Situation comedy
Encyclopedia
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre
of comedy
that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue. Such programs originated in radio, but today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dominant narrative
forms, and art forms
.
A situation comedy television program
may be recorded before a studio audience
. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated by the use of a laugh track
.
and sketch comedy
, a situation comedy has a storyline and ongoing characters in, essentially, a comedic drama. The situation is usually that of a family, workplace, or a group of friends through comedic sequences.
Traditionally comedy sketches were presented within a variety show and mixed with musical performances, as in vaudeville
. The emerging mass medium of radio allowed audiences to regularly return to programs, so programs could feature the same characters and situations each episode
and expect audiences to be familiar with them.
Sitcom humor is often character driven and by its nature running gag
s often evolve during a series. Often the status quo
of the situation is maintained from episode to episode. An episode may feature a disruption to the usual situation and the character interactions, but this will usually be settled by the episode's end and the situation returned to how it was prior to the disruption. There are exceptions to this. Some shows feature story arcs across many episodes where the characters and situations change and evolve.
in ancient Greece
, Terence
and Plautus
in ancient Rome
, Śudraka
in ancient India
, and numerous examples including Shakespeare, Molière
, the Commedia dell'arte
and the Punch and Judy
shows from post-Renaissance
Europe, are the ancestors of the modern sitcom. Some of the characters, pratfalls, routines and situations as preserved in eyewitness accounts and in the texts of the plays themselves, are remarkably similar to those in earlier modern sitcoms such as I Love Lucy
and The Honeymooners
. The first television
sitcom is said to be Pinwright's Progress
, ten episodes being broadcast on the BBC
between 1946–1947. In the U.S., director and producer William Asher
, has been credited with being the "man who invented the sitcom," having directed over two dozen of the leading sitcoms, including I Love Lucy, during the 1950s through the 1970s.
(ABC). Several other UK sitcoms were shown by the Seven Network
. US sitcoms have been common on the three commercial networks.
There have been many Australian sitcoms throughout the history of Australian television, but many ran for just a single season - usually 13 half-hour episodes. Many successful Australian sitcoms were somewhat similar in style to UK comedies, and several closely followed the premise of earlier UK programs. An early successful situation comedy was My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?
(1967) about a working-class Sydney family. Other popular sitcoms of this general period included The Group
, and Our Man in Canberra.
In the 1970s popular Australian soap operas Number 96
and The Box featured a lot of comedy content. In 1976 ABC produced sex-comedy sitcom Alvin Purple
, based on the hit feature film Alvin Purple
, again with Graeme Blundell
in the title role.
By the late 1970s Australian versions of popular UK comedies were produced using key personnel from the original series. These productions retained the title and key cast members of the original programs and operated within the same story world of the original. These comedies, Are You Being Served
, Doctor in the House
(as Doctor Down Under) and Father, Dear Father
(as Father, Dear Father in Australia), transplanted key original cast members to Australia to situations markedly similar to those of the original series. In 1978 one of the UK producers of these shows also produced The Tea Ladies
in Australia. In the late 1970s Crawford Productions
, best known for their successful police drama series, also created sitcoms including The Bluestone Boys (1976) on Network Ten
, and Bobby Dazzler
(1977) on the Seven Network.
The late-1970s sketch comedy series The Naked Vicar Show
written and produced by Gary Reilly
and Tony Sattler spawned a successful sitcom spin off, Kingswood Country
, in 1980. This series was immensely popular, running four years. Its situation was somewhat similar to the British comedy Till Death Us Do Part and Australian comedy series The Last of the Australians
.
In the early 1980s there were few Australian sitcoms, with soap operas being the more common genre produced in Australia. During this period however the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
produced Mother and Son
, which emerged as an enduring audience favourite. In the late 1980s and early 1990s several new Australian sitcoms achieved significant success including Frontline
, Acropolis Now
, All Together Now which all had relatively long runs. This period also saw many short-lived failures such as Late for School and Bingles.
Hey Dad...!, by Gary Reilly Productions
was a long running popular success. The company's other shows Hampton Court
and My Two Wives
were only moderate successes, lasting just one season. The Adventures of Lano and Woodley
ran for two seasons, in 1997 and 1999, on the ABC. In 2002 the successful sitcom Kath and Kim began its run.
, regarded by many Canadians as one of the worst TV shows ever made. Other Canadian sitcoms have included Snow Job, Check it Out!, Mosquito Lake
and Not My Department
, all of which were mocked as being particularly uninspired. There have rarely been more than one or two Canadian sitcoms airing new episodes at any given time, although this has changed in recent years with the growth of original programming on cable television
.
Successful sitcoms have been produced in Canada, however, including King of Kensington
, Trailer Park Boys
, Twitch City
, Hangin' In
, Made In Canada
, Puppets Who Kill
, Little Mosque on the Prairie
and Corner Gas
, the latter of which is the most popular Canadian sitcom of all time. Generally, however, Canadian television networks have had much more success with sketch comedy
and dramedy series than with conventional sitcoms.
In 2004, Fresh TV
released the Emmy winning animated sitcom 6teen
, created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. 6teen shows on Teletoon
in Canada, Cartoon Network
and Nickelodeon
in the US, Pop Girl
in The UK, Studio 23
in the Philippines, Z@PP
in the Netherlands, ABC3
in Australia, in Poland ZigZap
, in Israel Children's Channel, in The Netherlands Z@PP
and Disney Channel (Netherlands & Belgium), TV7
in Bulgaria, and 2x2 in Russia. It's mostly viewed by children aged between 10–18, because of the mature subjects such as dating, kissing, sex, and language and TVPG-D rating shows later at night. 6teen
has many good reviews. It is in its fourth and final season ending in 2011.
Another highly popular Canadian animated sitcom is the Total Drama Series, a show which satirizes reality television, its conventions and its characters. The series began with the first season, entitled Total Drama Island
, which was first broadcast in 2007 in the Canadian channel Teletoon and was later broadcast into the United States and Europe in 2008 through Cartoon Network
, through which it became a hit as well. It was broadcast in Latin America in 2009 through Cartoon Network too, where it also became a hit, particularly in Argentina
. The second season of the show, Total Drama Action
aired in 2009 in North America and Europe and in 2010 in Latin America. The third season, Total Drama World Tour, premiered in North America on June the 10th 2010.
In the francophone
province of Quebec
, notable sitcoms have included Histoires de filles, Moi et l'autre, 4 et demi, La Petite Vie
, Dans une galaxie près de chez-vous, Il était une fois dans le trouble and Rumeurs.
since the late 1980s. Shrimaan Shrimati
, Flop Show
and Dekh Bhai Dekh
became extremely popular. The introduction of private TC channels has brought good TRPs for sitcoms. One of the popular ones was Sarabhai vs Sarabhai
on the channel STAR One. Some other popular shows are Khichdi, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
, Office Office, Tu Tu Main Main, Lapataganj, All The Best, Shararat,F.I.R and Hum Paanch.
's television studios, has produced a strong number of comedies with high episode counts. The first multi-camera sitcom was I Love My Family
, in 1993. While inspired by American sitcoms, I Love My Family used actors with theatre experience to display comedic and dramatic talents. Home with Kids
is another Chinese sitcom heavily based on Growing Pains
, which dealt with real-life family issues and ran for over 350 episodes. It was known for featuring child actors, who have prominent roles throughout the series.
For the teen audience, China has produced the Friends
-inspired iPartment
. Like Friends, the Shanghai-based iPartment follows a group of neighbors in their escapades. The series uses fast-paced editing and surreal pop culture references for comic effect. iPartment has 20 hour-long episodes and is filmed on-location and closed sets. Despite this, the series contains a laugh track, which is an uncommon practice used for single-camera programs.
Hong Kong
has a strong number of sitcoms that differ from Mainland China's programs. An average sitcom does not use a studio audience nor a laugh track to fill-in more dialogue for the characters. Also, many programs used large sets and locations to film more dynamically.
Early sitcoms included Joe & Koro and Buck House. Later there was The Billy T James Show subsequently rerun in early 2004 as part of the first year's offering on Māori Television
. The team of David McPhail
and Jon Gadsby
produced and/or starred in sitcoms such as Letter to Blanchy with help from writer A K Grant. The most popular and successful NZ sitcom from this era was Roger Hall
's Gliding On
, based on his hit stage play Glide Time. Another Hall play, Conjugal Rites
was also made into a sitcom but by Granada in Britain.
In 1994, Melody Rules
was produced and screened. Critically and commercially unsuccessful, it has become part of the lexicon within the television industry to describe an unsuccessful sitcom, for example, that show will be the next "Melody Rules".
Another sitcom to have its roots in a stage play was Serial Killers (2003), about the scriptwriters of a medical soap opera
. Since Melody Rules aired, no American-style sitcoms have been produced in New Zealand.
