Comedy (Adjacent) Spotlight: The Curse
Photo : Richard Foreman Jr./A24/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME When thinking about The Curse , I oscillate between categorizing it as a comedy vs. categorizing it as a drama. Neither category truly seems to fit. Its idiosyncratic, strange and funny nature makes for a less than comfortable fit in the drama category, yet its deeper and darker themes leave it hanging only part-way over the comedy category. With its not-quite-right fit in either, it is something that I would define as a “comedy adjacent” show – that being a show with a lot of comedic elements (oftentimes with the involvement of comedic actors, writers, directors), but that doesn’t fit as easily into the comedy genre. The line that this show walks – not too heavy to be a drama, yet not too overtly funny to be an out-and-out comedy – is maybe the key to why I find it so engaging. Its tone is a dryly surreal one, balancing the authentic with the heightened to once again not fit quite comfortably in either camp. Some characters are