Why do modern UK comedies/sitcoms cater to such a narrow demograpic?

When I look up viewing figures for "hits" like Fleabag they average 2.5 million whereas stuff like Still Open All Hours routinely averaged 8 million viewers
Celebrated Lady Parts Series 2 debuted to only 160k viewers on C4.

Shouldn't there be a focus on more general themes as they have proven to drive far greater viewing engagement than this narrow niche programming that seems to be critically lauded but just isn't that popular?

I mean a few of these programmes sure but the critical praise they get seems to drive the commissioning of ever more niche programming
Meanwhile Mrs. Brown's Boys averages 10 million viewers

There just seems to be a massive disconnect between what people watch and what gets commissioned.

Yes, yes there should. The industry is out of touch. It's gone so far through the looking glass that it believes its own lies and excuses for the low ratings.

So what drives this commissioning of material that gets low ratings?
Is it really just for perceived critical praise regardless of who actually watches it?
Advertisers of course want the "young demographic"but the BBC doesn't have ads so..

I mean in a normal commissioning world we'd be seeing a lot more broad based comedies based on what actually gets the highest ratings wouldn't we?

Putting the compulsory different minorities in all the roles but never mentioning it does not make for good comedy.
And being called an 'ist or an 'ic or a 'phobe terrifies them.

Commissioners are on a career path, just like in any other industry.
They want to be the one that broke the mould, the one who commissioned the big Award winner etc.
One good commission and they can live off it for years.
Booking another 38 series of Mrs Brown doesn't get you noticed.

Yeah, sorta as Lazzard put it, career commissioners. That and complacency.

Not that I think long termers like Mrs Brown's Boys and Not Going Out shouldn't be recommissioned as they kept their audience for the most part (and deservedly, regardless of other people's opinion on their quality).

And industry trends led by metrics - when it comes to newer sitcoms like Daddy Issues, Black Ops, (etc.) they are aimed at a young demographic (the age being key above any other demo like skin colour/sexuality and what not), and are part of the streaming age - all episodes at once and bingeable and they hit that target.

Gavin and Stacey will do mad numbers because it is a returning favourite (that show is 17 years old this year!) has different ages liking it.

ITV have made attempts but they mostly haven't landed. Changing Ends is great and works for all sorts of people. Family Pile had a multi generational family but language and content skewed towards adults.

Here We go (BBC) seems to do alright - had the binge all option yet managed to pull in some alright figures (by 2024's comparatively low numbers) on broadcast. Two Doors Down - sorta becoming a long termer admittedly - has grown and grown but sadly on hiatus due to one of the writers passing away.

Long ramble there, but it's viewing habits and while it succeeds in some places (shows the late teens/early 20s enjoy), sometimes commissioners are unwilling to stretch out when it comes to all-ages big hits. And also it's rare that a sitcom competition is open to uncommissioned writers (bless BCG Pro etc doing that one that has a deadline this month!).

What's in even a worse state than sitcoms is TV sketch shows. Radio and the Internet/youtube/social media have carried that torch for a while!

I should say my post above refers to shows still running mostly.

Obviously Ghosts was a big hit and high quality but that came from a group who had already written and performed in a big BBC hit prior (Horrible Histories, itself an adaptation of massively popular books).

Quote: Feeoree @ 2nd September 2024, 12:23 PM

Two Doors Down - sorta becoming a long termer admittedly - has grown and grown but sadly on hiatus due to one of the writers passing away.

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For what it's worth, we don't expect it to ever return now, sadly.

Quote: tenbeersbold @ 2nd September 2024, 10:39 AM

So what drives this commissioning of material that gets low ratings?

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A self-perpetuating, self-defeating wooden-headed insistence that audiences are not there anymore and that the tiny ratings are thus not only expected but actually healthy in context.

Quote: Aaron @ 2nd September 2024, 3:12 PM

A self-perpetuating, self-defeating wooden-headed insistence that audiences are not there anymore....

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Do you mean the audiences are there, they're just not watching TV?
Or there is an audience - amongst the current TV audience - that's would watch if it was offered?

Quote: Lazzard @ 2nd September 2024, 5:26 PM

Do you mean the audiences are there, they're just not watching TV?
Or there is an audience - amongst the current TV audience - that's would watch if it was offered?

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A mix of both. Occasional break-out hits, big populist shows - Line Of Duty, Strictly, X Factor, etc - and the like in other genres are still able to attract significant multi-million overnight viewing figures. They demonstrate that audiences are available and will tune in if there is something that they want to watch.

However, other genres are also down because some of the problems are across the board: there is rot not just in comedy commissioning but also in scheduling, and in the wider light entertainment sector.

Quote: Aaron @ 2nd September 2024, 5:33 PM

However, other genres are also down because some of the problems are across the board: there is rot not just in comedy commissioning but also in scheduling, and in the wider light entertainment sector.

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That was sort of the point I was getting at.
I think the terrestrials were in denial about streaming for years - when they should have been planning for the future.
The nature of how we watch TV has changed so much - it's no wonder that the 'narrative' element has come to the fore - they want you to watch one more now rather than come back next Friday for more of the same..
And it's that (percieved??) need for narrative that closing down the space for more traditional formats in comedy.
It's a theory.

Quote: Aaron @ 2nd September 2024, 3:12 PM

For what it's worth, we don't expect it to ever return now, sadly.

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Indeed. I suppose mainly as it'd be hard for Gregor Sharp and the cast on a personal level, but also as a good chunk of the Caroline Aherne style observational humour/'talking the minutiae of life' dialogue was from Simon Carlyle.

Quote: Lazzard @ 2nd September 2024, 6:10 PM

That was sort of the point I was getting at.
I think the terrestrials were in denial about streaming for years - when they should have been planning for the future.
The nature of how we watch TV has changed so much - it's no wonder that the 'narrative' element has come to the fore - they want you to watch one more now rather than come back next Friday for more of the same..
And it's that (percieved??) need for narrative that closing down the space for more traditional formats in comedy.
It's a theory.

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Yes, this is another piece of the jigsaw. Although I don't think it's as cemented with audiences as you do, and certainly not as much as the industry does.

Stick solely with comedy, and the most popular series in the US over the past decade have been the likes of Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory. Over here, the highest-raters have been Still Open All Hours, Mrs. Brown's Boys and Not Going Out. The most popular show with UK Netflix subscribers is Friends, and Gold continues to survive on a diet of 80% horse meat (of the Only Fools variety). Meanwhile the BBC has seen enormous success on iPlayer with certain 'classic' box sets - Two Pints and My Family chief amongst them.

All of these have some linear element, but they're largely series-by-series, dealing with cast coming-and-going, and some long-term changes in characters' circumstances. They're ultimately episodic and can be dipped in and out of like The Simpsons or Porridge, not needing to be followed closely, in order, like a soap or drama.

Broadly speaking, the key difference really is that they all follow characters, exploring their world and seeing how they react and the troubles they get into day-to-day; whereas the new wave tends to focus much more on stories. I believe that's also why the classics remain so, and will remain so, whilst much of the modern will fade into obscurity: by leading with character the writer/producer/actor is forced to make that character identifiable or recognisable in some form. To a greater or lesser extent they hit upon archetypes that are true to the human condition and to our national culture, which is why they're still so endearing and enduring, all these decades on.

Yes Aaron. I don't like these where you have to watch them in order. I've been watching Cheers but apart from a loose thread towards the end it doesn't matter what order you watch them.

This thread title sounds like the name of a Morrissey song.