Most recently the duo Flight of the Conchords
have created and starred in a sitcom
of an eponymous name. The show stars three Kiwis (including Rhys Darby
), is written primarily by the two leads, Jemaine Clement
and Bret McKenzie
(along with contributions from Kiwis Duncan Sarkies and Taika Waititi), but it is shot entirely in New York City, was co-created by an Englishman, James Bobin, and is funded by HBO, an American premium cable channel. It is the most popular sitcom ever produced featuring Kiwi comedians.
The most successful true NZ sitcom to date, which also utilizes the one-camera approach is the Jaquie Brown Diaries. The show is an advanced concept for New Zealand domestic television production for the fact that it stars Jaquie Brown, as herself, as a C-list celebrity in Auckland. The show revolves around Jaquie's life as a light relief reporter on a current events show (a job she used to actually have on TV3's current affairs show Campbell Live) and her desire to be a socially relevant pop cultural media figure in New Zealand. Brown, who had not acted seriously prior to this production, excelled in the role and displayed a panache for naturalistic comedic acting. It was also written by two novice writers, Gerard Johnstone (Who also directed) and Jodie Molloy. The first season (July 2008) ran for 6 episodes. The second season (Oct 2009) ran for 8 episodes.
Many British and American sitcoms are and have been popular in New Zealand.
It is commonly claimed that the primary difficulties for New Zealand comedy production are a prevailing attitude of cultural cringe wherein domestic products are viewed as automatically being inferior, and the market demand for profitability due to New Zealand having no strictly commercial-free channels. Both government-owned channels TVOne and TV2 are broadcast with commercials and cannot survive on government subsidies alone. Some suggest that Kiwi comedies which are viewed as commercially unreliable are often relegated to poor timeslots and not promoted by their networks. James Griffin, creator of TV3's Outrageous Fortune, has noted that often Kiwi comedies get neglected to death such as his show Diplomatic Immunity did.
, 'Allo 'Allo!
) or a dysfunctional relationship (Only Fools and Horses
, Rising Damp
and Steptoe and Son
).
British sitcoms have also tended to shy away from the folksy homespun nature of the American sitcom and into more adult or intellectual territory - Yes, Minister being an example of the latter.
The BBC
has had more success with this format than its commercial counterpart ITV
. This is attributed to the fact that ITV has to allow for commercial breaks
so programmes are several minutes shorter and thus do not allow for character and plot development.
Sitcoms made outside the US may run somewhat longer or shorter than 22 minutes. US commercial broadcasters have traditionally been very reluctant to run shows that run too short or too long. Thus, very few UK or British Commonwealth sitcoms run on US commercial television.
US sitcoms (like other American television series) typically have long season runs of 20 or more episodes due to the way they are produced. Canadian sitcoms typically only have season runs of 14 on average. British sitcoms have much shorter seasons in comparison where there are usually six episodes.
American sitcoms are often written by large teams of US resident script writers during round-table sessions, but some US sitcoms often do have episodes written by a guest writer. Most British sitcoms are written by one or two people, with four writers sometimes being the norm for some series in the recent past. These divergent writing styles result in vastly different kinds of sitcoms being written.
Usually sitcoms from the U.S. have satire and slapstick comedy in their status. America has made numerous sitcoms since 1947, including sitcoms aimed specifically at children and teenagers. A sub-genre of U.S. sitcoms, seen as early as the 1950s but more prominent since the 1970s, is the black sitcom
, a sitcom featuring a predominantly African American
cast.
on WGN
in Chicago
. The 15-minute daily program was revamped in 1928, moved to another station, renamed Amos 'n' Andy
, and became one of the most successful sitcoms from this period. It was also one of the earliest examples of radio syndication. Like many radio programs of the time, the two programs continued the American entertainment traditions of vaudeville and the minstrel show
.
The Jack Benny Program
was another important and formative sitcom (which also functioned as a variety show, depending on the week's script and guest stars involved). The radio version began in 1932 and lasted until 1955. A televised version of the show ran from 1950 to 1965. In total, the show was broadcast for a third of a century.
Blondie
was a situation comedy adapted from the Blondie comic strip
by Chic Young
. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950.
Fibber McGee and Molly
was one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, airing on radio from 1935 to 1959. The show starred vaudevillians James "Jim" and Marian Driscoll Jordan and also had its roots in Chicago.
In 1947, Beulah
became the first radio sitcom featuring an African American
actor in the lead role.
, or vehicles for existing radio stars such as Burns and Allen
(The Burns and Allen Show) and film stars such as Abbott and Costello
(The Abbott and Costello Show
). Early sitcoms were broadcast live and recorded on kinescope
s or not recorded at all.
Mary Kay and Johnny
was followed by The Goldbergs
which first aired on January 17, 1949. The television adaptation of Beulah in 1950 became the first TV sitcom with an African American in the lead. Both The Goldbergs and Beulah were early examples of sitcoms without a laugh-track or studio audience.
Early sitcoms done on film, though without the multiple-camera setup, included The Life of Riley
with Jackie Gleason, and Stu Erwin's The Trouble with Father.
Eventually, sitcoms began to divide themselves into domestic comedies and workplace comedies. The earliest domestic comedies include The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
, The Honeymooners
, and Make Room for Daddy. The earliest workplace comedies include Our Miss Brooks
and Mr. Peepers
, both set in high schools, and The Phil Silvers Show
, was set on a US Army post.
I Love Lucy
brought a new way of filming sitcoms, with Desi Arnaz
, the early innovator in the history of sitcoms, who is credited with the first successful use of the multiple-camera setup
, where three cameras shoot the action on stage simultaneously and the best shots from each of the cameras are later edited together. The show starred Lucille Ball
(Lucy Ricardo) with her husband Desi Arnaz
(Ricky Ricardo). They created it together with actors Vivian Vance
(Ethel Mertz) and William Frawley
(Fred Mertz), and a creative writing team. I Love Lucy was also among the first to record all multiple-camera episodes on film. With their Desilu Productions
studio company, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are credited with foreseeing the viability and prosperity of the rerun
television program series.
and My Three Sons
featured widowers and their children. At the end of the decade, Sherwood Schwartz's The Brady Bunch
focused on a blended family.
By the mid-1960s, sitcom creators began adding more fantastical elements to live action sitcoms in the so-called "high concept
" style. The regular characters of The Munsters
were modelled on the Universal Monsters
and the eccentric The Addams Family
sprang from a series of cartoon comics. Genies and witches featured in I Dream of Jeannie
and Bewitched
, respectively. Sherwood Schwartz
created Gilligan's Island
about seven stranded castaway
s including a movie star, a millionaire, and a professor. The Monkees
was a psychedelic
musical about a fictional performing group. Get Smart
was a spy genre parody series , Batman
a camp
series based on a comic book, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
was a Andy Griffith Show spinoff about a dim-witted Southerner who joins the United States Marine Corps, named Gomer Pyle
.
Sitcom production of the 1960s mainly used the single camera filming style, which was more practical given the visual effects used in these shows. This allowed for the careful creation of special effects and sharp editing, features which were not possible with the same finesse in a multi-camera production. Many of these programs were not filmed before live audiences, and featured a laugh track
.
The animated sitcom was born during this period with Hanna-Barbera
's The Flintstones
and The Jetsons
. The latter show was the first example of the science fiction sitcom
subgenre.
as opposed to film. About half of the sitcoms on broadcast television airing between the mid-1970s and the late 1990s were shot on video.
In the US Norman Lear
often used the sitcom format to address social issues through his series All in the Family
(based on Johnny Speight
's Till Death Us Do Part) and its spin-offs Maude
, The Jeffersons
, and Good Times
, all in the US. Also in Britain was Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's
Steptoe and Son
, which also had a US remake in Sanford and Son
. In a major departure from earlier American sitcoms, these programs also had racially diverse casts.
Women's liberation was the backdrop in a series of female-led sitcoms produced by Grant Tinker
: The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, and its spin-offs Rhoda
and Phyllis
.
The topic of war was addressed in the sitcom M*A*S*H. The producers of M*A*S*H did not want a laugh track on the show, arguing that the show did not need one, but CBS
disagreed. CBS compromised by permitting the producers of the show to omit recorded laughter from scenes that took place in the operating room, if they wished. When it was shown in the UK and Germany, episodes were broadcast without the laugh track. Ross Bagdasarian also refused to use a laugh track in his production of The Alvin Show
, as did Jay Ward
on Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Also during this time, Bob Newhart
adapted his deadpan
club act for television in sitcom format with The Bob Newhart Show
, which was at once a throwback to the early vaudevillian
origins of sitcoms and a harbinger of the 1980s - 1990s stand-up comedian sitcom trend.
In the mid-1970s, Garry Marshall
had several huge hits in the US with his sitcoms such as The Odd Couple, Happy Days
, Laverne and Shirley, and Mork and Mindy
. Nostalgia
for the 50s was a major theme in both Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.
