The sitcom: Is it dying off?

On in reruns, The New Adventures of Old Christine.

"30 Rock" and "Parks and Rec" were good. I hear good things about Brooklyn 99 which is by the people behind Parks and Rec.

I like Brooklyn 99 and You're the Worst.

I love THE MIDDLE and BLACKISH!

Still like Big Bang and Black-ish.

The best ones are on Me and Antenna TV. They don't make really good ones anymore.

The last one I watched with semi-regularity was Everybody Loves Raymond. I've tried with some recent ones but they are uniformly unfunny. Even the ones that get rave reviews.

Oh... Kimmy Schmidt was funny!

Don't listen to r1-r5 and their horrible taste. Stick to Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm reruns, because that's pretty much it when comes to the sitcom.

Sitcoms are terrible these days. What they consider entertainment is downright insulting. I'm sorry, I did not just crawl out from under a rock.

I like Kimmy Schmidt. Also, I've just finished watching the BBC sitcom Top Coppers, which is a parody of 70s/80s cop shows.

Can you honestly see something as good as the Golden Girls being created and accepted today?

I never saw The Golden Girls on it's original run but saw a marathon on Logo a couple of weeks ago and it was fucking brilliant!

Can you see Kimmy Schmidt anywhere other than Netflix? (I don't have it)

I don't watch TV anymore. All the ethnically correct casting was too much for me. The shows were unnatural and never funny. I only watch things from netflix or I just cruise youtube. Network and Cable TV are pure shit.

I kind of like the Goldbergs. It's funny and the real life Goldberg shows his home videos at the end and they seem to match the show.

I just started watching The Golden Girls because of its big following here. I didn't see it once during the years it was a prime time sitcom. It's cute, and i am watching through completely different eyes than I would have beck when it was current(seeing as I am Blanche's age now), but I don't find Sophia as very endearing or clever as others do. I like Rose and Dorothy, and Blanche can be funny, but I am not mad about her "used to be a southern belle" persona. Probably a little too close to home. i vote for Blackish as the best current network offering, and I still watch P&R reruns. Seinfeld is and will always be my I Love Lucy...it will still be funny the 10th time I see the same episode.

Sitcoms died when "Friends" ended its run.

I like the Goldberg dad -- all the neighborhood dads were a lot like him.

I also like The Goldbergs. The other ABC sitcoms that I like are Blackish and Fresh Off The Boat.

R13, Netflix has been releasing its bigger series (House of Cards, Orange is the New Black) on DVD, so I imagine Kimmy Schmidt will get there. It just may take several months to time with the next season's release on their streaming site, unfortunately.

I especially like the cast of Goldbergs. The Mom is favorite of mine from another sitcom where she was the cat lady upstairs. The Dad was favorite of mine from the Curb Your Enthusiasm and each of the kids are truly lovable, especially the youngest. Grandpa Goldberg (Segal) has been a favorite of mine in both centuries.

Old Christine and Blackish

If someone pitched "The Golden Girls" today, it would probably only find a home on TVLand.

[quote]Netflix has been releasing its bigger series (House of Cards, Orange is the New Black) on DVD, so I imagine Kimmy Schmidt will get there. It just may take several months to time with the next season's release on their streaming site, unfortunately.

Tina Fey and Ellie Kemper are also probably pushing for a DVD release. Fey does whatever she can to make the most off of her movies and shows. Kemper came from a well to do Republican family and her father is likely pushing to milk whatever she can from the show.

Hot in Cleveland is fun. The Big Bang Theory is my favorite right now. Blackish has good moments as does Modern Family. I do not think there is any risk of the sitcom dying off. We all need to escape somewhere funny after the end of a difficult day.

Got a reprieve once they got rid of the three camera live studio audience cliche and laugh track -- and went one camera and no laugh track like a film. Thank "Modern Family", "The Middle" and "Raising Hope" for changing the rules of the game, all for the better. Sitcoms used to be the dreck of the earth -- still are if you look at "Two Broke Girls" or any of the old school models. And from a writing perspective, it's a horrid formula: setup, setup, joke. Setup, setup, joke. The American model anyway ("Ab Fab" did its part to try to change that shit too but America wasn't ready for it yet).

