It’s often said that if life is a joke, then death is the punch line, and plenty of great sitcoms have found hilarious ways to kill off their characters over the years. Dark humor allows us to laugh at taboo subjects which people don’t like to speak about, and death is at the top of this list. Comedy has always had a perverse fascination with death, and there are many classic sitcoms which utilize this.
Dark sitcoms often kill off minor characters in ludicrous ways to highlight the absurdity of the form and the fragile, fleeting nature of life. These jokes provide an immediate shock and a cathartic release, but they also reveal something deeper about human nature. Some sitcoms even have funny deaths for some of their main characters, which undercuts the serious tone that TV shows usually have for such situations. The cause of death, the timing, and the reactions of other characters can all contribute to hilarious deaths.
10 Susan – Seinfeld
Season 7, Episode 24, “The Invitations”
The actions of the characters in Seinfeld are always harming themselves and others, but the season 7 finale took things to a new level by killing off George’s fiancée, Susan Ross. Susan dies after ingesting too much toxic glue from some cheap envelopes that George had picked out for their wedding invitations. He spends most of season 7 looking for a way to break off their engagement, and he finally gets his wish granted in the most disturbing way possible.
By killing off Susan, the friends could get back to business as usual without one of them being married.
Susan’s death in Seinfeld is one of the show’s most famous moments. The “show about nothing” rarely did much to advance the overall plot, and George’s engagement was one big exception. By killing off Susan, the friends could get back to business as usual without one of them being married. The only change to the show’s dynamic was that George was saddled with the burden of the Susan Ross Foundation after her death. Even from beyond the grave, Susan finds a way to monopolize George’s free time.
9 Country Mac – It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Season 9, Episode 5, “Mac Day”
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has seen many characters die over the years, including Dennis and Dee’s mother, Shelley Kelly and Maureen Ponderosa. The show also isn’t afraid to kill off random characters as a punch line, like when Frank arranges a fatal game of Russian roulette in the back room of the bar. Country Mac’s death is the punch line to an entire episode in which the gang finds a version of Mac who they all like much better.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
has seen many characters die over the years, including Dennis and Dee’s mother, Shelley Kelly and Maureen Ponderosa.
Country Mac is Mac’s cousin. He rides a motorcycle, flexes some serious karate skills and even jumps off a bridge for Project Badass. He is everything that Mac claims to be and more, right up until his hilariously pathetic death. Although Country Mac clearly lives life on the edge, he dies in a low-speed motorcycle crash, tipping over while traveling at walking speed. With It’s Always Sunny season 17 approaching, it’s a strong bet that the show’s dark humor will result in a few more deaths.
8 Gerard – Peep Show
Season 8, Episode 1, “Jeremy Therapized”
Gerard is Mark’s main rival for the affection of Dobby. Even when Mark and Dobby are in a relationship, Gerard gets in the way with his chronic illnesses, requiring Dobby to go and take care of him. One night, Mark has enough, and he convinces Dobby to ignore Gerard so that she can stay with him. This just so happens to be the night that Gerard dies. The timing couldn’t be any worse for Mark, who sees Gerard’s death as one last affront.
Gerard manages to maintain his rivalry with Mark from beyond the grave, as he leaves enough money to Dobby to make her think twice about moving in with him.
Of all things, Gerard dies of flu. Jez puts it best when he dismisses the news as a joke, before accepting it and saying “That is so Gerard.” Only Gerard could die from such an illness while in the prime of his life. It wouldn’t make sense for any of Peep Show‘s other iconic supporting characters to meet their end in this way. Gerard manages to maintain his rivalry with Mark from beyond the grave, as he leaves enough money to Dobby to make her think twice about moving in with him.
7 Frank Grimes – The Simpsons
Season 8, Episode 23, “Homer’s Enemy”
The Simpsons is famous for its one-off characters, from the slimy monorail huckster Lyle Lanley to Hank Scorpio, the villainous megalomaniac who says goodbye to a shoe. Frank Grimes ranks up there with the very best of them, although he is remembered most fondly for his hilarious death. Frank’s hatred of Homer tips him over the edge, and he spirals into a rant that ends with him grabbing some high voltage power lines with his bare hands.
Frank Grimes is the most rational man in Springfield, and witnessing Homer’s stupidity in such an important job drives him crazy.
Frank Grimes is the most rational man in Springfield, and witnessing Homer’s stupidity in such an important job drives him crazy. This is a great meta joke from the writers which points out the show’s quirks which nobody ever mentions. Frank is the only person who realizes that it’s absurd for a lazy slob to have everything he wants in life, including a Grammy and a trip to space. The layers of comedy in Frank’s death contribute to one of the best Simpsons episodes of all.
6 Jason Mendoza – The Good Place
Season 1, Episode 11, “What’s My Motivation?”
In season 1, The Good Place shows how each of the main characters die, as well as providing some important backstory from their lives. Jason, the group’s lovable dolt, dies in the most absurd way. His life of crime with his best friend Pillboi is cut short when he suffocates inside a safe as part of his dim-witted heist. Their plan gets foiled immediately, but Jason dies before being released.
