10 TV Moments That Were Almost WAY Darker

The Simpsons isn’t averse to a dark joke here and there. In its decades-long time on the air, the show has had both fantastic (the annual tradition of Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials) and godawful (the infamous Boys of Bummer, anyone?) forays into the world of dark comedy. Some of the classic show’s best moments have flirted with bleak humour, but the titular Springfeldian family by and large avoid the sort of uber-dark territory mined by the likes of Family Guy and South Park, its R-rated competitors.

However, one much-loved instalment of the show’s fifth season, often argued to be one of its best, almost featured a far darker joke than The Simpsons writing staff could get behind, and the gag was jettisoned before the episode’s production began.

Rosebud, a Citizen Kane spoof named after Monty Burns’ favourite childhood teddy, originally included a brief history of the toy’s life without Burns, including his involvement in the assassination of JFK (yes, really). There’s no knowing whether the joke could have worked since it never made it into the final cut, but it’s probably for the best that this one was cut—we’re not sure how the biggest show in America would get away with mocking the death one of its most revered leaders.

Then again, if any show could have pulled it off…