[quote]Got a reprieve once they got rid of the three camera live studio audience cliche and laugh track -- and went one camera and no laugh track like a film. Thank "Modern Family", "The Middle" and "Raising Hope" for changing the rules of the game, all for the better. Sitcoms used to be the dreck of the earth -- still are if you look at "Two Broke Girls" or any of the old school models.

I now prefer the one camera/no laugh track sitcoms. Raising Hope was one of my favorites. It was well cast and Martha Plimpton was terrific as the white trash mother.

R14 is a dumb cunt.

Yep, lost its way about Season Three but amazing the first couple. That "Name is Earl" guy at least tries to do something original when he's in charge. Thought the whole cast was great especially, yes, Martha and Dillahunt but also loved Lucas Neff. Wonder if he'll go on to much? (He should).

My only issue was how they debased the Cloris Leachman character too much, too many potty jokes for her... but the rest was amazing.

[quote]Tina Fey and Ellie Kemper are also probably pushing for a DVD release. Fey does whatever she can to make the most off of her movies and shows. Kemper came from a well to do Republican family and her father is likely pushing to milk whatever she can from the show.

Uh ... I think EVERYONE does that -- that's why it's called show BUSINESS after all.

[quote]My only issue was how they debased the Cloris Leachman character too much, too many potty jokes for her

I disliked that part of the show. Another thing I disliked was that they brought back the Lucy character played by annoying Bijou Phillips.

IMO, the last four of this genre worth watching, were/are, "Arrested Development", "Modern Family", "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Office".

"[R14] is a dumb cunt."

But he's our target demographic.

Didn't they die like a decade ago?

I liked "Party Down." It's got Lizzy Caplan and a pre-Parks and Rec Adam Scott as struggling actors working at a catering company. Very funny and often quite obscene. Ken Marino plays their extremely well-hung boss. It's on Hulu if you're a member, although there are only two seasons, sadly. I think it could've gone on longer, but Adam Scott got cast in Parks and Rec and Jane Lynch went off to Glee.

"Bob's Burgers" is essentially a sitcom and it's fantastic, but it's for a younger crowd. "The Simpsons" has been dead for years. "Community" is kind of funny, but also way too far up its own ass. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" has its charms if you like sort of weird, sad comedy.

[quote]"Community" is kind of funny, but also way too far up its own ass.

That's Dan Harmon for you.

I find The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt one of the funniest shows on tv. Titus is a riot.

I happened to watch the first season on You're the Worst on Hulu (I don't have FXX--- who does?) Anyway, I was only watching it to have noise in the room while I did my chores and was surprised how funny it was, plus I got hooked on the evolving romance between two dysfunctional people.

Unfortunately, there is no way I can watch Season 2 unless I pay out big bucks to expand my cable tv. I don't want to pay $3 an episode at iTunes. 😟

What about Veep?

I like Veep. I discovered it just this year. The secondary players are my favorite part of the show.

1. I Love Lucy 2, The Mary Tyler Moore Show 3. Will & Grace 4. Family Guy 5. The Simpsons 6. The Big Bang Theory

I actually liked East Bound and Down on HBO. Currently I only watch The Middle and occasionally the big bang theory. Orange is the New Black can be very funny, but it's a mix. I used to love Arrested Development, Curb, That 70s show, King of Queens and Everyone Loves Raymond. The rest were 80s and 90s sitcoms from when I was a kid. I'm enjoying Antenna TV these days.

The problem is that too many sitcoms that go for quality don't go for actual laughs, the actual reason why people watch them. "Veep" does, but it's a rarity. "Girls," "Transparent" and "Louie," all highly acclaimed, often feel as if it's beneath them to actually tell jokes.

