gothic light
i don't think that whatever this movement is has a name yet (or if it does I don't know it) but having just watched knives out, a list of elements common to my favorite new genre/setting type, which @borlaaq helped me name Gothic Light.) Examples are knives out, umbrella academy, ASOUE (lots of Netflix shows really).
"dark, but not in like, a broody way"--perky goth, all the settings and trappings of a gothic setting like big houses and old families but none of the same Drama--or played for laughs.
bright vivid colors, costumes that aren't really costumes--they look like something a person would wear but they definitely look deliberate and not quite grounded in reality
overdramatic, over the top characters and plot points that are just a little more reveal-full and exaggerated than reality.
children’s magical realism for adults--more adult themes and characters, the same "step sideways from the real world" aspect that a lot of children's literature has.
anachronistic technology and time periods. ASOUE has fifties aesthetic and a computer repair shop next to a blacksmith. knives out has cellphones, neo-Nazis on the internet, and a decked out estate still relying on VHS tapes. even if the setting is given a time period everything still seems just a little bit off in terms of technology and time.
all the aesthetic trappings of a dark gothic story but with more of a focus on humor and a lighthearted tone; stuff that feels Fun, and like kids would like it if they'd stop dropping F-bombs; just. children's media, made for adults. with the kind of gothic trappings that don't really exist in reality, the enormous houses and big screwed up families. I really like it.
