There was an interview recently on NPR with Mike Shur where he talks about why sitcoms tend not to get made anymore.
Basically, under the new market conditions of streaming no studios are willing to greenlight the production of a sitcom the way they used to be. 22 episode seasons where the writers have the opportunity to flesh out the vibe and characters of the show. That old model usually lost money upfront but then made shitloads back once the show went into syndication.
Instead, all the studios want 10 episode seasons of sitcoms that never get the chance to get off the ground or take their time to develop. They then sell the streaming rights to as many places as possible, kind of like syndication except for that it makes way less money. The whole thing is a race to the bottom and they generally wont take a chance on anything. Instead they would rather fund the hundred-millionth police-action-drama because, unlike comedy, that kind of content tends to be universally understood across cultural lines around the world. Everybody understands cops chasing bad guys, but what is or isnt funny depends on cultural perspectives.
So ultimately we have ended up in this world where sitcoms are still among the most widely consumed content, but virtually everyone watching them is watching sitcoms that ended 10-20 years ago.
That said, I do like most of the new sitcoms I have seen that managed to get made in this sitcom enshitification era
The fact they get cancelled seems more about the business then the quality of the shows. There have been pretty funny shows with some good potential. It really takes a few episodes to get going and some of the really good ones may take a season to get in gear.
I keep telling everyone to watch my favorite sitcoms. (Please watch Abbot Elementary and St. Dennis please). There was more that I really loved that got cancelled. RIP Stumble and Welcome to Flatch
Damn I cant believe theyre cancelling Stumble. That show was absolutely hilarious. Although to be fair it did seem like a one season run kind of show despite how good it was. The plot didnt have a very open ended amount of places to go
Sometimes when Courtney gets mad at me I play the head injury card. Which usually gets her to relax and take it easy on me. But when that doesnt work, then I play the head injury card
It was hilarious and very well fleshed out characters and world. I also really loved all of the gymnastics even though I never did gymnastics. My wife did it in highschool and was laughing so hard when they did the routine from Bring it On which they thought they invented.
Also if glee could have 1000 seasons we could add in at least one more for Stumble. RIP you were gone so soon
I’m so very happy. I just found this and that usually means it’s immediately cancelled. I need more sitcoms in my life
There was an interview recently on NPR with Mike Shur where he talks about why sitcoms tend not to get made anymore.
Basically, under the new market conditions of streaming no studios are willing to greenlight the production of a sitcom the way they used to be. 22 episode seasons where the writers have the opportunity to flesh out the vibe and characters of the show. That old model usually lost money upfront but then made shitloads back once the show went into syndication.
Instead, all the studios want 10 episode seasons of sitcoms that never get the chance to get off the ground or take their time to develop. They then sell the streaming rights to as many places as possible, kind of like syndication except for that it makes way less money. The whole thing is a race to the bottom and they generally wont take a chance on anything. Instead they would rather fund the hundred-millionth police-action-drama because, unlike comedy, that kind of content tends to be universally understood across cultural lines around the world. Everybody understands cops chasing bad guys, but what is or isnt funny depends on cultural perspectives.
So ultimately we have ended up in this world where sitcoms are still among the most widely consumed content, but virtually everyone watching them is watching sitcoms that ended 10-20 years ago.
That said, I do like most of the new sitcoms I have seen that managed to get made in this sitcom enshitification era
The fact they get cancelled seems more about the business then the quality of the shows. There have been pretty funny shows with some good potential. It really takes a few episodes to get going and some of the really good ones may take a season to get in gear.
I keep telling everyone to watch my favorite sitcoms. (Please watch Abbot Elementary and St. Dennis please). There was more that I really loved that got cancelled. RIP Stumble and Welcome to Flatch
Damn I cant believe theyre cancelling Stumble. That show was absolutely hilarious. Although to be fair it did seem like a one season run kind of show despite how good it was. The plot didnt have a very open ended amount of places to go
It was hilarious and very well fleshed out characters and world. I also really loved all of the gymnastics even though I never did gymnastics. My wife did it in highschool and was laughing so hard when they did the routine from Bring it On which they thought they invented.
Also if glee could have 1000 seasons we could add in at least one more for Stumble. RIP you were gone so soon