The sitcoms that do go for laughs, like the Chuck Lorre type, don't attract the most talented writers, who are the real driving force behind a sitcom. The death of the sitcom at NBC essentially killed the quality sitcom that's actually funny, with only "Modern Family" filling that niche at the broadcast networks. For thirty years they always had a deep bench of high-quality sitcoms that were funny, from "Cheers" and "The Golden Girls" in the 1980s to "Seinfeld," "Frasier" and "Friends" in the 1990s and "The Office" and "30 Rock" in the 2000s. Even their back-bench sitcoms like "Night Court" or "Wings" would be considered far superior to most of the network offerings today.

Yes, R42, I think you're right. There's a lot of smart comedy these days, not a ton of laugh-out-loud comedy, though. There's lots of good tv comedies and - ugh, I hate this word - dramedies these days, but very few that I'd describe as "sitcoms". Aside from the ones already mentioned there's: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Louie, Archer, Silicon Valley, Episodes. I think the best comedy on tv right now is actually a British show that gets very little attention here in the US: FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER. It stars Tamsin Greig (of Showtime's Episodes) as the matriarch of a Jewish British suburban middle class family - mum, dad, two adult sons in their 20s and their very odd next door neighbor - who get together every Friday for dinner and, of course, chaos ensues. It's, essentially, a farce and a perfectly pitched one. Farce is so difficult to get right, but this show is so perfectly timed, so perfectly delivered. There are tons of shows on tv today that make me smile, gently guffaw or nod knowingly, but this show makes me genuinely L-O-L in a way I haven't experienced in years.

"Playing House" is great! Two best friends raise a baby in a quirky town. Very cute, and actually funny. My only objection is that each season is only 7 episodes.

I haven't watched a new one in awhile, Hot In Cleveland was the last. I love comedy, but prefer edgier shows on Comedy Central, Adult Swim, etc.

Silicon Valley---one of my favorites. The first season is the best.

For some reason, I can't get into Veep--maybe because I don't care for JLD.

JLD giving the exact same performance for 20 years and running, not one variation on one sentence. The same puzzled reaction shot over and over. Only the hair changes and barely that.

Yeah my favorites currently airing are "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", "Silicon Valley", "Veep" ( "Archer" was great but it has done down hill).

I have a hard time with the broad multicamera sitcoms.

"

VEEP, though not sure it's a sitcom. It's the funniest thing on TV right now, and the smartest. I want to fuck all of them, and even the chairs. And I don't even like upholstery.

[quote]"Playing House" is great! Two best friends raise a baby in a quirky town. Very cute, and actually funny. My only objection is that each season is only 7 episodes.

I like that show. I saw Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair perform at Upright Citizens Brigade years ago and became a fan then. I agree, the seasons are a bit short. Also, USA jerks around with the show a bit. They didn't announce the season 2 renewal until six months after the season 1 finale.

Titus is 90% of why I love The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. "Black, gay and old? Oh, I'm not even gonna know which box to check on the hate crime form."

HBO's "Getting On" is hilarious. Where else could you see Millie Helper/Grandma Yetta (Ann Guilbert) give Harry Dean Stanton a blowjob? It's got a great cast (Laurie Metcalf, Niecy Nash, Alex Borstein), but it's only coming back for one more short season.

Chuck Lorre used to be a step above in sitcoms but that's not saying much; that's in comparison, say, to "Small Wonder". "BBT" is probably still the best of the old school sitcoms though.

Chuck Lorrie is the devil

I know Chuck Lorre likes to complain about the diva behavior of his sitcom stars Cybill, Brett Butler and Roseanne, (he parodied Cybill on an episode of CGI where she's killed by the Christine Baranski stand-in) but I take Roseanne's side in their dispute. First of all, he had no business taking "created by" credit on the show when it was clearly just the sitcom version of her stand-up act. She said he wanted to come and spend time with her family, which he did for a few days, and that's how he excused his "created by" credit. Funny how his observations exactly mirrored the tone and content of her stand-up act. But oh yeah, HE created it. Roseanne also says she wanted the Jackie character, based on her sister, to be a lesbian as her real life sister is. Lorre fought it tooth and nail, and I resent that, it would've been groundbreaking to have such an appealing, funny actress as Laurie Metcalf playing a gay character on a hit sitcom in the early 90s. But he had final say as the "creator." Cybill might've been a nightmare to work with, but at least she's always been pro-gay. All three of those women were known for that.

