“Review,” on Comedy Central, is one of television’s funniest comedies and darkest tragedies, for the same reason.

Forrest MacNeil (Andy Daly), a professional life-reviewer, hosts a show-within-a-show in which viewers challenge him to rate experiences — anything from eating 30 pancakes to starting a cult. He does, with slapstick and mortifying results. The premise (borrowed from an Australian series) is absurd. No reasonable person would subject himself to this job. So “Review,” disturbingly and effectively, asks: What kind of unreasonable person would do it?

Mr. Daly provides the answer in the form of his tightly smiling, conscientiously obsessive character. Forrest is determined to put on a good show, make a name for himself and fulfill his professional code, no matter the cost. And boy, does it cost. The early episodes have fun putting him in excruciating situations: going to prom, reviewing “addiction” by cultivating a cocaine habit. But we soon see the toll that Forrest’s single-minded work ethic takes on him.