15 Sad TV Shows That Are Guaranteed To Leave You In Tears

Let’s face it: No matter how much we complain or rage online when a TV show makes us cry, we all love it. We often turn to television to escape from reality for a little while, and while comedy can do the trick, sad TV shows are just as engaging. Whether weepy dramas or unexpectedly tear-jerking sitcoms, we welcome the waterworks.

Seeking out sad television might seem like a masochistic impulse, but it can have real therapeutic effects. Even the great Greek thinker Aristotle argued that fictional tragedy could help “purge” sadness and pain. Indeed, we’ve all felt that catharsis from having a good cry while watching a film or television show. If you’re in the mood for some big feelings or a sprinkling of emotional devastation, we’ve got you covered. Here are 15 sad TV shows guaranteed to leave you in tears.

If you’re not familiar with “BoJack Horseman,” it might sound absurd to you that an animated series about a talking horse is one of the saddest shows out there, but it’s absolutely true. While the show is wacky, it’s also deeply upsetting, profound, and brilliant. We won’t judge you for crying over this messed-up equine.

Set in a world where animals and humans coexist, the show follows a self-destructive horse named BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett). BoJack once starred in a popular 1990s sitcom, and has been trying (and mostly failing) to coast on that success ever since. While attempting a comeback, he consistently makes damaging decisions and alienates the people who care about him. A cleverly crafted tragicomedy, the series begins with a ludicrous tone that keeps things light before diving into the horror and despair of human (or horse) existence. As we learn more about BoJack’s drinking problem, his traumatic childhood, and the deep pain and loneliness felt by his friends, we welcome the laughs to break up our sniffling.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

It’s only right that one of the greatest post-apocalyptic shows of all time is also one of the saddest. To truly reckon with the apocalypse in fiction, you must also confront the grief and sadness that comes along with it, and “The Leftovers” does that like few shows ever have. The HBO series presents a unique premise for an apocalypse: it takes place three years after 2% of humanity has disappeared without a trace. The global cataclysm, known as the “Sudden Departure,” leaves people grappling with loss in myriad ways.

In Mapleton, New York, police chief Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) attempts to keep his family together after his wife, Laurie (Amy Brenneman), joins a chain-smoking cult known as the Guilty Remnant. Meanwhile, Nora Durst (Carrie Coon) loses her children and husband in the Sudden Departure, and her brother, Reverend Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston), is desperate to revive his catatonic wife. One of the primary themes of the show is adjusting to life after loss, and few series have tackled this topic so beautifully, or so heartbreakingly.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that a show that opens with the Sufjan Stevens song “Death With Dignity” is one of the most tear-jerking TV series of all time. Even if you’ve never watched “This Is Us,” you’re probably aware of its teary reputation. The cast of the show even made a PSA alerting viewers about potential devastation and apologizing for making everyone cry.

If you’ve only heard of the show through a loved one’s blubbering ramblings, here’s the gist. The series follows the Pearson family across multiple timelines, and they’re all heartbreaking. The family is led by Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore). They have three children: Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Kevin (Justin Hartley), twins who were once triplets, and Randall (Sterling K. Brown), who was adopted. Jack died when the kids were 17, and much of the series tracks the fallout from that event, interspersed with flashbacks to before his death. The show portrays an endless barrage of personal and familial tragedies, and viewers quickly learned to have a box of tissues on hand for every episode.

The hit HBO series “The Pitt” doesn’t hide its desire to hit you where it hurts, and that’s one of the reasons we love it so much. The medical drama is filled with pathos, illuminating the daily struggles of healthcare workers and their patients as they confront a failing healthcare system. That effort to make a difference amidst difficult circumstances is the beating heart of “The Pitt.” Set in an overcrowded Pittsburgh emergency room, Noah Wyle plays Dr. Robbie, the ER’s attending physician, and he spends the series putting out fires while dealing with his own impending emotional breakdown.

The mental health struggles of these doctors and nurses are heart-rending, but it’s the patient stories that tend to bring us to tears most often. We’re thinking of the parents in Season 1 whose teenage son dies from an accidental fentanyl overdose, and Dr. Robbie’s promise that the staff would attend the funeral. Or in Season 2, a mother dying of cancer who decides it’s time to stop fighting. We’re getting verklempt just thinking about it.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

With creative overlap behind the scenes, “ER” and “The Pitt” share some of the same tear-jerking DNA. Set in Chicago (with frequent shots of the L train to prove it), the series takes place in an underfunded emergency room. The dedicated doctors there include Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), Doug Ross (George Clooney), Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes), and John Carter (Noah Wyle). Similar to the pioneering medical show “St. Elsewhere,” the series mixes a case-of-the-week format with larger personal narratives and questions about the state of the hospital.