Roseanne didn't have a feud with Chuck Lorre over the "Created By" credit; that was Matt Williams. And the WGA rules would have required that Williams get the "Created By" credit, since he wrote the pilot episode. Had enough of Roseanne's stand-up been included in the pilot, she might have petitioned for credit on that script, but either she never made the effort or not enough of her material was used to justify the credit. Lorre got into a feud with Roseanne for other reasons, but that show (like "The Cosby Show") was a miserable place for writers.

Ken Levine, who wrote for "MASH," "Cheers," "Frasier" and a number of other classics, has a good blog post about the feud. He doesn't take Roseanne's side.

R55 -what is CGI?

r57, another shitty show Lorre produced.

A DL poster gave some dirt on Roseanne in the below thread. The feuds with writers were well known in the 90s.

R57, I think that poster meant CSI. Chuck Lorre write an episode of that show called "Two and a Half Deaths." From the IMDb listing, it looks like Katey Sagal played the Cybill Shepherd role.

[italic]Friends[/italic] wasn't the slightest bit funny and its undeserved reputation killed the reputation of the three-camera sitcom once and for all. That and so many shows trying to be like it that all bombed. To list that show among the ranks of the all-time greats is just an insult to them. Someone in another thread who said he was a stage manager at Warner Bros. said most of the cast were awful people, too.

[quote]Can you see Kimmy Schmidt anywhere other than Netflix? (I don't have it)

Someone has put the whole season on Youtube. The quality is not the best, but it's free.

And it really is funny.

[quote]All the ethnically correct casting was too much for me.

Fuck you. And yet I bet you're one of those white gays that bitch about there not being enough gay characters casted (white gays, that is).

Mike and Molly is the worst Chuck Lorre produced sitcom.

It's just "cast," R63. Haven't you read enough posts mocking people who think "casted" is the past tense of "cast" yet?

It's been dead to me since ABC killed SPORTS NIGHT.

oooh, R64 is right, that's almost a parody of a bad sitcom, not one laugh to be had. Up there with "Small Wonder" and its classic theme song ("Fantastic/made of plastic...")

And, yes, if one more person under 30 uses the word "casted" for past tense of "cast"... you lose all momentum on your argument when you do. On a much more forgivable scale, the movie or scene is "lighted", not "lit". I learned that from my hero Pauline Kael's reviews.

And don't get me started on "hung" v. "hanged."

The old-fashioned multi-camera sitcom is dead or dying, and I don't mourn the loss. So few of them were actually all that good, they almost always played to the lowest common denominator. Now people have so many other choices and don't have to settle for dumbed-down, formulaic, cheesy writing. I associate most old-fashioned sitcoms with watching them in syndication because there was nothing else on. Sure I've seen every episode of Laverne & Shirley and they were appealing performers, but the writing was moronic and I have no interest in ever watching it again. Pretty much the only old sitcom I do still watch is MTM, one of the few that wasn't lowest common denominator trash.

I bought a couple of seasons of "Laverne and Shirley" on DVD since I loved it as a kid/teen -- but, dear God, the sound on that show. Tinny and shrill and then add in their high pitched voices screaming all the time and... major headache. MTM has a little bit of that too but nowhere nearly as bad.

All the dish on Roseanne is fun, but at the end of the day, she made one of the best sitcoms of all time. The first 5-6 seasons hold up remarkably well. The last two seasons are dreadful. Having the Connors win the lottery was such a poor choice.

[quote]Can you see Kimmy Schmidt anywhere other than Netflix? (I don't have it)

Use torrents, r13!

[quote]All the dish on Roseanne is fun, but at the end of the day, she made one of the best sitcoms of all time. The first 5-6 seasons hold up remarkably well. The last two seasons are dreadful. Having the Connors win the lottery was such a poor choice.

