever means. Don’t lose hope."

    —jessicam41c056c1c

    16. On The Good Place, when Chidi said goodbye to Eleanor:

    Chidi tells Eleanor to picture a wave, saying you can see it and know what it is, then it crashes on the shore and is gone, but the water is still there. The wave has returned to the ocean, where it's supposed to be
    NBC

    Suggested by RealNeverWaits81

    17. And when Janet said bye to Jason:

    Jason asks Janet to only remember the good stuff from their relationship, and Janet says it was all good
    NBC

    Suggested by bethw41d9ffb62

    18. In Community, when Jeff said goodbye to Annie:

    Jeff tells Annie he let her go, and she says he should kiss her or he'll regret it for the rest of his life
    NBC

    "Jeff started out as this jaded cynical man who didn’t believe in love or marriage, but we see in his pitch he would want that with Annie. But because she’s really leaving to go off and live her dream, he doesn’t know if she’d really be happy to finally be with him. And he chooses to let her go. The whole scene from the pitch until she tells him...to kiss her goodbye for no regrets, is gut-wrenching... Seeing how much growth Jeff has had, from someone who didn’t want to be there in the first place to getting left behind after realizing how much he’s always loved her."

    —cammiekinz

    19. Also in Community, when Troy said goodbye to Abed:

    Abed says he put homing pigeon DNA in Troy's clone, saying it might cause a compulsion for him to come back, and Troy hugs him
    NBC

    "Abed saying he spliced his DNA with a homing pigeon so he’ll come back made me tear up. Their friendship is the best thing on the show, and no one talks about it as a sad moment."

    —rachelc43

    20. In Gravity Falls, when Dipper and Mabel went back home at the end of the summer:

    Stan tells Dipper and Mabel he's glad to be rid of them while crying, and they hug him, saying they'll miss him, too
    Disney Channel

    "The last five minutes of Gravity Falls! I'm not ashamed to say my sister, and I stayed up live watching the last episode, and when it came to the part with the bus and saying goodbye to everyone, I ugly cried."

    —hobbitgirl96

    21. And finally, on Schitt's Creek, when Ted and Alexis broke up:

    Alexis says she can't move to the Galapagos, and Ted says he wouldn't let her if she tried, and tells her how proud of her he is. Alexis replies that she's proud of Ted, too
    Pop!TV

    "When Alexis and Ted have dinner for the last time. She says, 'I’m not going with you,' Ted says, 'I wouldn’t let you.' Such a beautiful moment and arc for Alexis that she loved someone so deeply, [then found] she loved herself more deeply and...made her own way."

    —parvanae

    Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.