What happened to the situational comedy?

Sitcoms like ‘Friends,’ ‘Cheers,’ and ‘Seinfeld’ captured the hearts of America in their time, but networks are seemingly shying away from them now.

By: Aria Lehri

When “Seinfeld” aired on a Thursday night in 1998 for its anticipated series finale, fans in the United States and across the globe gathered to watch the episode. It was a cultural event, according to the Los Angeles Times, and brought countless people together in the name of entertainment.

Sitcoms, or, situational comedies, are a type of television show that follows a fixed ensemble of characters—often for many years. In their time, popular sitcoms like “Friends,” “Cheers,” and “Seinfeld” could bring in over 50 million viewers per episode. However, it seems networks are shying away from the genre in the streaming era.

“Life is f–cking hard, and I think people need a release…there’s a comfort level to [sitcoms] that I think is key,” said Sharyn Rothstein, a scriptwriter for television and theater.

Rothstein believes a love for good stories and good sitcoms is intrinsic, describing the structure as “a giant blankie of the soul.”

“...At the end, everything will be okay and [the characters] are going to go back to being exactly who I know they are and who I love,” Rothstein said. 

However, despite the comfort they provide, NBC, a network with multiple popular sitcoms under its belt, is moving the genre away from its most popular time slot: Thursday nights, according to TIME.

Andrew Goldman, former vice president of program strategy and planning at HBO for nearly 30 years, cites a possible reason why less networks are investing in sitcoms.

“Comedy is hard. Comedy allows us to look at ourselves and laugh at ourselves, because it should be a connector, but it has become a divider,” Goldman said, noting that the subjectivity of comedy makes it a difficult genre to work in.

Rothstein has seen a similar phenomenon, citing a conversation she’d had with a producer in the industry about how difficult it is to sell a comedy now: Networks simply aren’t buying them.

“[Hollywood] goes for whatever’s most popular, and then you need something new and fresh to pop up, and then they all go ‘Oh! We’ll do that thing!,’” Rothstein said.

More than 130 scripted comedy series premiered in 2023 across all platforms, down 30% from 192 series in 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter, though the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes are also possible reasons for this decline. 

We’re also in the midst of watching how the sitcom will change within streaming services and if it will persevere through these changes, according to Rothstein.

Some network sitcoms, though, are still airing and finding time in the spotlight. “Abbott Elementary,” a show on ABC has 15 Emmy nominations and four wins for its first two seasons.

Both Goldman and Rothstein are hopeful the success and accolades the show has received will inspire a comeback of sorts for the sitcom genre. 

“I think people of all ages like to sit down on the couch and watch [sitcoms] with their family and their friends,” Rothstein said. ”That’s what you want to do, that’s just a human thing. So I don’t think they’re ever going away.”