I totally agree on the last two seasons. I admit I've rewatched the first four seasons quite bit via reruns and DVD. I enjoyed many of the minor characters. Shelley Winters as Nana Mary was my favorite. I'm probably in the minority, but I liked Sandra Bernhard's character Nancy.

Back in the 80s and 90s, I hated Bill Cosby and The Cosby Show. It gave me glee when he and Roseanne had a feud. From what I remember, Cosby complained the content of Roseanne and brought it up to Carsey and Werner. Roseanne found out and told Cosby that her show was realistic and his show wasn't. I was always Team Roseanne on that feud.

The best comedy show ever: The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The best. Ever.

Runners up:

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Designing Women

R74/75 is soooooo ooooolllldddd!

What was the last successful single-camera (i.e., no studio audience) sitcom with a laugh track?

How I Met Your Mother I guess R77. They were a single camera show but no audience. So all their laughs were fake.

Interesting question, R77. Do you mean commercially successful or critically? I know laugh tracks are very out of fashion, but I always thought the laugh tracks were essential to Absolutely Fabulous' success. I believe that most of the house scenes were filmed with an audience, but the show still had laughs during location shoots, so perhaps they were a hybrid show. But, either way, try and imagine the show without a laugh track and it kinda falls flat. I think such big, outlandish performances require an audience. It's one of the reasons I'm not too optimistic about this supposed AbFab film. I think Saunders' writing and those wonderful, but wacky performances are perfectly calibrated for a live audience (and/or laugh track) response and without them, the timing will be completely off.

oops I How I Met was a 3 camera show but no audience.

It's awful but I'm sure "Two Broke Girls" counts as a success, especially now in syndication.

[quote]So few of them were actually all that good, they almost always played to the lowest common denominator.

The lowest common denominator has gotten lower every decade since the end of the 1970s, and it's plummeted since the turn of the century. [italic]Small Wonder[/italic] is starting to look better and better every day compared to the worst of what's on TV now. It's gotten THAT bad.

2 Broke Girls is atrocious. I was kinda surprised to discover that the wonderful Justin Sayre (Chairman of the International Board of Sodomites) is a writer on that awful show. But, I guess everyone's gotta eat.

The sitcom is being killed off by young sitcom writers who grew up watching bad sitcoms.

I know we're all a bit sick of it but "Modern Family" really does deserve all the accolades it gets. It rewrote the rules and did it exquisitely. There's something subtle and genuinely funny at least every couple of minutes on that show.

Agreed, R85. At this point, it isn't appointment tv for me, but it's certainly more consistently funny than any other network sitcom at this time. Not saying much, I suppose, but still, it hasn't jumped that proverbial shark just yet. I miss young Lily, though.

Heard they are fast ageing Sofia's boy too, right? I am still catching up via the syndicated reruns myself.

The state of sitcoms on TV is abysmal, with Veep being the smartest, but it's satire is more acidic than funny. So you try to laugh at how horrible politics have gotten, as well as society in general.

The lack of comedy is a reflection of our times in that there's not much humorous about American life anymore.

What with mass shootings every week.

A truly horrible gaggle of Republicans running for president, each saying something meaner and more outrageous than the next. Imagine Donald Trump setting the agenda for the presidential race. It's depressing.

We need a laugh but everyone is too shell-shocked to provide one.

Yeahhhh R88 OR... OR.. maybe comedy, like all other forms of tv/video entertainment has become more specialized and niche-oriented as audience fragmentation continues. Outside of live events like the Oscars or the Superbowl there are very few collective "it seems like everyone in America is watching this right now" experiences.

The sitcom isn't dead, but it's on life support. Reality TV now rules and it's been around far too long to go away.

The problem is writers and actors have basically outpriced themselves. This happened with the movies as well, and to a lesser degree to music. Music admittedly has a different issue as it has to compete with six plus decades of material, but the singers of today have also have similar issues.

R90 - Thanks for that dispatch from 2007, but actually reality tv has been on the decline for several years. In fact there is more original, scripted programming being produced than ever before. FX's President spoke about the over saturation of scripted programming recently - he thinks it will start to decline in a few years because, he argues, there aren't enough writers or viewers to sustain this much scripted programming. Not everyone agrees with him, BTW, but the fact that there's still quite a bit of reality tv around has zero to do with your perception of the quality of scripted programming or your price argument.