“ER” features countless heartbreaking moments throughout 15 seasons, from tragic medical cases to the deaths of beloved doctors. Often considered the best episode of the entire series, “Love’s Labor Lost” follows the death of a pregnant woman in the ER while Mark is in charge. Her husband is played by Bradley Whitford of “The West Wing.” We’ll never forget a particular character’s death on the beach in Hawaii, either.

Shonda Rhimes created a TV empire with “Grey’s Anatomy,” the hospital drama that combines medicine, romance, and tragedy into one very attractive package. Set in Seattle, “Grey’s Anatomy” centers on Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who begins the series as a surgical intern. Her fellow residents include BFF Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and George O’Malley (T. R. Knight). Though the cast changes over the course of an astounding 22 seasons (and counting), Meredith remains a mainstay for most of those tumultuous years.

Though it airs in primetime, “Grey’s” often functions like a soap opera, with constant workplace drama and ill-advised relationships. Catastrophes are frequent in this version of Seattle, and the staff at Grey Sloan Memorial face plane crashes, explosions, fires, earthquakes, floods, sinkholes, bombs, and shootings, among other calamities. Some of these disasters result in major character deaths that leave fans in tears. The show’s propensity for tragedy, alongside some well-placed needle drops (“How To Save A Life,” anyone?), makes “Grey’s” one of the most reliable tearjerkers out there.

“Friday Night Lights” hits us right in the feels, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. The beloved NBC series combines the dramatic highs and lows of sports stories with a small-town character study to create something unforgettable. Kyle Chandler plays the show’s fearless leader, Eric Taylor, the coach of the Dillon Panthers football team. In this small Texas town, football is everything, and Coach Taylor faces a lot of pressure to bring his team to victory. His players feel that pressure as well, and Coach Taylor acts as a mentor to these young men, while his wife, Tami (Connie Britton), works as a guidance counselor.

“Friday Night Lights” is a very emotional show, whether on or off the football field. The heartbreak begins with the show’s outstanding pilot episode, in which star quarterback Jason Street (Scott Porter) suffers a career-ending injury. So many other elements of the show pull on our heartstrings (and trigger our tear ducts), from Matt Saracen’s (Zach Gilford) complicated relationship with his father to Smash Williams’ (Gaius Charles) dream of getting a college scholarship.

Like its successor, “This Is Us,” the NBC series “Parenthood” mines family strife for countless tear-jerking moments. Based on the 1989 Ron Howard film and a subsequent TV series, “Parenthood” centers on the Berkeley-bred Braverman family. Parents Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) and Camille (Bonnie Bedelia) have raised four kids: Adam (Peter Krause), Sarah (Lauren Graham), Crosby (Dax Shepard), and Julia (Erika Christensen), who all have children of their own.

As the title suggests, “Parenthood” is at its core about the trials and tribulations of being a parent, and the show depicts this experience in a wide range of ways. The parents of “Parenthood” mess up, and the kids do too, but everyone tries their best, which makes for a rewarding watch. Though viewers are treated with a never-ending stream of struggle, there’s never any question that the Bravermans love each other. Despite the show’s uncanny ability to make us cry, it doesn’t rely on overblown melodrama, and its characters are all written with nuance, which makes our tears feel earned.

The HBO series “Six Feet Under” is technically a dramedy, but any comedy therein is as dark as it gets. The show centers on the Fisher family, who run a funeral home in Los Angeles. Peter Krause (who’s also in teary shows like “Parenthood”) plays the eldest brother, Nate Fisher, who steps in to run Fisher & Sons after the death of his father. Michael C. Hall plays younger brother David, who struggles to accept that he’s gay, and Lauren Ambrose plays the youngest sibling, Claire.

As one would expect, considering its setting, “Six Feet Under” is very concerned with mortality. Most episodes begin with a death scene that results in the deceased ending up at Fisher & Sons. Some of these deaths are bizarre, like the man who was killed by a dough mixer, while others are deeply tragic, like the 7-year-old killed by accidentally shooting a gun. While the deaths of both recurring and one-off characters can be upsetting, the trials and tribulations of the Fisher family are what hurt us most. And how could you ever forget that showstopping finale, in which we witness how each of their lives ends?

An underseen masterpiece, “Rectify” is one of the most emotionally intelligent and thoughtful shows we’ve ever seen. It has little in common with soapier dramas like “This Is Us” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” instead honing in on inner turmoil and what it means to lose — and perhaps rediscover — your soul. An astoundingly good Aden Young stars as Daniel Holden, a man convicted of the rape and murder of his girlfriend when they were teenagers. When new evidence leads to Daniel’s conviction being overturned, he’s released from prison after 19 years on death row. But released to what, exactly?