Sex and titillation became a theme in late 1970s with the UK sitcom Man About the House
and its US remake Three's Company
. Two soap opera
parodies, Soap and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
, are also notable shows from this period which pushed the envelope of what was acceptable in television sitcoms.
starred in the sitcom The Cosby Show
, which was the earliest of the current trend of successful sitcoms built around a stand-up comic's stage persona. Comedienne Roseanne Barr
continued the trend in the late 1980s with her eponymous sitcom
, as did Garry Shandling
(It's Garry Shandling's Show
and The Larry Sanders Show
). More recently, Jerry Seinfeld
(Seinfeld
) and Ray Romano
(Everybody Loves Raymond
) have also made the transition from stand up to the small screen with self-starring sitcoms.
To some extent, many American sitcoms of the 1980s such as Full House
, Family Ties
, Who's the Boss?
and Growing Pains
returned to themes of family life and parent-child relationships, and centered less on the social issues that defined many 1970s sitcoms. Cheers
, a show about the local customers in a bar, focussed on the evolving relationship between Sam and Diane. Long-running sitcoms, such as the Jeffersons and Alice
contrast sharply between topical episodes of the 1970s and the less controversial subject matter that prevailed later in the series. By the end of the decade, a backlash emerged against the dominance of family-oriented sitcoms, with both more acerbic takes on working-class family life in Roseanne, Married with Children, and The Simpsons
as well as programming such as Seinfeld
that focused largely on relationships between single adults. The Golden Girls
, a show about four older women sharing a home in Miami, which starred actreses who all starred in other shows before this. Bea Arthur, who starred in her own sitcom Maude
, Betty White
, who co-starred with Mary Tyler Moore
in The Mary Tyler Moore Show
, Rue McClanahan
, who co-starred with Arthur in Maude, and Estelle Getty
who did not star in any other shows, except guest appearances in shows.
By the mid-1980s, the growth of cable television
, additional broadcast networks, and the success of first-run syndication meant that television audiences were fracturing. Programming could now be targeted at specific audiences rather than at a general audience, and this included sitcoms too. Children were one of these audiences, and among the sitcoms made specifically for children were Saved by the Bell
and Clarissa Explains It All
.
The 1980s also saw a few comedy drama "Dramedy" programs. Examples include United States
and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
. These were largely unsuccessful.
, the longest-running sitcom in US history. Other successful sitcoms in this subgenre include South Park
, Futurama
, Beavis and Butt-head
, Family Guy
and King of the Hill
.
This era also saw a significant return to film origination. The main reason for this was that it was seen as "future proof
ing" productions against any new developments such as HDTV. Programs shot on standard definition videotape
in general do not convert well to HDTV, while images on 35 mm film can easily be re-scanned to any future format. In addition, recent developments in film camera and post-processing technologies had eroded the advantages of using videotape.
In the mid-1990s several sitcoms have featured ongoing story lines. Seinfeld
, one of the most popular U.S. sitcoms of the 1990s, featured story arc
s. Friends
used soap opera elements such as the end-of-season cliffhanger
and gradually developing the relationships of the characters over the course of the series. Home Improvement, Mad About You
, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
, Frasier
, Will & Grace
, Roseanne
, Moesha
, Everybody Loves Raymond
, Family Matters, The Nanny
, That '70s Show
, Unhappily Ever After
Friends
Will and Grace and The King of Queens
are also noted for their long-term story arcs.
, Arrested Development, Scrubs
, Malcolm in the Middle
, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
, Louie
, 30 Rock
and Community
. Recently, a pastiche from the UK has been utilized in American sitcoms, as many are being shot as a pseudo-documentary (aka mockumentary
), such as The Office
, Modern Family
and Parks and Recreation.
Newer sitcoms that still used a multiple camera setup (before live audiences) include Gary Unmarried
, Mike & Molly
, Rules of Engagement
, $h*! My Dad Says, Life with Bonnie
, According to Jim
, The New Adventures of Old Christine
, Two and a Half Men
, Yes, Dear
, The Big Bang Theory
, and Hot in Cleveland
. Some shows, such as How I Met Your Mother
, are filmed without a live audience present, however, a live audience is recorded watching the final edited episode for use as the laugh track.
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue. Such programs originated in radio, but today, sitcoms are found almost exclusively on television as one of its dominant narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
forms, and art forms
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
.
A situation comedy television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
may be recorded before a studio audience
Studio audience
A studio audience is an audience present for the taping of all or part of a television program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack . A studio audience can also provide volunteers, a visual backdrop and discussion participants...
. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated by the use of a laugh track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
.
Characteristics
As opposed to stand up comedyStand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
and sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
, a situation comedy has a storyline and ongoing characters in, essentially, a comedic drama. The situation is usually that of a family, workplace, or a group of friends through comedic sequences.
Traditionally comedy sketches were presented within a variety show and mixed with musical performances, as in vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. The emerging mass medium of radio allowed audiences to regularly return to programs, so programs could feature the same characters and situations each episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
and expect audiences to be familiar with them.
Sitcom humor is often character driven and by its nature running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s often evolve during a series. Often the status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
of the situation is maintained from episode to episode. An episode may feature a disruption to the usual situation and the character interactions, but this will usually be settled by the episode's end and the situation returned to how it was prior to the disruption. There are exceptions to this. Some shows feature story arcs across many episodes where the characters and situations change and evolve.
History
Comedies from past civilizations, such as those of AristophanesAristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
in ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Terence
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer , better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought Terence to Rome as a slave, educated him and later on,...
and Plautus
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
in ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Śudraka
Sudraka
' was an Indian King. Three Sanskrit plays are ascribed to him - Mricchakatika , Vinavasavadatta, and a bhana , Padmaprabhritaka.. He has been identified as Abhira King Indranigupta, who used the pen name Sudraka.- References :* Ryder, Arthur William. Translator...
in ancient India
History of India
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
, and numerous examples including Shakespeare, Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, the Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
and the Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
shows from post-Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
Europe, are the ancestors of the modern sitcom. Some of the characters, pratfalls, routines and situations as preserved in eyewitness accounts and in the texts of the plays themselves, are remarkably similar to those in earlier modern sitcoms such as I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
and The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
. The first television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom is said to be Pinwright's Progress
Pinwright's Progress
Pinwright's Progress was a British sitcom that aired on the BBC Television Service from 1946 to 1947 and was the world's first regular half-hour sitcom. The ten episodes, which aired fortnightly in alternation with Kaleidoscope, were broadcast live from the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace...
, ten episodes being broadcast on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
between 1946–1947. In the U.S., director and producer William Asher
William Asher
William Asher is an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early directors in the budding television industry, producing or directing over two dozen of the leading television series.With television in its infancy, he introduced the...
, has been credited with being the "man who invented the sitcom," having directed over two dozen of the leading sitcoms, including I Love Lucy, during the 1950s through the 1970s.
Australia
Australia has not had a significant number of long running sitcoms while many US and UK sitcoms have been extremely popular. UK sitcoms are a staple on the government broadcaster Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC). Several other UK sitcoms were shown by the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. US sitcoms have been common on the three commercial networks.
There have been many Australian sitcoms throughout the history of Australian television, but many ran for just a single season - usually 13 half-hour episodes. Many successful Australian sitcoms were somewhat similar in style to UK comedies, and several closely followed the premise of earlier UK programs. An early successful situation comedy was My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?
My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?
My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? was a popular Australian situation comedy series produced by ATN7 from 1966 to 1968.The situation involved a young couple, Wally and Rita Stiller , living in Balmain with Rita's father Dominic McGooley . Also in the regular cast was Stewart Ginn, and later Noeline...
(1967) about a working-class Sydney family. Other popular sitcoms of this general period included The Group
The Group (TV series)
The Group was a popular Australian situation comedy series produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7 in 1971.The situation involved five young flatmates - three men and two women - living together for financial and pragmatic reasons and regularly attempting to outwit their landlord who was...
, and Our Man in Canberra.
In the 1970s popular Australian soap operas Number 96
Number 96 (TV series)
Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
and The Box featured a lot of comedy content. In 1976 ABC produced sex-comedy sitcom Alvin Purple
Alvin Purple (TV series)
Alvin Purple was an Australian television situation comedy series made by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1976.The series followed continued adventures of the title character, previously featured in successful sex comedy feature films Alvin Purple and Alvin Purple Rides Again .Graeme...
, based on the hit feature film Alvin Purple
Alvin Purple
Alvin Purple was a 1973 Australian comedy film starring Graeme Blundell, written by Alan Hopgood and directed by Tim Burstall.It received largely negative reviews from local film critics. Despite this it was a major hit with Australian audiences...
, again with Graeme Blundell
Graeme Blundell
Graeme Blundell is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer and biographer.Blundell was born in Melbourne; he grew up in Clifton Hill, a suburb of Melbourne...
in the title role.