Another one here who's a big fan of Veep. The characters are distinctive and funny, plus I have a thing for the guy who plays Dan on the show.

Reality TV is not on the decline, despite the week argument the WSJ makes.

It's only declining when you factor in the oversaturation of product. It is still the DOMINATING form of TV in terms of money produced and ratings made.

Unfortunately you didn't read the article you quoted from which includes steaming services like Netflix. We are referring to broadcast TV not other forms of scripted shows on the Internet and cable which are mass produced but carry tiny audiences.

Sure you may have 100 scripted shows that equal 10% viewers of one reality TV show. The article is also referring to finished but unaired projects that may never be shown.

It's an example of cherry picking at best, in addition it has nothing to do with the topic which is sit-coms.

[quote]Unfortunately you didn't read the article you quoted from which includes steaming services like Netflix. We are referring to broadcast TV not other forms of scripted shows on the Internet and cable which are mass produced

Welcome to 2015. Broadcast TV is one segment of the market. It still has mass appeal sure, but especially in the coveted 18-39 market, cable and streaming services are huge. Look at the recent emmys even. Netflix has nearly 70 million subscribers gramps.

Nielsen ratings are becoming more outdated in a world where fewer young people people watch live TV.

Whitney Cummings is one of the creators of awful 2 Broke Girls. There are rumors that Beth Behrs had an affair with a TV producer, while working as a nanny. Behrs supposedly threatened to tell the guy's wife and the guy agreed to help Behrs' TV career.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed TVLand's two latest sitcoms: "The Jim Gaffigan Show" and "Impastor." Both have completed their first seasons and have been renewed. "Gaffigan" has a ton of cameos and guest stars-- I guess he must be really well-liked among his peers, as he got fairly big names like Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Mariska Hargitay, several CNN and MSNBC personalities (Scarborough, Brzezinski, Maddow, et.al.) to show up. And several lesser names like Macaulay Culkin and Janeane Garofalo have recurring roles.

They showed a preview of one of their newest sitcoms, "Teachers" after the finale of "Gaffigan" and it was pretty bad. I think they're pairing it with the return of Sutton Foster's "Younger" when it returns in January.

[quote] The lack of comedy is a reflection of our times in that there's not much humorous about American life anymore.

It's because everything that actually provokes laughter has been accused of perpetuating all the various isms and phobias. Norman Lear and MTM Productions selling out to larger corporations in the 1980s was probably the beginning of the end for sitcoms, for it left us at the mercy of hacks like TGIF schlockmeisters Miller-Boyett (whose output actually got worse without Garry Marshall and Edward Milkis around), the inaptly named Bright-Kaufman-Crane who must have mafia ties to get as far as they did with so little talent, and the insultingly awful ephebophilic bilge coming out of that mouse studio. That crap's just so bad it's bad, not even so-bad-it's-brilliant like the collected works of Ed Wood-esque demented madmen like Sherwood Schwartz and Howard Leeds. Quite frankly, that mouse studio has yet to make another sitcom that's even half as good as [italic]The Golden Girls[/italic] was, and some of that show's veterans went on to work on some of the better 2000s sitcoms ([italic]Arrested Development[/italic], [italic]The Office[/italic]).

James L. Brooks did some great shows in his day, but he has allowed the once-brilliant [italic]Simpsons[/italic] to get so bad that it's actually worse than [italic]My Mother The Car[/italic], which Brooks also worked on. Linda Bloodworth-Thomason never matched [italic]Designing Women[/italic] in popularity or quality again. [italic]Seinfeld[/italic]'s success was less due to Jerry Seinfeld than due to Larry David and the excellent supporting cast. All the people behind the great shows of the 1950s and 1960s are dead or retired by now. How many writers from [italic]M*A*S*H[/italic] or [italic]Cheers[/italic] are still working on sitcoms today?

