I have explained H&CF as "Mad Men, except the people in it suffer for being assholes rather than thriving."

Mad Men is a bunch of broken people careening and colliding through the '60s. There is no causality to speak of, no one ever suffers consequences for their choices and everyone who attempts to improve their own lot and the lot of those around them pays inhumane penalties. The people who suffer the most in Mad Men are the idealists, and they suffer at the willing and intentional hands of the narcissists. The people who like Mad Men are the people who hated the ending of Game of Thrones because the blue-eyed blonde naif always gets the guy, right? I mean, we've been taught that. They're the ones who think The Social Network is a superhero origin story. Mad Men is of, for and by nihilists.

H&CF is full of human people who hurt other human people despite knowing that they shouldn't and it ends up putting them in a worse position and they end up having to deal with more problems as a consequence. Drama in H&CF is wholly based on people making the wrong choices and then having to deal with the outcome. People are broken for a reason; people heal or don't heal for a reason. Relationships evolve. Actions play out over seasons. H&CF is of, for and by people who believe in karma.