By the late 1970s Australian versions of popular UK comedies were produced using key personnel from the original series. These productions retained the title and key cast members of the original programs and operated within the same story world of the original. These comedies, Are You Being Served
Are You Being Served? (Australian TV series)
The Australian version of British sitcom Are You Being Served? was produced by Network Ten in 1980-1981. It ran for 16 episodes until 1981. The draw-card was the presence of actor John Inman reprising his role of Mr. Humphries from the original series...
, Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House (TV series)
Doctor in the House is the syndicated title given, by the United States, to a British television comedy series , based on a set of books and a movie of the same name by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of medical students — and their later misadventures as doctors.The first...
(as Doctor Down Under) and Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973....
(as Father, Dear Father in Australia), transplanted key original cast members to Australia to situations markedly similar to those of the original series. In 1978 one of the UK producers of these shows also produced The Tea Ladies
The Tea Ladies
The Tea Ladies was an Australian situation comedy series produced for Network Ten in 1978.The series was produced by the same company that at the time was producing Australian versions of UK comedy shows Father, Dear Father and Doctor in the House. The producer of these programs, William G...
in Australia. In the late 1970s Crawford Productions
Crawford Productions
Crawford Productions is an Australian television production company founded by Hector Crawford; the present incarnation of the company, Crawfords Australia, is now a subsidiary of the WIN television corporation.-History:...
, best known for their successful police drama series, also created sitcoms including The Bluestone Boys (1976) on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
, and Bobby Dazzler
Bobby Dazzler
- External links :*...
(1977) on the Seven Network.
The late-1970s sketch comedy series The Naked Vicar Show
The Naked Vicar Show
The Naked Vicar Show was a satirical Australian radio, television series. The classic Australian sitcom Kingswood Country was spawned from sketches in the series....
written and produced by Gary Reilly
Gary Reilly
Gary Reilly is an Australian television producer and writer born in New Zealand in 1945. He is most famous for his work on a variety of comedy series such as The Naked Vicar Show, Kingswood Country, Hey Dad..! and Bullpitt!. He also has a strong friendship and was once neighbours with Australian...
and Tony Sattler spawned a successful sitcom spin off, Kingswood Country
Kingswood Country
Kingswood Country is an Australian sitcom that screened from 1980 to 1984 on the Seven Network. The series started on 30 January 1980 and was a spin-off from a sketch on comedy program The Naked Vicar Show that had featured Ross Higgins as a blustering bigot...
, in 1980. This series was immensely popular, running four years. Its situation was somewhat similar to the British comedy Till Death Us Do Part and Australian comedy series The Last of the Australians
The Last of the Australians
The Last of the Australians was an Australia sitcom that was broadcast on Nine Network in 1975 and 1976.The comedy series was produced by Crawford Productions in two series of 13 episodes each. It was based on Alan Seymour's play "The One Day Of The Year" and is about an irascible father and his...
.
In the early 1980s there were few Australian sitcoms, with soap operas being the more common genre produced in Australia. During this period however the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
produced Mother and Son
Mother and Son
Mother and Son is a Logie Award-winning Australian television sitcom produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris...
, which emerged as an enduring audience favourite. In the late 1980s and early 1990s several new Australian sitcoms achieved significant success including Frontline
Frontline (Australian TV series)
Frontline is an Australian comedy television series which satirised Australian television current affairs programmes and reporting. It ran for three series of 13 half-hour episodes and was broadcast on ABC TV in 1994, 1995 and 1997.-Production:...
, Acropolis Now
Acropolis Now
Acropolis Now was an Australian sitcom set in a Greek bar of the same name that ran for 63 episodes from 1989 to 1992 on the Seven Network. It was created by Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series. They were already quite well known for their comedy...
, All Together Now which all had relatively long runs. This period also saw many short-lived failures such as Late for School and Bingles.
Hey Dad...!, by Gary Reilly Productions
Gary Reilly Productions
Gary Reilly Productions was an Australian Television production company best known for producing the 1987-1994 sitcom Hey Dad..!. The company also produced Hampton Court, a spin-off of Hey Dad..! featuring the character Betty; My Two Wives, a sitcom about a man who moved into an apartment building...
was a long running popular success. The company's other shows Hampton Court
Hampton Court (TV series)
Hampton Court was an Australian situation comedy series produced by Gary Reilly Productions in 1991.The series was a spin-off of Hey Dad...! with the link being the inclusion here of Julie McGregor reprising her role of Betty Wilson...
and My Two Wives
My Two Wives
My Two Wives was an Australian situation comedy series produced by Gary Reilly Productions in 1992.The situation of My Two Wives involved a divorced man who moves into an apartment with his new wife and her daughter, only to learn that his ex-wife resides in the apartment directly below.The cast...
were only moderate successes, lasting just one season. The Adventures of Lano and Woodley
The Adventures of Lano and Woodley
The Adventures of Lano and Woodley is an Australian comedy television show starring the comedic duo of Lano and Woodley , consisting of two series which aired on ABC TV from 1997 to 1999...
ran for two seasons, in 1997 and 1999, on the ABC. In 2002 the successful sitcom Kath and Kim began its run.
Canada
Canadian sitcoms have often fared poorly with both critics and audiences. One notorious example is The Trouble with TracyThe Trouble with Tracy
The Trouble with Tracy was a Canadian television series produced by CTV for the 1970–1971 television season, with intended distribution by the U.S.-based National General Pictures. It is considered by some to be one of the worst situation comedies ever produced.The show was produced as a daily...
, regarded by many Canadians as one of the worst TV shows ever made. Other Canadian sitcoms have included Snow Job, Check it Out!, Mosquito Lake
Mosquito Lake (TV series)
Mosquito Lake was a short-lived Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television in the 1989-90 television season. The show, a family sitcom, starred comedian Mike MacDonald as the father of a family spending the summer in a dilapidated cottage on Mosquito Lake. The cast also included Mary...
and Not My Department
Not My Department
Not My Department was a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CBC Television in 1987. The show lasted only a single season.The show, based on Charles Gordon's comedic novel The Governor General's Bunny Hop, starred Harry Ditson and Shelley Peterson as ministerial aides in Ottawa...
, all of which were mocked as being particularly uninspired. There have rarely been more than one or two Canadian sitcoms airing new episodes at any given time, although this has changed in recent years with the growth of original programming on cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
.
Successful sitcoms have been produced in Canada, however, including King of Kensington
King of Kensington
King of Kensington was a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.The show starred Al Waxman as Larry King, a convenience store owner in Toronto's Kensington Market who was known for helping friends and neighbours solve problems. His multicultural group of friends...
, Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy mockumentary television series created and directed by Mike Clattenburg that focuses on the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The...
, Twitch City
Twitch City
Twitch City is a Canadian sitcom produced by CBC Television. The series aired as two short runs in 1998 and 2000. The series also aired in the United States on Bravo, and in Australia....
, Hangin' In
Hangin' In
Hangin' In is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC from 1981 to 1987. It also aired briefly in syndication in the United States. Canadian producer Jack Humphrey developed Hangin' In and served as executive producer for the show.-Synopsis:...
, Made In Canada
Made in Canada
Made in Canada is a Canadian television situation comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. Rick Mercer co-created the program and starred as mercenary TV producer Richard Strong....
, Puppets Who Kill
Puppets Who Kill
Puppets Who Kill is a Canadian television comedy programme co-produced by The Comedy Network. It premiered in Canada on the Comedy Network in 2002, and in Australia on The Comedy Channel in 2004....
, Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Little Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
and Corner Gas
Corner Gas
Corner Gas is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Re-runs still air on CTV and The Comedy Network in Canada; it formerly aired on WGN America in the United States....
, the latter of which is the most popular Canadian sitcom of all time. Generally, however, Canadian television networks have had much more success with sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
and dramedy series than with conventional sitcoms.
In 2004, Fresh TV
Fresh TV
Fresh TV is a Canadian production company specializing in youth entertainment. They have been successful in establishing internationally recognized brands such as 6teen and the Total Drama franchise...
released the Emmy winning animated sitcom 6teen
6teen
6teen is a Canadian animated sitcom, which premiered in Canada in 2004 on Teletoon. In the USA, 6teen first premiered on Nickelodeon on December 18, 2005 and was removed from the schedule on May 13, 2006 before being removed completely in 2007 before the series' run could be completed. 6teen was...