It’s not immediately clear if Daniel is guilty or innocent, or if his tangles with the legal system are truly over. Instead, as he returns to his Georgia hometown, uncertainty hangs over him. Though he’s supported by his family, particularly his loyal sister, Amantha (Abigail Spencer), his welcome is far from warm. The deliberately slow-paced series is more concerned with how Daniel’s imprisonment has affected him and the entire town than the crime itself, and the existential questions it poses are incredibly moving.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

As one of the most tragic shows out there, “Party of Five” has no doubt been the source of many tears over the years. The charmingly earnest show follows five siblings who lose their parents in a car accident. Matthew Fox plays Charlie, the eldest Salinger child, who becomes the guardian of his younger siblings. His brothers and sisters are played by a stellar cast including Scott Wolf, Neve Campbell, and Lacey Chabert. (The youngest Salinger is just a baby when the series begins.)

As expected, grief is one of the main themes of “Party of Five,” as the Salinger siblings navigate the loss of their parents and their new family dynamic. The first season of the show mainly centers on that grief, and as it begins to evolve, the Salingers are forced to battle further hardships, including cancer, domestic abuse, and alcoholism. “Party of Five” is a straight-up drama, and though there are funny bits here and there (it was actually pitched as a comedy), it’s one of the most relentlessly sad shows of its era.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

In the first episode of the Prime Video miniseries “The Underground Railroad,” directed by Barry Jenkins, we witness a horrific act of violence. An enslaved man is burned to death by his master after attempting to escape, and his pain is visceral, yet impossible to look away from. The viewer observes this brutality through the eyes of our protagonist, Cora (Thuso Mbedu). This man’s appalling murder serves as the catalyst for Cora’s journey as she and Caesar (Aaron Pierre) flee their plantation in search of a better life.

Considering its subject matter, one would expect “The Underground Railroad,” which is based on the Colson Whitehead novel of the same name, to be a difficult watch. That’s a fair assumption, and that brutal killing is indeed harrowing — necessarily so. But most of the series is about Cora’s quest for freedom as she attempts to leave violence like this behind. Still, even when her story isn’t about violence or brutality, it’s still a hugely emotional show, and her moments of hope are just as moving as her moments of pain.

Hulu’s “Dopesick” is a powerful 2021 miniseries that packs an emotional punch and will leave you winded. Based on a non-fiction book by Beth Macy, who also serves as an executive producer, “Dopesick” tracks the rise of OxyContin through the lens of both its creators and its users. The show shines a light on the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, often associated with fueling the opioid crisis. It also follows prosecutors and law enforcement trying to curb the Sackler family’s influence, a doctor duped into prescribing OxyContin, and, most importantly, the victims of the opioid crisis.

The exceptional Kaitlyn Dever, who previously impressed us in “Unbelievable,” plays Betsy, a West Virginian miner prescribed OxyContin by her doctor (Michael Keaton). Betsy quickly becomes addicted, and the addiction destroys her life. Dever is given the difficult task of embodying the human cost of the opioid crisis, and she delivers with her heart-wrenching performance. The devious deeds of the Sacklers will fill you with rage, while Dever’s Betsy will leave you in tears.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

“The Handmaid’s Tale” is one of the bleakest shows on television, and it’s not for the faint of heart. Based on the 1985 Margaret Atwood novel, the dystopian series takes place in a totalitarian version of the United States known as Gilead. The leaders of Gilead are religious extremists rooted in fundamentalist Christian ideology who strip women of their rights and believe in procreation by any means necessary. To that end, fertile women are enslaved as Handmaids, forced to serve as surrogate mothers for high-ranking members of Gilead.

Elisabeth Moss plays June, later known as Offred (her master, played by Joseph Fiennes, is named Fred), a Handmaid captured while attempting to escape with her husband and daughter. Yvonne Strahovski plays Serena, Fred’s cruel wife, and Ann Dowd plays Aunt Lydia, tasked with “re-educating” the Handmaids. “The Handmaid’s Tale” depicts both physical and psychological torture, horrors that are bound to affect viewers. Seasons 2 through 6 expand beyond Atwood’s novel and introduce new ways to traumatize these characters, oscillating between hope and despair for a whiplash-inducing emotional rollercoaster.

The true story behind “When They See Us” is heartbreaking enough, but in Ava DuVernay’s hands, it becomes a devastating tragedy. The Netflix miniseries tackles the case of the Central Park Five, a group of Black and Latino boys who were convicted of the 1989 rape and attempted murder of a white woman in Central Park. “When They See Us” is not a story of overcoming adversity or perseverance in the face of cruelty. Rather, it’s about the dehumanization of the justice system and the carceral state, and the people who grease its wheels.

What makes the series so affecting is its steady, empathetic gaze on the five young men in question, insisting on their humanity as the state attempts to strip them of it. We only briefly witness the boys’ lives before their arrest, as DuVernay turns our attention to the abrupt cessation of their youth and how they become trapped in a ruthless, hungry system. The show features extraordinary performances across the board, including Jharrel Jerome, who plays Korey Wise as both a teenager and an adult, and Niecy Nash as his mother. You’re more than likely to shed a tear for these men, both because of the suffering they’ve experienced and because even a show as good as this can’t make these wrongs right.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).