13 Most Heart-Breaking Sitcom Moments Of All Time

11. Car Crash - Catastrophe

Catastrophe Sharon Horgan
Channel 4

Anyone even remotely familiar with the previous work of either Rob Delaney or Sharon Horgan would expect Catastrophe to be sharp, gross, and hilarious. What you might not expect, however, is the searing, horribly realistic approach it takes to adult relationships and indeed life in general, which came to a head with the Season 3 finale.

The season saw Rob struggling with alcoholism, which he hid from Sharon until the cruel events right at the finale's climax. Driving home from a night out, a drunken Sharon decides she wants a pizza, but when she goes into the shop Rob ends up in a car crash. He's mostly unhurt, but as Sharon dashes over he cries: "Are the police coming? They're going to give me a breathalyser, and I won't pass."

The events, and the fact he is forced in the hardest circumstances to come clean about his addiction, see the show leaving any notion of being a sitcom behind. It's incredibly hard-hitting and far too true-to-life, with Rob crumpling as he says "I'm sorry" and then the pair holding each other a frightening, devastating moment.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.