, created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. 6teen shows on Teletoon
Télétoon (Canadian TV channel)
Télétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
in Canada, Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
and Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
in the US, Pop Girl
Pop Girl
Pop Girl is a free-to-air television channel owned by CSC Media Group, showing cartoons, live action and pop music videos for girls aged 6 to 16...
in The UK, Studio 23
Studio 23
Studio 23 is a Filipino television network owned by the ABS-CBN Corporation. The network is named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV, which is carried on UHF channel 23...
in the Philippines, Z@PP
Z@PP
Z@PP is the child block-system of NPO. It is aimed especially at children between 6 and 12 years. Since September 2005 Z@ppelin has been the name of a block for children under 6.Z@PP also transmits Nederland 3....
in the Netherlands, ABC3
ABC3
-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
in Australia, in Poland ZigZap
ZigZap (television station)
ZigZap is a Polish television channel own and operated by Canal+. ZigZap - this television station aims at young people in the age group 10–16 years, given the platform Cyfra+. You can see various animated films, and programs and series for young people on the air...
, in Israel Children's Channel, in The Netherlands Z@PP
Z@PP
Z@PP is the child block-system of NPO. It is aimed especially at children between 6 and 12 years. Since September 2005 Z@ppelin has been the name of a block for children under 6.Z@PP also transmits Nederland 3....
and Disney Channel (Netherlands & Belgium), TV7
TV7 (Bulgarian TV channel)
TV7 is a Bulgarian television channel, owned by NEW BG Media Group. It airs entertainment programs, TV series an films, and is also the first Bulgarian station to broadcast in widescreen PAL...
in Bulgaria, and 2x2 in Russia. It's mostly viewed by children aged between 10–18, because of the mature subjects such as dating, kissing, sex, and language and TVPG-D rating shows later at night. 6teen
6teen
6teen is a Canadian animated sitcom, which premiered in Canada in 2004 on Teletoon. In the USA, 6teen first premiered on Nickelodeon on December 18, 2005 and was removed from the schedule on May 13, 2006 before being removed completely in 2007 before the series' run could be completed. 6teen was...
has many good reviews. It is in its fourth and final season ending in 2011.
Another highly popular Canadian animated sitcom is the Total Drama Series, a show which satirizes reality television, its conventions and its characters. The series began with the first season, entitled Total Drama Island
Total Drama Island
Total Drama Island is a Canadian animated television series which lampoons the conventions commonly found in reality shows. The show and its sequel seasons are collectively referred to as the Total Drama series. It premiered on the Canadian cable television specialty channel Teletoon on July 8, 2007...
, which was first broadcast in 2007 in the Canadian channel Teletoon and was later broadcast into the United States and Europe in 2008 through Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, through which it became a hit as well. It was broadcast in Latin America in 2009 through Cartoon Network too, where it also became a hit, particularly in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The second season of the show, Total Drama Action
Total Drama Action
Total Drama Action is a Canadian animated television series. It is the second season of the Total Drama series, which began with Total Drama Island. The show premiered in Teletoon at 6:30 pm ET/PT on January 11, 2009. This series was also created by the makers of 6teen, another Teletoon program...
aired in 2009 in North America and Europe and in 2010 in Latin America. The third season, Total Drama World Tour, premiered in North America on June the 10th 2010.
In the francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, notable sitcoms have included Histoires de filles, Moi et l'autre, 4 et demi, La Petite Vie
La Petite Vie
La petite vie was first a stage sketch of the comedy duo Ding et Dong, formed by Claude Meunier and Serge Thériault, and later a hit Quebec television sitcom aired by Radio-Canada from 1993 to 1999...
, Dans une galaxie près de chez-vous, Il était une fois dans le trouble and Rumeurs.
India
Sitcoms have been very popular in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
since the late 1980s. Shrimaan Shrimati
Shrimaan Shrimati (TV series)
Shrimaan Shrimati was a popular sitcom that first aired on Doordarshan in 1995. It starred Jatin Kanakia, Rakesh Bedi, Reema Lagoo and Archana Puran Singh in the lead roles. It became quite popular due to the good storylines and excellent comic performances from all the lead actors...
, Flop Show
Flop show
Flop Show is an Indian television sitcom that first aired on Doordarshan in 1989. The show was written and directed by satirical humourist Jaspal Bhatti, who also played himself as the main character. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and also acted in all the episodes as his wife...
and Dekh Bhai Dekh
Dekh Bhai Dekh
Dekh Bhai Dekh was a Hindi sitcom directed by Anand Mahendru, and starring Sushma Seth, Navin Nischol and Shekhar Suman in lead roles. It first aired in 1993. The story revolves around three generations of the Diwan family, who live as an extended family in an ancestral bungalow in the suburbs of...
became extremely popular. The introduction of private TC channels has brought good TRPs for sitcoms. One of the popular ones was Sarabhai vs Sarabhai
Sarabhai vs sarabhai
Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is a 2005 sitcom set in a quintessential upper class family in Mumbai aired on channel STAR One in India. The show had one of the best TRPs for an Indian comedy show....
on the channel STAR One. Some other popular shows are Khichdi, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is a sitcom that airs on SAB TV. The show was first aired on 28 July 2008. The air-time of the show is from Monday to Friday at 8.30 p.m IST. The show is produced by Neela Telefilms and the series writers are Raju Odedra and Rajan Upadhyay...
, Office Office, Tu Tu Main Main, Lapataganj, All The Best, Shararat,F.I.R and Hum Paanch.
China
China, mainly BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
's television studios, has produced a strong number of comedies with high episode counts. The first multi-camera sitcom was I Love My Family
I Love My Family
I Love My Family is a Chinese sitcom. It was China's first multi-camera sitcom and it originally aired from 1993 to 1994 with 120 episodes. It is also the first Mandarin-language sitcom. It was directed by Yīng Dá 英达 and Lin Cong and written primarily by Liáng Zuǒ 梁左 and Wáng Shuò 王朔...
, in 1993. While inspired by American sitcoms, I Love My Family used actors with theatre experience to display comedic and dramatic talents. Home with Kids
Home with Kids
Home with Kids , is a sitcom/drama from Mainland China. There are four series of Home with Kids, i.e. Home with Kids 1, Home with Kids 2, Home with Kids 3 and Home with Kids 4, which were released respectively in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. It is considered to be an equivelant to Growing Pains, a...
is another Chinese sitcom heavily based on Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
, which dealt with real-life family issues and ran for over 350 episodes. It was known for featuring child actors, who have prominent roles throughout the series.
For the teen audience, China has produced the Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
-inspired iPartment
IPartment
iPartment , is a sitcom from Mainland China. It was first produced and aired by Jiangxi TV in August 2009, with 20, hour-long episodes.The second season moved into a different style approach and with episodes aired online, due to its online fan base and polls for upcoming episodes...
. Like Friends, the Shanghai-based iPartment follows a group of neighbors in their escapades. The series uses fast-paced editing and surreal pop culture references for comic effect. iPartment has 20 hour-long episodes and is filmed on-location and closed sets. Despite this, the series contains a laugh track, which is an uncommon practice used for single-camera programs.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
has a strong number of sitcoms that differ from Mainland China's programs. An average sitcom does not use a studio audience nor a laugh track to fill-in more dialogue for the characters. Also, many programs used large sets and locations to film more dynamically.
New Zealand
New Zealand began producing television programs later than many other developed countries. Due to New Zealand's small population, the two main New Zealand networks will rarely fund more than one or two sitcoms each year. This low output means there is less chance of a successful sitcom being produced to offset the failures.Early sitcoms included Joe & Koro and Buck House. Later there was The Billy T James Show subsequently rerun in early 2004 as part of the first year's offering on Māori Television
Maori Television
Māori Television is a New Zealand TV station broadcasting programmes that make a significant contribution to the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture . Funded by the New Zealand Government, the station started broadcasting on 28 March 2004 from a base in Newmarket.Te Reo is the...
. The team of David McPhail
David McPhail
David Alexander McPhail, ONZM, QSM is a New Zealand comedic actor and writer. He is most famous for the political satire show McPhail and Gadsby in which he co-starred with Jon Gadsby....
and Jon Gadsby
Jon Gadsby
Jon Gadsby QSO is a New Zealand television comedian and writer, most well known for his role in the comedy series McPhail and Gadsby co-starring alongside David McPhail.-Biography:...
produced and/or starred in sitcoms such as Letter to Blanchy with help from writer A K Grant. The most popular and successful NZ sitcom from this era was Roger Hall
Roger Hall
Roger Leighton Hall, CNZM, QSO is a British born New Zealander actor and playwright, known for his comedies that carry a serious vein of social criticism and feelings of pathos.-Early years:...
's Gliding On
Gliding On
Gliding On was a popular sit-com in New Zealand in the early 1980s.It was written by Roger Hall and adapted from his earlier radio play Glide Time, and directed by Tony Holden. The series depicts the working lives of four staff members at a government supply office in the 1970s.-External links:* ...
, based on his hit stage play Glide Time. Another Hall play, Conjugal Rites
Conjugal Rites
- Performance history :Conjugal Rites was first performed in the United Kingdom at the Watford Palace Theatre on 24 January 1991. It starred Nicky Henson and Gwen Taylor....
was also made into a sitcom but by Granada in Britain.