[italic]Fresh off the Boat[/italic] is a good show. It's the show [italic]All-American Girl[/italic] could have been if ABC hadn't fucked around with it at every opportunity. It's the only non-animated, non-puppet sitcom I watch besides [italic]Modern Family[/italic], and that show will likely be wrapping it in within the next few years.

There's another reason sitcoms are dying: nobody gives a shit about narcissistic str8 white people's problems anymore except other narcissistic str8 white people.

"It's Al;ways Sunny In Philadelphia" and "Malcolm In The Middle" are probably the two best sit coms of the past twenty years or so. Maybe "Big Bang Theory". Would "Family Guy" count as s it com?

I just watched "High Anxiety" the episode in which Rose battles a 30 yr long addiction to prescription drugs (which, somehow, she's kept hidden from the girls for more than 4 years) and Sophia and Dorothy shoot a commercial for a local pizza joint. When Rose - experiencing withdrawal from her pills - lashes out at the commercial's director, played by Jay Thomas, the director responds, "listen, lady, if I wanted this kind of abuse, I'd be directing the Roseanne Barr show!"

Good dish, r95! Is Behrs still fucking the producer?

R100: Addicts are good at hiding their addictions.

[quote]I was surprised at how much I enjoyed TVLand's two latest sitcoms: "The Jim Gaffigan Show" and "Impastor."

I didn't watch Gaffigan's show. But I was surprised by Impastor. It had an HBO type vibe, but was toned down for basic cable.

Raising Hope raised the bar for sitcoms. The current family comedies are horrible (no matter what color they are), they're not funny, they're cliched and stereotypical splooge. Modern family is still l funny, sans the white bread with kids portions, big yawn. The Middle was good until they all went to college but the daughter on there is hilarious, you know, verging on brilliance the way some claim Tina Fey used to be. I caught a couple episodes of The McCarthys and there is something there that's really funny, more than likely just Laurie Metcalf. As for the comedies that are too smart to be funny...if I waste 30 minutes watching a comedy, I want to laugh!

Modern family is good, but there's no way it should hold the record for the most Best Comedy series wins at the Emmys. Two wins would have been more than fine. It's not THAT good.

It's not like there's much competition, R105. And the writers are basically sitcom royalty.

Modern Family's reign is over. The EPs are probably pissed that sitcoms on streaming services and cable are getting more critical acclaim. It was good to see them to lose to Veep this year at the Emmys.

You give them nothing but accolades, they start to get smug and lazy. Then when people start to complain, they get belligerent and start biting the hand that feeds them.

I glanced up at a rerun of "Modern Family" today, just when I was getting a little over it, and there was Asian daughter Lily being spoiled and driving off in her new pink Barbie convertible and then an O.S. scream -- and she has wrecked in the living room, her head even bent over the steering wheel like she is out cold. And Cam says to Mitchell something like "Let's be honest, we knew there was a good chance she would turn out to be a bad driver" and a sharp CUT to commercial, a perfect beat, no face making while they fade out... and all is forgiven. Good acting, good writing, well thought out stories, not cutesy even when it has its moments of Heart. Deserves its place in TV history.

2 Broke Girls is atrocious. I watched an episode for the first time the other night on TBS. Formulaic is an understatement. You can see Kat Denning mentally counting down to the smarmy punchline delivery.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the hardest I've laughed at a live action comedy in years.

"Roseanne" could have revived it, but you all murdered her, you murderers.

What, no love for Married with Children?

I really like MOM. Great ensemble cast.

William Fichtner is kinda hot.

I read through this thread for ideas, due to boredom from being locked down.

Surprised there's no love for Brit sit-coms, which are by far funnier and better written -

All the Blackadder series

The Young Ones

The New Statesman

Gimme Gimme Gimme

Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister

The Office

Open All Hours

Absolutely Fabulous, although I cringed at the way Saffy was treated

Porridge

The Windsors - new season is great

The American ones I liked best were Frasier, although I hated the way they mocked women, and Curb. Sadly, the latest season of Curb has gone way downhill. I loved the short season of Bette (Bette Midler).

The IT Crowd is a fav.