Talk:Comedy drama

Notable examples are solely American

Why are all the examples of "notable" film and television comedy-dramas only American? Are there no "notable" comedy-dramas from Canada, Mexico, Australia, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan? Pyxis Solitary (yak yak). Ol' homo. 05:57, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

This is a clear case of systemic BIAS. There are many, many notable comedy-dramas from those and other countries. They can and should be included. The best thing to do here is to be BOLD. Drunk Experiter (she/her) (talk) 05:48, 25 October 2025 (UTC)

Requested move 25 October 2025

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. (non-admin closure) Thanks, Glasspalace (talk | contribs) 05:26, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

---

Comedy drama → Comedy-dramaComedy-drama – "Comedy-drama" with a hyphen vs. "Comedy drama" without are both present in articles, with releases such as The Bear (TV series), Fleabag, Gilmore Girls and Ted Lasso using the former; and M*A*S*H, Sex and the City, The White Lotus and Elsbeth using the latter. There are also articles that use "Dramedy", such as Food of The Bear (TV series), Ludwig and others but consensus has already moved the page from that one.

However, I would argue that Comedy-drama with a hyphen is a more succinct and accurate descriptor and is better for our readers when seeing articles with multiple genres, e.g. "black comedy-drama". On the contrary, you could also make the argument that comedy-drama is not enough of a unique descriptor or unified genre to be described as a single hyphenated word.

Something else to consider is how categories are treated currently. Category:Comedy drama is written without a hyphen, however all the subcategories such as Category:Comedy-drama television series, Category:Comedy-drama films and all their own subcategories use the hyphenated term. It would be quicker to make the main category match all subcategories for the sake of parity than to remove the hyphen from all subcategories, and I'd argue it'd reduce vagueness. I have posted a CfD as well, linked here: Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 October 25#Category:Comedy drama. Drunk Experiter (she/her) (talk) 05:39, 25 October 2025 (UTC)

• Comment – Grammatically, I think the categories are named correctly. In the subcategories comedy drama is used as a modifier and so I think should be hyphenated.

  The film is a comedy drama.

  It is a comedy-drama film.

But I think we should go with whatever the majority of sources use. I don't know what that is. Mclay1 (talk) 13:56, 25 October 2025 (UTC)

• Leaning against: We should use what the majority of sources use as a noun, not as an adjective. —⁠ ⁠BarrelProof (talk) 16:15, 25 October 2025 (UTC)
• Oppose per dictionaries having "comedy drama": Merriam-Webster, Oxford English Dictionary, Collins Dictionary. EDIT: To add, for the subcategories, the hyphenating is appropriate because the term is being used as a compound modifier. Erik (talk | contrib) 18:49, 25 October 2025 (UTC)
• Support. I have seen "comedy-drama" used with more frequency in reviews about TV series and films that blend both genres. As a genre associated with the entertainment industry (film, theater, television), I think we should use "comedy-drama" across the board. Pyxis Solitary (yak). ⚢ 08:22, 28 October 2025 (UTC)

  Which sources? Searching Variety as an example with "comedy drama" site:variety.com here, I am seeing both usages pretty frequently (plus comedy/drama on occasion). If it's interchangeable and not universally hyphenated, it seems unnecessary to change it. Erik (talk | contrib) 15:25, 28 October 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Wouldn't the simpler solution be to go back to dramedy? ~~ Jessintime (talk) 21:31, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

  Revisiting the Google Trends link from the 2022 RM, "comedy drama" still outpaces "dramedy" significantly as seen here. Actually, adding "comedy-drama", that one shows to be less common than even "dramedy", as seen here. Erik (talk | contrib) 21:43, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

  There was already consensus against dramedy, as it is a mostly North American term. I prefer Comedy-drama not due to its frequency or prevalence, but its convenience as a term for article leads and disambiguation. Dramedy would arguably fit that, but it's not global enough. Since the two are interchangeable, I'd prefer we pick the one that's more recognisable at first sight as a single genre or one word. Drunk Experiter (she/her) (talk) 07:38, 1 November 2025 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

^^^ There is 1 "Leaning against" and 1 "Oppose — but there are 3 that favor "comedy-drama": 1) the editor that created this discussion + 2) myself + 3) the editor that stated "I prefer Comedy-drama....". So how did the non-admin editor closer determine that the result of the discussion should be "not moved"? Pyxis Solitary (yak). ⚢ 11:44, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

Yeah, I found it strange myself. I think you could argue "no consensus" more readily (in which case you still wouldn't move), but I would have preferred if it had more time for more responses. Drunk Experiter (she/her) (talk) 13:44, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

I agree and would support keeping the discussion open for longer. Erik (talk | contrib) 13:50, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

FYI, 1) and 3) are the same person. Erik (talk | contrib) 14:00, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

FYI, 1) and 3) are the same person. – Doh! Pyxis Solitary (yak). ⚢ 14:24, 2 November 2025 (UTC)

Notable examples

This section has gone overboard and become unrestrained. Instead of a select few examples from around the world, it has become a display of editor POV ideas about what films and television series are noteworthy. Wikipedia is not Fandom, and this is not a List article. The section needs to be cut back to a maximum of 12 examples for each subsection, and also not United States-centric. Pyxis Solitary (yak). ⚢ 05:39, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

I have now deleted the lists of supposed 'notable examples' of comedy drama from film and TV, on the basis that they provide no sources whatsoever to indicate that they even match the criteria for the article: "a hybrid genre that combines elements of comedy and drama", never mind that they are somehow 'notable' as examples of such. Wikipedia is not a platform for arbitrary lists complied based on nothing but contributors' opinions that specific productions belong there.

If there are secondary sources that actually explain in detail why a specific Film or TV series is of significance within the genre, we should maybe give it as an example, in prose. I can see no reason why we should ever need a list, even if sourced, given that inclusion is always going to be subjective, and mere presence on a list tells the reader nothing of consequence.

Rather than cobbling together arbitrary lists, contributors might more usefully employ their time looking for ways to expand the article - most obviously beyond its obvious narrow US-centric scope. TV and cinema are global media, and it shouldn't be difficult to demonstrate that the genre is likewise global. As it stands, it gives an entirely parochial and unencyclopedic impression, and barely goes beyond a dictionary definition of the term. AndyTheGrump (talk) 09:49, 21 May 2026 (UTC)

I couldn't agree more with what you have said. Pyxis Solitary (yak). ⚢ – not queer. 11:38, 21 May 2026 (UTC)