In 1994, Melody Rules
Melody Rules
Melody Rules was a 1993 sitcom created by New Zealand TV station TV3. The series centred on sensible careerwoman Melody and her semi-dysfunctional family consisting of her teenage sister Zoe and their brother. Frequent recurring characters included an unkempt and filthy man as well as neighbour...
was produced and screened. Critically and commercially unsuccessful, it has become part of the lexicon within the television industry to describe an unsuccessful sitcom, for example, that show will be the next "Melody Rules".
Another sitcom to have its roots in a stage play was Serial Killers (2003), about the scriptwriters of a medical soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. Since Melody Rules aired, no American-style sitcoms have been produced in New Zealand.
Most recently the duo Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...
have created and starred in a sitcom
Flight of the Conchords (TV series)
Flight of the Conchords is an American television comedy series that debuted on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement...
of an eponymous name. The show stars three Kiwis (including Rhys Darby
Rhys Darby
Rhys Montague Darby is an actor and stand-up comedian from New Zealand, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals...
), is written primarily by the two leads, Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...
and Bret McKenzie
Bret McKenzie
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie is a comedian, actor, musician and producer, best known for being one half of the Grammy Award winning musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement....
(along with contributions from Kiwis Duncan Sarkies and Taika Waititi), but it is shot entirely in New York City, was co-created by an Englishman, James Bobin, and is funded by HBO, an American premium cable channel. It is the most popular sitcom ever produced featuring Kiwi comedians.
The most successful true NZ sitcom to date, which also utilizes the one-camera approach is the Jaquie Brown Diaries. The show is an advanced concept for New Zealand domestic television production for the fact that it stars Jaquie Brown, as herself, as a C-list celebrity in Auckland. The show revolves around Jaquie's life as a light relief reporter on a current events show (a job she used to actually have on TV3's current affairs show Campbell Live) and her desire to be a socially relevant pop cultural media figure in New Zealand. Brown, who had not acted seriously prior to this production, excelled in the role and displayed a panache for naturalistic comedic acting. It was also written by two novice writers, Gerard Johnstone (Who also directed) and Jodie Molloy. The first season (July 2008) ran for 6 episodes. The second season (Oct 2009) ran for 8 episodes.
Many British and American sitcoms are and have been popular in New Zealand.
It is commonly claimed that the primary difficulties for New Zealand comedy production are a prevailing attitude of cultural cringe wherein domestic products are viewed as automatically being inferior, and the market demand for profitability due to New Zealand having no strictly commercial-free channels. Both government-owned channels TVOne and TV2 are broadcast with commercials and cannot survive on government subsidies alone. Some suggest that Kiwi comedies which are viewed as commercially unreliable are often relegated to poor timeslots and not promoted by their networks. James Griffin, creator of TV3's Outrageous Fortune, has noted that often Kiwi comedies get neglected to death such as his show Diplomatic Immunity did.
Denmark
The first respected Danish sitcom was Langt Fra Las Vegas (Far From Las Vegas), which ran from 2001 until 2003. It was written by Casper Christensen. The series was about a TV station and the employees, but mainly Casper, played by Casper Christensen. The first season was called "Season 0" and was very different from the other 4 seasons. Kenny, played by Frank Hvam, was changed from a smart ass, to a nerd. The kid like Wulff, played by Mikael Wulff, was written out of the story. When Langt fra Las Vegas ended, Casper made up a new sitcom called Klovn (Clown), which ran from 2005 to 2009. Casper and Frank played them selves. When the series ended, Klovn - The Movie came in the cinemas one and a half year later. The movie got quiet popular. An other of the more popular sitcoms was Kristian, which were written by Christian Fuhlendorff. Christian also played Kristian. The first season ran from November 2009, and had 10 episodes. In 2011, Christian Fuhlendorff announced on his facebook, that there would be an second season in the Autum 2011. In the start of 2011 the sitcom Lykke (Lykke is the name of the protagonist. The name Lykke is Danish, and means "Happiness") aired, and lasted 10 episodes. Not soon after it ended, DR1 announced that they would make some new episodes.Czech Republic
Czech first sitcom called Nováci, which ran in 1995, was paused because of bad ratings and production ambitions create better one. In 1996 aired new sitcom Nováci 2, which was much worst than original series and was stopped after 52 episodes. Original series from 1995 has got 72 episodes. In 1996 aired 26 episodes of new series called Hospoda (Pub), which became very successful, so in 1997 was created secon series with 26 episodes again. In 1999 aired series called Policajti z předměstí (Suburb Cops) which was marked like unwatch and after 21 episodes was ended, but it have lot of fans today. In 2001 aired sitcom Duch Český and in 2008 Cyranův ostrov written by famous Czech country singer Ivan Mládek. In same year aired much less sitcom profesionálové (Professionals), which was stoped after 11 episodes and which was inspirated ba very successful Slovakian version. In 2009 aired new series of Cyranův ostrov called Cyranův poloostrov with new main plot and in 2010 was present new version of Profesionálové with some new actors, new director or new scriptwriters. But in fact-it wasn't very successful again. In 2011 will be present Noha 22-new project of Ivan Mládek-sitcom from hospital and probably third season of Profesionálové.United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has produced a wealth of sitcoms, many of which have been exported to other nations or adapted for other countries. There is often a tendency towards black humour. A frequent theme in British sitcoms is that of people trapped in an unpleasant situation (PorridgePorridge
Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
, 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
) or a dysfunctional relationship (Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, Rising Damp
Rising Damp
Rising Damp is a television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978. It was adapted for television by Eric Chappell from his well-received 1971 stage play, The Banana Box The series was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom on the 100 Best Sitcoms poll run in...
and Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
).
British sitcoms have also tended to shy away from the folksy homespun nature of the American sitcom and into more adult or intellectual territory - Yes, Minister being an example of the latter.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
has had more success with this format than its commercial counterpart ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. This is attributed to the fact that ITV has to allow for commercial breaks
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
so programmes are several minutes shorter and thus do not allow for character and plot development.
United States
Most North American sitcoms are generally half-hour programs in which the story is written to run a total of 22 minutes in length, leaving eight minutes for commercials.Sitcoms made outside the US may run somewhat longer or shorter than 22 minutes. US commercial broadcasters have traditionally been very reluctant to run shows that run too short or too long. Thus, very few UK or British Commonwealth sitcoms run on US commercial television.
US sitcoms (like other American television series) typically have long season runs of 20 or more episodes due to the way they are produced. Canadian sitcoms typically only have season runs of 14 on average. British sitcoms have much shorter seasons in comparison where there are usually six episodes.
American sitcoms are often written by large teams of US resident script writers during round-table sessions, but some US sitcoms often do have episodes written by a guest writer. Most British sitcoms are written by one or two people, with four writers sometimes being the norm for some series in the recent past. These divergent writing styles result in vastly different kinds of sitcoms being written.
Usually sitcoms from the U.S. have satire and slapstick comedy in their status. America has made numerous sitcoms since 1947, including sitcoms aimed specifically at children and teenagers. A sub-genre of U.S. sitcoms, seen as early as the 1950s but more prominent since the 1970s, is the black sitcom
Black sitcom
A black sitcom is an American term meaning a sitcom that features a primarily black cast or an African-American in the lead role. Although sitcoms with primarily black casts had been present since the earliest days of network television , this genre rose to prominence in the...
, a sitcom featuring a predominantly African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
cast.
Sitcoms on U.S. radio
The sitcom format was born on January 12, 1926 with the initial broadcast of Sam 'n' HenrySam 'n' Henry
Sam 'n' Henry was a radio series by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll which aired on Chicago radio station WGN in 1926-1928. The ten minute program is often considered to be the first situation comedy...
on WGN
WGN (AM)
WGN is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is the only radio station owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns the flagship television station WGN-TV, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago magazine locally. WGN's transmitter is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. The 15-minute daily program was revamped in 1928, moved to another station, renamed Amos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy is a situation comedy set in the African-American community. It was very popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s on both radio and television....
, and became one of the most successful sitcoms from this period. It was also one of the earliest examples of radio syndication. Like many radio programs of the time, the two programs continued the American entertainment traditions of vaudeville and the minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
.
The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.-Cast:*Jack Benny - Himself...
was another important and formative sitcom (which also functioned as a variety show, depending on the week's script and guest stars involved). The radio version began in 1932 and lasted until 1955. A televised version of the show ran from 1950 to 1965. In total, the show was broadcast for a third of a century.
Blondie
Blondie (radio)
Blondie is a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950....
was a situation comedy adapted from the Blondie comic strip
Blondie (comic strip)
Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930...
by Chic Young
Chic Young
Murat Bernard Young , better known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist who created the popular, long-running comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature...
. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950.
