With the first season of Nathan Fielder’s skin-crawling HBO series, The Rehearsal, coming to a close soon, The Ringer decided to take a look at the comedic shows and movies that you can only watch through your fingers. In Fielder’s honor, we dub Thursday Cringe Comedy Day, in which our writers take a look at the beginnings of the genre, some iconic examples in cringe history, and why we’ve developed such a visceral reaction to it. So join us as we celebrate this niche genre—if you can bear to watch it.
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August 18, 2022
When the Creator of ‘Candid Camera’ Pushed Cringe to X-Rated Extremes
1970’s ‘What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?’ is a time capsule and a precursor to masters like Nathan Fielder and Sacha Baron Cohen—but it also proves that even cringe comedy has boundaries
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August 18, 2022
Dashed Dreams: Remembering the Cringiest Episode of ‘The Office’
Even by the standards of a show that made its name finding comedy in incredibly uncomfortable situations, "Scott’s Tots" towers above the rest as too painful to watch
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August 18, 2022
The Psychology of Cringe Comedy: Why We Love to Watch What Hurts Us
From ‘Da Ali G Show’ to viral TikTok videos, cringe comedy persists within pop culture. And oftentimes, the genre’s appeal is as much about the way we perceive ourselves as the comics we watch performing it.