27 Sitcom Moments That Were Shockingly Dark

"Don't take Turner away from me. He's not done yelling at me yet."

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the unexpectedly dark sitcom moments that shocked them. Here are some of the best responses:

🚨 Warning: Spoilers ahead!!! 🚨

Note: Some of the following contain mentions of suicide, sexual assault, pedophilia, racism, and other sensitive topics.

1. First, on 8 Simple Rules, when Paul unexpectedly died.

ABC

(The character's death was written into the show after the actor, John Ritter, died in real life.)

"That episode broke me."

—katerumtruffle

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

2. On Scrubs, when Dr. Cox realized that Ben had actually died.

ABC

"'Where do you think we are?' gets me every time." 

—hermannjingo

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

3. On The Golden Girls, when Rose found out she might have HIV/AIDS.

NBC

"It showed how terrified Rose was and the stigma around it. Also, Blanche gave an amazing speech about how it isn't a 'bad person's disease.'" 

—nattyiscool

Here's the full scene:

NBC / Via youtu.be

4. On Black-ish, when Rainbow experienced a life-threatening pregnancy complication, leading to her giving birth prematurely.

ABC

"The episode means a lot to me. Everything about the way the show handles the whole thing is so, so right, and so gut-wrenching. It's painful to watch, but I am so grateful that they made the episode." 

—fennip

Here's the trailer for the episode ("Sprinkles," Season 3, Episode 24):

ABC / Via youtu.be

5. On Boy Meets World, when Shawn nearly joined a cult, and then Mr. Turner got into a motorcycle accident — all in the same episode.

ABC

"That scene in the hospital with Shawn begging Mr. Turner to stay makes me ugly cry every single time."

—rebelyell98

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

6. When Marshall's dad died of a heart attack on How I Met Your Mother.

CBS

"Marshall’s dad dying on How I Met Your Mother destroyed me."

—getupkitten

Here's the full scene:

CBS / Via youtu.be

7. On All in the Family, when a man pretending to be a police officer snuck into the house and assaulted Edith, leaving her traumatized.

CBS

—lisamarieewing

Here's the full scene:

CBS / Via youtu.be

8. On Modern Family, when Claire went to all of Alex's classes and finally understood why she was so overwhelmed.

ABC

"It made me so happy to see that they didn't treat her anxiety as the butt of a joke, and that they showed that it's important for parents to try and understand what their kids are going through!" 

—fillionfan4002

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

9. On Mom, when Jodi overdosed and died.

CBS

"That show tackled a lot of hard topics, but that episode is very sad."

—kelseyr494ca6f4d

Here's the full scene:

CBS / Via youtu.be

10. On Boy Meets World, when Shawn's dad died.

ABC

"The ‘life lessons’ were rough, and I skip those episodes now."

—sf4581

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

11. On The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, when Will's dad left him again.

ABC

"It was gut-wrenching when Will asked, 'how come he don't want me?' Just heartbreaking."

—visionaryghost74

"That was one of the first moments on a sitcom that made me cry. I was really young, but had a biological father who wasn’t in my life. I spent a year sending him letters and hand-drawn pictures several days a week, and got nothing in response. I was devastated and hated him for a long time. The first time this episode aired, I cried. I cried because I felt what Will was saying, and I understood those feelings and emotions, and how disappointing it is for a nine-year-old who just wanted a relationship with someone who should have been there from the start." 

—imbatmom2

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

12. On Superstore, when Mateo was arrested and then deported.

NBC

"Not only was that whole episode hard to watch, but it was so well written — from Dina realizing she failed him, to Cheyenne and Amy doing anything to help him, to the ICE truck driving away from the store. It was crushing."

—g_bernie

Here's the full scene:

NBC / Via youtu.be

13. On Smart Guy, when T.J. and Melissa met a guy on the internet who turned out to be a pedophile.

The WB

—samanthanc821

Here's the full scene:

The WB / Via youtu.be

14. On The Golden Girls, when Sophia's friend Martha revealed that she was planning on killing herself.

NBC

"The episode really makes you wonder how many older people, who feel helpless and not in control of their own bodies, feel this way."

—goldengirlsfan

Here's the full scene:

NBC / Via youtu.be

15. On Brooklyn Nine-Nine, when Terry was a victim of racial profiling in his own neighborhood.

NBC

—murrays3

Here's the full scene:

NBC / Via youtu.be

16. On Diff'rent Strokes, when a bike store owner tried to take advantage of Arnold and his friends, who were literal children.

ABC

—corahippiecraft

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

17. On Boy Meets World, when Cory's mom gave birth prematurely and it was unknown if the baby would survive.

ABC

—colleend9

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

18. On Brooklyn Nine-Nine, when Rosa had to respond to an active shooter situation.

NBC

"I was on the verge of tears and practically held my breath for the entire episode."

—sophie_molly

Here's the full scene:

NBC / Via youtu.be

19. On The Facts of Life, when one of Blair's classmates killed herself.

NBC

"The speech Mrs. Garret gave at the end was heartbreaking."

—stephanih4345b5dfd

Here's the full scene:

NBC / Via youtu.be

20. On All in the Family, when Gloria had a miscarriage.

CBS

"It’s still somewhat taboo to talk about that on a sitcom even now, but it was unprecedented in the '70s. It didn’t shy away from exploring all the feelings of grief and guilt that the Bunkers were feeling."

—hailcthulhu

Here's the full scene:

CBS / Via youtu.be

21. On Boy Meets World, when Topanga's professor made inappropriate sexual advances toward her.

ABC

—jennieyfriends

ABC / Via youtu.be

22. On Full House, when D.J. tried to starve herself to lose weight for a pool party.

ABC

"That episode aired in 1990 and is still relevant today."

—egc26

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

23. On Growing Pains, when Carol's boyfriend drove drunk and died.

ABC

—shawnnag2

Here's the full scene:

ABC / Via youtu.be

24. On Friends, when Monica and Chandler found out that they were unable to have kids.

NBC

—msjsa

Here's the full scene:

NBC / Via youtu.be

25. On That's So Raven, when Raven had a vision that the store owner wouldn't hire her because she's Black.

Disney

"It was the most powerful TV episode I ever saw as a child."

—cherylzimberg

I can't find the scene on YouTube, but you can stream the full episode, "True Colors" (Season 3, Episode 10), on Disney+.

26. On Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, when Rebecca attempted suicide on the plane.

The CW

"The show dealt with a lot of mental health issues, that episode was so heavy compared to the show's usually upbeat tone."

—p46bf3ddf0

Here's the full scene:

The CW / Via youtu.be

27. And finally, that utterly devastating M*A*S*H* finale:

CBS

—ashcsaw

Here's the full scene:

CBS / Via youtu.be

Which one of these shocked you the most? Got a moment that deserves to be on this list? Tell us in the comments.

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