Fibber McGee and Molly
Fibber McGee and Molly
Fibber McGee and Molly was an American radio comedy series which maintained its popularity over decades. It premiered on NBC in 1935 and continued until its demise in 1959, long after radio had ceased to be the dominant form of entertainment in American popular culture.-Husband and wife in real...
was one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, airing on radio from 1935 to 1959. The show starred vaudevillians James "Jim" and Marian Driscoll Jordan and also had its roots in Chicago.
In 1947, Beulah
Beulah (series)
The Beulah Show is an American situation-comedy series that ran on CBS radio from 1945 to 1954, and on ABC television from 1950 to 1952. The show is notable for being the first sitcom to star an African American actress.-Radio:...
became the first radio sitcom featuring an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
actor in the lead role.
1940s–1950s
In the late 1940s, the sitcom was among the first formats adapted for the new medium of television. Most sitcoms were a half-hour in length and aired weekly. Many of the earliest sitcoms were direct adaptations of existing radio shows, such as or The Jack Benny ProgramThe Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.-Cast:*Jack Benny - Himself...
, or vehicles for existing radio stars such as Burns and Allen
Burns and Allen
Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.-Vaudeville:...
(The Burns and Allen Show) and film stars such as Abbott and Costello
Abbott and Costello
William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s...
(The Abbott and Costello Show
The Abbott and Costello Show
The Abbott and Costello Show is an American television sitcom starring the popular comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello that premiered in syndication in the fall of 1952 and ran until May 1954....
). Early sitcoms were broadcast live and recorded on kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
s or not recorded at all.
Mary Kay and Johnny
Mary Kay and Johnny
Mary Kay and Johnny is the first situation comedy broadcast on network television in the United States. Starring real-life married couple Mary Kay Stearns and Johnny Stearns, the series is the first program to show a couple sharing a bed, and the first television series to show a woman's pregnancy...
was followed by The Goldbergs
The Goldbergs
The Goldbergs is a comedy-drama broadcast from 1929 to 1946 on American radio, and from 1949 to 1956 on American television. It was adapted into a 1948 play, Me and Molly, and a 1973 Broadway musical, Molly.-Radio:...
which first aired on January 17, 1949. The television adaptation of Beulah in 1950 became the first TV sitcom with an African American in the lead. Both The Goldbergs and Beulah were early examples of sitcoms without a laugh-track or studio audience.
Early sitcoms done on film, though without the multiple-camera setup, included The Life of Riley
The Life of Riley
The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, is a popular American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, a long-run 1950s television series , and a 1958 Dell comic book...
with Jackie Gleason, and Stu Erwin's The Trouble with Father.
Eventually, sitcoms began to divide themselves into domestic comedies and workplace comedies. The earliest domestic comedies include The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 to September 3, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and TV for a couple of years...
, The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
, and Make Room for Daddy. The earliest workplace comedies include Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
and Mr. Peepers
Mr. Peepers
Mr. Peepers is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from July 3, 1952 to June 12, 1955.-Overview:Mr. Peepers starred Wally Cox as Jefferson City's junior high school science teacher Robinson J. Peepers...
, both set in high schools, and The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show
The Phil Silvers Show is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G...
, was set on a US Army post.
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
brought a new way of filming sitcoms, with Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
, the early innovator in the history of sitcoms, who is credited with the first successful use of the multiple-camera setup
Multiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
, where three cameras shoot the action on stage simultaneously and the best shots from each of the cameras are later edited together. The show starred Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
(Lucy Ricardo) with her husband Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
(Ricky Ricardo). They created it together with actors Vivian Vance
Vivian Vance
Vivian Roberta Jones was an American television and theater actress and singer. Often referred to as “TV’s most beloved second banana,” she is best known for her role as Ethel Mertz, sidekick to Lucille Ball on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, and as Vivian Bagley on The Lucy...
(Ethel Mertz) and William Frawley
William Frawley
William Clement "Bill" Frawley was an American stage entertainer, screen and television actor. Although Frawley acted in over 100 films, he achieved his greatest fame playing landlord Fred Mertz for the situation comedy I Love Lucy.-Early life:William was born to Michael A. Frawley and Mary E....
(Fred Mertz), and a creative writing team. I Love Lucy was also among the first to record all multiple-camera episodes on film. With their Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who were married to each other from 1940 to 1960....
studio company, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are credited with foreseeing the viability and prosperity of the rerun
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...
television program series.
1960s
A trend beginning in the 1960s was the expansion of the domestic comedy beyond the nuclear family or married couple. The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
and My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
featured widowers and their children. At the end of the decade, Sherwood Schwartz's The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
focused on a blended family.
By the mid-1960s, sitcom creators began adding more fantastical elements to live action sitcoms in the so-called "high concept
High concept
High concept is a term used to refer to an artistic work that can be easily described by a succinctly stated premise.-Terminology:High concept narratives are typically characterised by an over-arching "what if?" scenario that acts as a catalyst for the following events...
" style. The regular characters of The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
were modelled on the Universal Monsters
Universal Monsters
Universal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
and the eccentric The Addams Family
The Addams Family (TV series)
The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966...
sprang from a series of cartoon comics. Genies and witches featured in I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
and Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, respectively. Sherwood Schwartz
Sherwood Schwartz
Sherwood Charles Schwartz was an American television producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, and created the television series Gilligan's Island on CBS and The Brady Bunch on ABC...
created Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
about seven stranded castaway
Castaway
A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade their captors or the world in general. Alternatively, a person or item can be cast away, meaning rejected or discarded...
s including a movie star, a millionaire, and a professor. The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
was a psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
musical about a fictional performing group. Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
was a spy genre parody series , Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
a camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
series based on a comic book, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
was a Andy Griffith Show spinoff about a dim-witted Southerner who joins the United States Marine Corps, named Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim...
.
Sitcom production of the 1960s mainly used the single camera filming style, which was more practical given the visual effects used in these shows. This allowed for the careful creation of special effects and sharp editing, features which were not possible with the same finesse in a multi-camera production. Many of these programs were not filmed before live audiences, and featured a laugh track
Laugh track
A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...
.
The animated sitcom was born during this period with Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
's The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
and The Jetsons
The Jetsons
The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
. The latter show was the first example of the science fiction sitcom
Science fiction sitcom
The science fiction sitcom genre is a relatively new one having started significant growth only during the last few decades of the twentieth century...
subgenre.
1970s
In the early 1970s sitcoms began to address controversial issues in a serious way, and largely returned to the three-camera shoot before live audiences. Many programs of this era were recorded on videotapeVideotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
as opposed to film. About half of the sitcoms on broadcast television airing between the mid-1970s and the late 1990s were shot on video.
In the US Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
often used the sitcom format to address social issues through his series All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
(based on Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight , was a British television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms.He emerged in the mid 1950s. He wrote for the radio comics; Frankie Howerd, Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, and Cyril Fletcher. For television he wrote for the Arthur Haynes Show, Morecambe & Wise, and Peter Sellers...
's Till Death Us Do Part) and its spin-offs Maude
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
, The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, and Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...
, all in the US. Also in Britain was Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's
Galton and Simpson
Ray Galton OBE , and Alan Simpson OBE , are British scriptwriters who met in 1948 at a tuberculosis sanatorium, the Surrey county sanatorium near Godalming, on which the sitcom Get Well Soon was based...
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
, which also had a US remake in Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
. In a major departure from earlier American sitcoms, these programs also had racially diverse casts.
Women's liberation was the backdrop in a series of female-led sitcoms produced by Grant Tinker
Grant Tinker
Grant Almerin Tinker is the former chairman and CEO of NBC from 1981 to 1986, co-founder of MTM Enterprises, and television producer. Tinker is the former husband of television actress Mary Tyler Moore...
: The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, and its spin-offs Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
and Phyllis
Phyllis (TV series)
Phyllis is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 11, 1975 to March 13, 1977.Created by Ed Weinberger and Stan Daniels. it was the second spin-off series from The Mary Tyler Moore Show . The show starred Cloris Leachman as Phyllis Lindstrom, who was previously Mary Richards'...
.
The topic of war was addressed in the sitcom M*A*S*H. The producers of M*A*S*H did not want a laugh track on the show, arguing that the show did not need one, but CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
disagreed. CBS compromised by permitting the producers of the show to omit recorded laughter from scenes that took place in the operating room, if they wished. When it was shown in the UK and Germany, episodes were broadcast without the laugh track. Ross Bagdasarian also refused to use a laugh track in his production of The Alvin Show
The Alvin Show
The Alvin Show is an American animated television series. It was the first to feature the singing characters Alvin and the Chipmunks, although a series with a similar concept The Nutty Squirrels Present had aired a year earlier...
, as did Jay Ward
Jay Ward
J Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken...
on Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Also during this time, Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
adapted his deadpan
Deadpan
Deadpan is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, solemn, blunt, disgusted or matter-of-fact voice and expressing an unflappably calm, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor...
club act for television in sitcom format with The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
, which was at once a throwback to the early vaudevillian
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
origins of sitcoms and a harbinger of the 1980s - 1990s stand-up comedian sitcom trend.
