Where Are the Comedies?
By Brian Gianelli | Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 4:30 PM
Kath & Kim's Molly Shannon & Selma Blair
© NBC/Mitchell Haaseth
Someone should place sitcoms on the endangered species list.
Long gone is the heyday of the traditional, half-hour sitcom when "The Cosby Show" and "Who's the Boss" ruled the airwaves in the '80s, and "Seinfeld" and "Friends" were the hottest shows on TV in the '90s.
You'd think America lost its sense of humor by the lack of comedies these days. There were just 18 traditional comedies (and only four of those are new) on the major networks this fall season. That's a far cry from just ten years ago when there were over 50 comedies on the fall slate!
So where can you turn the dial to find a good laugh? Let's breakdown the current half-hour comedy roster:
CBS
CBS is probably the strongest supporter of traditional, half-hour comedies and the network is almost single-handedly helping keep the genre alive. Their Monday night 8-10pm comedy block ("The Big Bang Theory," "How I Met Your Mother," "Two and a Half Men," and "Worst Week") is the most successful night of laughs currently airing and boasts the No. 1 rated comedy on TV, "Two and a Half Men." "HIMYM" scored a lot of buzz and Emmy praise (kudos to Neil Patrick Harris as Barney) which increased its audience, and "The Big Bang Theory" is showing signs of becoming a break-out hit. The jury is still out on "Worst Week," however... it debuted relatively well with the big "Two and a Half Men" lead-in, but has dropped off a bit. (Watch Matt Roush of TV Guide discuss "Worst Week" and other comedies.) CBS also surprised a lot of TV fans when it introduced a second, smaller block of comedies on Wednesdays with the fourth season of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and the new Jay Mohr comedy "Gary Unmarried." Ratings have been low and that's without facing the added competition of the ABC hit "Pushing Daisies" and the "American Idol" juggernaut when it returns in 2009, so it remains to be seen if the second night of CBS laughs will stick around.
NBC
In the grand tradition of "Must-See TV," NBC has the most critically acclaimed comedies on Thursdays from 8-10pm. "My Name is Earl," "30 Rock," and "The Office" all have their dedicated fans and critical praise (e.g., back-to-back Best Comedy Emmy wins for "30 Rock") but their biggest problem is that all of the accolades haven't led to larger audiences. I hate to say it, but it could be just a matter of time before "30 Rock" goes the way of the too-good-for-TV "Arrested Development" due to lackluster ratings. The saving grace might be that these shows do attract viewers with fat wallets, the demo NBC is going after with gusto. A new addition to the Thursday night lineup is the Molly Shannon/Selma Blair comedy "Kath & Kim," based on an Australian series. (Watch the full-length premiere episode of "Kath & Kim" on Yahoo! TV right now.) You'll have to judge for yourself whether this comedy has what it takes to hang with the cool kids.
FOX
FOX is working its own angle in the comedy realm with its block of animated shows. The Sunday night rundown from 8-10pm consists of the long-running "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "Family Guy," and "American Dad." These shows definitely hit the sweet spot in their drive to attract the younger, male audience. "Family Guy" survived cancellation twice and is now flourishing. "The Simpsons" is still running strong after 20 seasons and was a recent blockbuster feature film. And FOX is launching another animated show midseason, "The Cleveland Show," a "Family Guy" spinoff from Seth MacFarlane. FOX also attempted comedies this season in the Wednesday 9-10pm slot but that's been a failed experiment. The awful Jerry O'Connell/Nicey Nash comedy "Do Not Disturb" was the first cancellation of the new season, and 'Til Death will likely be put out of its misery soon enough.
ABC
ABC has just ONE traditional comedy on its schedule, the hilarious "Samantha Who?" starring Christina Applegate, which is about to enter its second season. ABC succeeds with its more female-driven drama/comedy hybrids or "dramedies" like "Ugly Betty" and "Desperate Housewives," but this network is clearly shying away from traditional sitcoms. Could the network's creative higher-ups still be reeling from the disastrous "Carpoolers" and "Cavemen" stinkers last fall?
The CW
The CW targets a very young and very female audience and has just two comedies on its slate: "Everybody Hates Chris," and "The Game," which have been sent to pasture on Friday nights. These two shows stick out like a sore thumb on the CW's lineup and just don't seem to fit in with the young and primarily female audience the CW is targeting. It wouldn't be surprising to see both shows disappear after this season, and it remains to be seen if any new comedies will be given a shot. Last season's "Aliens in America" had a lot of critical praise, but drew few viewers and was cancelled after just one season.
Cable
As it's done with other genres, cable seems to be a bit ahead of the networks when it comes to comedies. FX has a die-hard fan base for "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and is trying out the new "Testees" soon. HBO is bringing back "Curb Your Enthusiasm" starring Larry David for another season in 2009 and continues to skewer Hollywood with "Entourage." Showtime has been an innovator with the superb "Weeds" and is also bringing "The United States of Tara" from Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody, starring Toni Collette, onto the air in 2009, and buzz is strong for that project. Cable, of course, can take more risks than network TV, and it shows in the quality of comedies both on the air now and in development.
The biggest mistake that the networks seem to be making is packaging and shipping a show before it's fully baked. Great comedy requires a chemistry and rhythm that needs time to develop. "Seinfeld" and "Cheers" didn't have that magic out of the gate, but audiences had less to choose from back then, and if a network kept a show around long enough, eventually the audience would find its way back (hopefully) by the time it got great. In the current competitive landscape of hundreds of channels and thousands of shows, a show needs to dazzle its audience the first time they watch or it will lose them for good. And please... no more shows like "Do Not Disturb" and "Cavemen."
America has a great sense of humor; just give them something good to laugh at!
Talk About It: What classic sitcom do you miss the most?