The Future of Sitcoms

While the sitcom's technical capabilities have advanced and its plots, jokes and performances have gotten more ribald and mature, the heart of the sitcom has remained the same. At its core, the sitcom is still a 30-minute show with a cast of characters thrown into entertaining and relatable situations. Vast similarities can be seen between sitcoms throughout television's history. It might be these similarities that keep the sitcom so popular.

But with the barrage of reality shows, the popularity of hour-long dramas and obstacles like writers' strikes, it seems like a good time to ask -- where will the sitcom be in the next five years? It will probably be alive and well, thanks in large part to re-runs and syndication. Syndication is achieved after a sitcom has aired 100 times. Cable and network channels continue to show episodes of "I Love Lucy" and "Seinfeld" every day.

Hollywood Sign.
Ian Shive/Getty Images
­Reality shows and strikes don't stop many writers from dreaming about creating Hollywood's next hit sitcom.

The sitcom seems to be holding its own. Writers continue to journey to Hollywood in droves (although you can write from virtually anywhere in the world and get a sitcom script optioned, everyone in the business asserts you must live in Hollywood to ensure its success). Producers continue to option scripts and ideas. And production companies continue to make pilots.

The sitcom genre is also beginning to branch out to new venues. The proliferation of cameras -- hand-held, computer and even cell phone -- have created an explosion of vlogs, indie films, Web soaps and online shorts. The Internet-born sitcom or Web sitcom is a short situational comedy written, acted and produced for the Web. "Break a Leg" is an example of an Internet-born sitcom. Written and produced by two brothers, Vlad and Yuri Baranovsky through their San Francisco-based ­company Late Again Films, the show is about a man who gets a sitcom deal. In addition to this Web sitcom, there are several blogs and vlogs that chronicle the process, progression and success of hopeful Hollywood writers.

A Sampling of Sitcom Subgenres

The Family Sitcom -- The Goldbergs, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Leave it To Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, The Dick Van Dyke show, Good Times

  • Non-Nuclear Family Sitcom -- The Andy Griffith Show, My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, the Bernie Mac Show
  • The Dysfunctional Family Sitcom -- Roseanne, Married with Children, Malcolm in the Middle, Curb your Enthusiasm
  • Modern Family Sitcom -- Growing Pains, The Cosby Show, Home Improvement, The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, The House of Payne

The Workplace Sitcom -- The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, Taxi, Designing Women, The Jamie Foxx Show, Just Shoot Me, Murphy Brown, Scrubs, The Office

The Animated Sitcom - The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Simpsons, South Park, Futurama, Family Guy, King of the Hill

The Fantastical sitcom -- Mr. Ed, My Favorite Martian, The Addams Family, The Munsters, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Mork and Mindy, Sabrina the Teenage Witch

The Kidcentric Sitcom -- The Monkees, Happy Days, Welcome Back, Kotter, Punky Brewster, The Facts of Life, Blossom, Saved by the Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Moesha, Hannah Montana

Friends Sitcom -- The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley, Three's Company, The Golden Girls, Cheers, Seinfeld, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Friends, The Steve Harvey Show, Will and Grace, That '70s Show, My Name is Earl

To learn more about sitcoms and other related topics, look over the links on the next page.