In the mid-1970s, Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
had several huge hits in the US with his sitcoms such as The Odd Couple, Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, Laverne and Shirley, and Mork and Mindy
Mork and Mindy
Mork & Mindy is an American science fiction sitcom broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC. The series starred Robin Williams as Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Ork in a small, one-man egg-shaped spaceship. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate...
. Nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
for the 50s was a major theme in both Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.
Sex and titillation became a theme in late 1970s with the UK sitcom Man About the House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
and its US remake Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
. Two soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
parodies, Soap and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman is an American soap opera parody that aired in daily syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. The series was produced by Norman Lear, directed by Joan Darling and starred Louise Lasser...
, are also notable shows from this period which pushed the envelope of what was acceptable in television sitcoms.
1980s
In the 1980s, stand-up comic Bill CosbyBill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
starred in the sitcom The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, which was the earliest of the current trend of successful sitcoms built around a stand-up comic's stage persona. Comedienne Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer and director. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997...
continued the trend in the late 1980s with her eponymous sitcom
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
, as did Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
(It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
and The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
). More recently, Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
(Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
) and Ray Romano
Ray Romano
Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian, best known for his roles on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond and in the Ice Age film series. He recently starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age.-Early life:Romano was born in Queens, New York to Italian...
(Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
) have also made the transition from stand up to the small screen with self-starring sitcoms.
To some extent, many American sitcoms of the 1980s such as Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
, Family Ties
Family Ties
Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
, Who's the Boss?
Who's the Boss?
Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20, 1984 to April 25, 1992...
and Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
returned to themes of family life and parent-child relationships, and centered less on the social issues that defined many 1970s sitcoms. Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, a show about the local customers in a bar, focussed on the evolving relationship between Sam and Diane. Long-running sitcoms, such as the Jeffersons and Alice
Alice (TV series)
Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...
contrast sharply between topical episodes of the 1970s and the less controversial subject matter that prevailed later in the series. By the end of the decade, a backlash emerged against the dominance of family-oriented sitcoms, with both more acerbic takes on working-class family life in Roseanne, Married with Children, and The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
as well as programming such as Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
that focused largely on relationships between single adults. The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, a show about four older women sharing a home in Miami, which starred actreses who all starred in other shows before this. Bea Arthur, who starred in her own sitcom Maude
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...
, Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
, who co-starred with Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
in The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
, Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan
Rue McClanahan was an American actress, best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on Maude, Fran Crowley on Mama's Family, and Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1987.-Early life:McClanahan was born Eddie Rue...
, who co-starred with Arthur in Maude, and Estelle Getty
Estelle Getty
Estelle Scher-Gettleman , better known by her stage name Estelle Getty, was an American actress, who appeared in film, television, and theatre...
who did not star in any other shows, except guest appearances in shows.
By the mid-1980s, the growth of cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, additional broadcast networks, and the success of first-run syndication meant that television audiences were fracturing. Programming could now be targeted at specific audiences rather than at a general audience, and this included sitcoms too. Children were one of these audiences, and among the sitcoms made specifically for children were Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
and Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All is an American teen sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon. Created by Mitchell Kriegman, it aired for five seasons for a total of 65 episodes from March 23, 1991, to December 3, 1994, and then went into reruns....
.
The 1980s also saw a few comedy drama "Dramedy" programs. Examples include United States
United States (TV series)
United States was a short-lived half-hour comedy-drama that NBC added to its Tuesday primetime schedule in March 1980.Larry Gelbart, the show's executive producer and chief writer, said the name United States was not a reference to the country but rather to "the state of being united in a...
and The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd is an NBC/Lifetime comedy-drama that aired from 1987 to 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses and starred Blair Brown in the title role.-Premise:...
. These were largely unsuccessful.
1990s
The early 1990s saw the rebirth of the animated sitcom, a trend which continues to this day. Most notable is The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, the longest-running sitcom in US history. Other successful sitcoms in this subgenre include South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
, Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
and King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
.
This era also saw a significant return to film origination. The main reason for this was that it was seen as "future proof
Future proof
The phrase future proofing describes the exclusive process of trying to anticipate future developments, so that action can be taken to minimize possible negative consequences, and to seize opportunities. For more on the process and practitioners, see Futures studies.-Data storage:Electronically...
ing" productions against any new developments such as HDTV. Programs shot on standard definition videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
in general do not convert well to HDTV, while images on 35 mm film can easily be re-scanned to any future format. In addition, recent developments in film camera and post-processing technologies had eroded the advantages of using videotape.
In the mid-1990s several sitcoms have featured ongoing story lines. Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, one of the most popular U.S. sitcoms of the 1990s, featured story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
s. Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
used soap opera elements such as the end-of-season cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
and gradually developing the relationships of the characters over the course of the series. Home Improvement, Mad About You
Mad About You
Mad About You is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999. The show starred Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a newly married couple in New York City. Reiser played Paul Buchman, a documentary film maker. Hunt played Jamie Stemple Buchman, a public relations specialist...
, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
, Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
, Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, Roseanne
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
, Moesha
Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
, Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
, Family Matters, The Nanny
The Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
, That '70s Show
That '70s Show
That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
, Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After
Unhappily Ever After is an American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB network from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of four and a half seasons...
Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
Will and Grace and The King of Queens
The King of Queens
The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
are also noted for their long-term story arcs.
2000 and after
The early 2000s saw a rebirth of the single camera shooting style for half-hour sitcoms, with shows such as Curb Your EnthusiasmCurb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Arrested Development, Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
, Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
, Louie
Louie (TV series)
Louie is an American comedy television series on the FX network that began airing in 2010. It is written, directed, edited and produced by the show's creator, stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who stars as a fictionalized version of himself, a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two...
, 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
and Community
Community (TV series)
Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
. Recently, a pastiche from the UK has been utilized in American sitcoms, as many are being shot as a pseudo-documentary (aka mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
), such as The Office
The Office (US TV series)
The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
, Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
and Parks and Recreation.
Newer sitcoms that still used a multiple camera setup (before live audiences) include Gary Unmarried
Gary Unmarried
Gary Unmarried was an American sitcom created by Ed Yeager, which ran on CBS from September 24, 2008 to March 17, 2010. The series focuses on a recently divorced couple sharing custody of their kids while starting new relationships...
, Mike & Molly
Mike & Molly
Mike & Molly is an American sitcom created by Mark Roberts, which premiered on CBS on September 20, 2010. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the title characters.-Premise:...
, Rules of Engagement
Rules of Engagement (TV series)
Rules of Engagement is a sitcom that debuted on CBS on February 5, 2007, as a midseason replacement, immediately following Two and a Half Men, in the time slot that was occupied by now-cancelled The New Adventures of Old Christine...
, $h*! My Dad Says, Life with Bonnie
Life With Bonnie
Life with Bonnie is an ABC television sitcom that originally aired from 2002 to 2004. The show outlined the life of character Bonnie Malloy, who juggled her personal life and a TV talk show position. The series was created by Bonnie Hunt and Don Lake, and produced by Miss Hunt's company, Bob &...
, According to Jim
According to Jim
According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children. It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001 to June 2, 2009.-Synopsis:Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father...
, The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine is an American comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus which ran for five seasons on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010...
, Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
, Yes, Dear
Yes, Dear
Yes, Dear is a television sitcom that aired from October 2, 2000, to February 15, 2006, on CBS. It starred Anthony Clark, Jean Louisa Kelly, Mike O'Malley and Liza Snyder....
, The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
, and Hot in Cleveland
Hot in Cleveland
Hot in Cleveland is an American sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. The series, which is TV Land's first original scripted series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highest rated telecast in the cable network's 14-year history. The...
. Some shows, such as How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
, are filmed without a live audience present, however, a live audience is recorded watching the final edited episode for use as the laugh track.
Further reading
- Lewisohn, Mark (2003) Radio Times' Guide to TV Comedy. 2nd Ed. Revised - BBC Consumer Publishing. ISBN 0-563-48755-0, Provides details of every comedy show ever seen on British television, including imports.
- Padva, Gilad (2005) Desired Bodies and Queer Masculinities in Three Popular TV Sitcoms. In Lorek-Jezinska, Edyta and Wieckowska, Katarzyna (Eds.), Corporeal Inscriptions: Representations of the Body in Cultural and Literary Texts and Practices (pp. 127–138). Torun, Poland: Nicholas Copernicus University Press. ISBN 83-231-1812-4
External links
- On the buses fan forum
- American Sitcoms on Warner TV
- Classic British Sitcoms Forum
- Situation Comedy Bibliography (via UC Berkeley) — mostly USA programs.
- Sitcoms Online
- The Classic TV Database
- British Sitcom Guide
- Russian Sitcom Guide