One of the biggest reasons that storytelling has been a part of humanity since the beginning is the fact that it can move and ultimately change people. Characters and narratives that evoke feelings of happiness and even sadness are so abstractly powerful that it's hard to explain. Most people have that one movie, book, or television series that changed them forever – and they vividly remember how they felt when experiencing it for the first time.
With television, this only increased since the viewer spent multiple hours with the characters they love. And while there are many series that make the audience laugh a lot, there are some that make them sob – constantly. From a zombie apocalypse and the necessity of survival in The Last of Us to a satirical animated comedy about depression and addiction in Boajack Horseman, to even the criminal and police world in The Wire: some stories demand a box of tissues on the side.
Here are some shows that are devastating but impossible to stop watching.
8 Dopesick
Dopesick is a miniseries based on the non-fiction novel Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy. This is a narrative of one of the biggest drug-related problems in America: opioids. The series goes into what really happened (with fictionalized dramatizations, since it's not a documentary), the fault of Purdue Pharma, and the release of the "non-addictive" painkiller OxyContin. It is heartbreaking to watch the victims of brutal addiction alongside the greed and coldblooded indifference of the corporations that lead to this ongoing issue.
7 Six Feet Under
Death is one of the few certainties in life. Nevertheless, it is a difficult concept to grasp and comes with various dark feelings. Six Feet Under is set in a family-owned funeral home in LA and starts after the family's patriarch dies. It does deal with these issues with a sense of humor, but the theme of mortality and dealing with it is at the front of this story. The series was one of the earliest HBO masterpieces, and also explores drugs, sexuality, dementia, illness, and even other taboo subjects that are not as common on television, such as miscarriage. And, of course, death.
6 Squid Game
The premise of the show: a game where people fight to the death to receive money that can change their lives while rich people watch them is already cruel. However, there are various moments in Squid Game where things take a deeply depressing turn, and since the characters are likable, the audience roots for them even though they know they are fated to end the game with only one survivor. It's a difficult show about social class, empathy, and the meaning of doing everything you have to in order to survive. The hit show is going to get a second season.
5 The Leftovers
Grief is one of the most complex concepts and periods in someone's life. There is no right or wrong way of doing it, and many people go through many stages that evoke different emotions, including depression. The Leftovers start when two percent of the population vanishes without any explanation. The world is left to wonder what happened, and the characters find coping methods, even going as far as creating new religions.
The story certainly has moments of levity and even complete absurdity as people do whatever they can to move forward, but at the end of the day, it is one of the hardest shows a person can sit through — truly obliterating, but worth it.
4 This Is Us
This Is Us can make the viewer ugly cry from sheer happiness and a few moments later from how sad things can turn out. Following the Pearson family at different points in their lives, there is no shortage of cry-worthy moments (except, perhaps, This Is Us' rather stilted finale). Discussing family dynamics, racism, loss, and growing up makes it a universal show everyone can relate to in some way.
The characters are all extremely empathic, creating a deep bond that makes the audience feel like they are a part of the family. With a superb writing team and actors who can deliver the most heartbreaking performances, it is impossible not to feel moved by this story.
3 Sharp Objects
The HBO miniseries based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects, is a punch to the gut. Not only the characters and the situations they have to endure are cruel, but the sheer rawness in how it is depicted can be too much for many people. Dealing with trauma, self-harm, mental health, and murder, the show dives deep into different types of darkness.
Sharp Objects has a genuinely startling performance by the main cast (including a young Sydney Sweeney and great Patricia Clarkson), but especially Amy Adams as Camille, a journalist that has to come back to her hometown (and see her family) as a brutal murder of a young girl occurred.
2 The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale is a violent and brutal story set in a dystopian society where a military dictatorship in the US uses religion to control the population, especially women. The aspect that is the most soul-crushing about the series is how close some elements are to happening today.
Margaret Atwood, the author of the novel the series is based on, said that she writes speculative fiction and that nothing read in the book hasn't happened at some point in history. It hurts to be able to quickly find the moments that don't feel too far out, especially regarding women's rights and their lives.
1 When They See Us
When They See Us would already be a soul-crushing story if it was a fictional story. But to know that this is based on something that happened not long ago, known as 'The Central Park Five' makes the audience question how far we've come as a society – not in a good way. Five black teens are sent to prison when they are falsely accused of raping and beating a white woman in New York City in 1989. Only in 2002 were they got exonerated for the crimes. The racism and injustice make it impossible not to sob while watching these victims go through hell for something they didn't do.