seriocomedy
Laughs with gravity
Seriocomedy blends serious and comedic elements, treating weighty subjects with humor or mixing dramatic moments with lighter ones.
The term describes works—plays, films, novels—that resist easy classification as purely tragic or comic: The play is a seriocomedy about mortality and family dysfunction.
Less common than tragicomedy, which it resembles.
Wistful yet warm
- dramedyGenre mixing laughs and pathos
- poignantEvoking keen emotion
- pathosPity-evoking quality
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
wistful · irony · humor · wit · satire · whimsy · drollery · mordant
Film's written blueprint
- teleplayDrama written for broadcast
- scriptwritingComposing film or TV text
- sitcomEpisodic TV comedy series
- cinematographyMotion picture visual craft
indie film · Sundance · ensemble cast · character study · bittersweet ending · genre-blending
Genre mixing laughs and pathos
Author of stage dramas
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- dramaturgyArt of theatrical structure
act · scene · blocking · ensemble · rehearsal · director · thespian · proscenium
Subordinate narrative strand
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
- nuanceSlight shade of difference
- complexityState of being complicated
- characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities
arc · conflict · resolution · catharsis · redemption · morality · introspection · foreshadowing
bittersweet
Wistful yet warm
melancholy · wistful · irony · humor · wit · satire · whimsy · drollery · mordant · rueful
screenplay
Film's written blueprint
- teleplayDrama written for broadcast
- scriptwritingComposing film or TV text
- sitcomEpisodic TV comedy series
cinematography · indie film · Sundance · ensemble cast · character study · bittersweet ending · genre-blending
dramedy
Genre mixing laughs and pathos
playwright
Author of stage dramas
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
dramaturgy · act · scene · blocking · ensemble · rehearsal · director · thespian · proscenium · tableau
subplot
Subordinate narrative strand
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
- nuanceSlight shade of difference
- complexityState of being complicated
characterization · arc · conflict · resolution · catharsis · redemption · morality · introspection · foreshadowing · denouement
seriocomedyfarce
Absurd, laughable situation
slapstick · melodrama · broad comedy · low comedy · burlesque
serious, seriously, seriousness, serial, series, comedy, comedian, comedic, comic