10. So You Think You Can Dance
Normally we find this competitive reality series enjoyable and uplifting (aside from the occasional emotional pieces about cancer or death), but this season the show has taken a dark turn with an onslaught of injuries knocking out competitor after competitor. It's really getting hard to watch, and even worse to wonder who will literally break a leg next.

9. Boston Med
Sure, some of these cases are true tales of survival and medical miracles, and that's inspiring, but this show about really sick people -- especially kids -- with life-threatening diseases can be pretty difficult to take in. It's getting so we have to watch Children's Hospital just to keep our spirits up.

8. Hot in Cleveland
Betty White. Wendie Malick. Valerie Bertinelli. Jane Leeves. They could all do far better than this barely watchable TV Land "comedy." It's depressing that this amount of potential talent is just being wasted. It's also sad that Betty White is probably on the biggest hot streak of her life, and she's stuck doing this. Sad.

7. Real Housewives of New Jersey
RHONJ is typically fun to watch, but this season we've seen a lot more of Danielle with her daughters, and we're seriously hoping that she's saving up for therapy for them. Not only do they have to watch her with her gross boyfriends, acting like an immature person all over North Jersey, but this aspiring Dina Lohan is forcing them to model and sing, when they clearly have no interest or special aptitude for either. Worse, this whole nightmare is being televised, so their humiliation will be seen by everyone for years to come.

6. Teen Mom
It was already sort of miserable to watch teenagers deal with the consequences of having sex on 16 and Pregnant, but to see them actually raise these babies is just horrifying. From the way they treat their children, often using very strange child-rearing techniques, to seeing how they cope with their relationships, their lack of education, their limited career options and their money woes... Let's just say at the very least we hope this acts as a cautionary tale.

5. Mad Men
We love, love, love this show, but man, sometimes it's like being hit by a ton of bricks. We feel bad for everyone from Henry (who has been dubbed the temporary husband) to Betty (who truly screwed up her life and is stuck with in-laws who despise her) to the formerly pulled-together Don (who is now on a downward spiral, both with clients and in sexual relationships). Though admittedly, their misery makes for really incredible television.

4. The Deadliest Catch
This show wasn't always depressing. Sure, it was an honest look at a tough job that led to money troubles and a host of family issues, but in light of Captain Phil's untimely death, this show just requires a box of tissues per episode. Seeing how the other crab fisherman and his own family cope with the loss is truly a heartbreaking experience.

3. Friday Night Lights
Like Mad Men, putting the characters on this drama through hell makes for powerful television. Still, we've grown to love these folks so much that watching them take hit after hit (especially Matt Saracen) is like watching our own family members suffer. We end up bawling more often than not.

2. If You Really Knew Me
Maybe it's just that it makes us relive our high school experiences, but watching real mean girls, bullies and popular kids sit through a "Challenge Day" where they have to be open and honest about their experiences with kids who are outside their cliques is pretty impactful. This experience involves a lot of tears and hugging and really exposes why people behave the abhorrent way they do to each other during their teen years. But while it ends up being inspiring, it's a rough 40 minutes before it gets to that point.

1. Confessions: Animal Hoarding
Depressing and disgusting is a deadly combination. We thought that, like Hoarders, we could just watch in a detached fashion as the unstoppable collectors sort through their piles of issues and junk. But with the animal hoarding, you see the faces of these poor little pets. Not only are the humans at risk for diseases, but the animals are suffering in cages or living in feces-filled conditions that are just reprehensible and appalling. This show is not for the faint of heart.

Watch TWoP's editors discuss this summer's most depressing TV shows in this segment airing on the New York Nonstop cable news channel:

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