His life of crime with his best friend Pillboi is cut short when he suffocates inside a safe as part of his dim-witted heist.
The cop who arrests Pillboi sums it all up when he says that Jason got the life he deserves. Someone who believes that a snorkel can help them breathe inside an airtight safe gets what’s coming to them. However, this doesn’t stop Jason from redeeming himself in the afterlife. He doesn’t necessarily get any smarter in the many years after his death, but he shows at the very least that his heart is in the right place.
5 The Black Swan – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Season 7, Episode 7, “The Black Swan”
Larry David is constantly getting into horrendous social blunders in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and he has been forced to shoulder the blame for a few deaths. While it isn’t really Larry’s fault that Norm dies of a heart attack or Kenny Funkhouser gets trampled by bulls in Spain, he does deserve the blame for killing Mr. Takahashi’s beloved black swan Kyoko on the golf course.
While the death itself is funny,
Curb
stretches the joke out brilliantly, as Larry becomes the focus of Mr. Takahashi’s investigation into the murder.
The image of the black swan charging at Larry with its wings spread wide is the perfect prelude to Larry bludgeoning it with his golf club. While the death itself is funny, Curb stretches the joke out brilliantly, as Larry becomes the focus of Mr. Takahashi’s investigation into the murder. This episode is popular enough to warrant a callback in the Curb Your Enthusiasm series finale. Mr. Takahashi holds a grudge for long enough to try and get Larry imprisoned when the opportunity arises.
4 Captain Dozerman – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Season 3, Episode 1, “New Captain”
Bill Hader has a brief but memorable role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. After Captain Holt’s promotion, Seth Dozerman steps into the precinct as his replacement, and he immediately underlines his commitment to efficiency and hard work. Naturally, his high-intensity lifestyle comes with a high level of stress, and he has a heart attack before he can even finish his speech. He learns nothing from this health scare, and his second heart attack later that day kills him.
It’s probably for the best that he gets killed off early, because he would have been pushed beyond his limits by Jake within a few days either way.
Bill Hader is a master of deadpan comedy, and he makes every line he has in Brooklyn Nine-Nine hilarious. Whether he is telling his squad to get to work while collapsing or announcing with a stone-faced expression that he’s having a heart attack, Dozerman is all business. It’s probably for the best that he gets killed off early, because he would have been pushed beyond his limits by Jake within a few days either way.
Season 5, Episode 4, “Cooperative Polygraphy”
Chevy Chase’s controversial exit from Community had been coming for a while, but it still provided a problem for the show. Chase was part of Community from the very beginning, so killing off his character risked disrupting the dynamic of the group. However, after disagreements with Dan Harmon and allegations of racist remarks, Chase had to go. Harmon gave Pierce a death which provided a final insult to the actor who portrayed him.
As Pierce’s will is read out to his study group, each of his friends is presented with a comically large vial of his frozen sperm.
As Pierce’s will is read out to his study group, each of his friends is presented with a comically large vial of his frozen sperm. This is one last disgusting and unpredictable act that sums up Pierce’s character. The reveal that his cause of death was dehydration from filling up the vials is a hilarious punch line to his nonsensical life. It can also be seen as a meta joke which reveals Harmon’s feelings about Chase.
2 Denholm Reynholm – The IT Crowd
Season 2, Episode 2, “Return of the Golden Child”
Chris Morris’ character is a whirlwind of bluster and machismo in the first season of The IT Crowd, but the actor decided not to stick around for too long. To give him the hilarious send-off he deserved, The IT Crowd delivered one of their most memorable moments. As Denholm Reynholm takes a meeting in the boardroom, an assistant comes in to tell him that the police are waiting to speak to him about some financial discrepancies. Without skipping a beat, he politely dismisses the assistant and walks straight out of the window.
Denholm has such a casual approach to his suicide that the other executives barely even register that something has happened.
Denholm has such a casual approach to his suicide that the other executives barely even register that something has happened. He takes a step out of the window with the same nonchalance that he would if he were simply walking down the hallway. There is no big speech and no dramatic leap; just a man who realizes without any hint of emotion that the jig is up, and he can choose between prison or a tumble off of a skyscraper.
1 Kenny – South Park
Many Episodes Across Many Seasons
Kenny dies in almost every episode of South Park‘s early seasons, and many more times thereafter. His frequent deaths become a running gag unlike any other, with the show seemingly trying to one-up the most gruesome kills imaginable. He is cooked in a microwave, savaged by mutant turkeys and run over by a train all within the first season. This is just the beginning for poor Kenny.
He is cooked in a microwave, savaged by mutant turkeys and run over by a train all within the first season.
Kenny’s horrific deaths are one way that South Park sets itself apart from other animated sitcoms, and it typifies the show’s controversial status in its early years. Beyond this, the jokes provide a clever way for the show to comment on the moral panic over cartoon violence. Just as some commentators have suggested that cartoon violence desensitizes children to the real thing, Stan and Kyle become increasingly weary and apathetic when saying the catchphrase: “Oh my God, they killed Kenny!” Eventually, they’re just going through the motions.
