I've been working on a sitcom in which the two main characters, a man and a woman, share a flat. Tonight I watched "Not Going Out", based around two main characters, a man and a woman, sharing a flat.
This is the ONLY similarity between the two, but it is enough to kill my project dead?
No!
No way dude, lol. It's a very general similarity.
Course not! What is their relationship?
It's all about the characters and it being funny.
Defo Not.
As long as your characters are different, just do it.
Are you insane? Of course scrap the idea, unless you want to become the laughing stock of the whole World. I was going to make my main character a human being, but then realised that had been done before - lucky I noticed before I made a fool of myself!!!
Human being? Simon, hello?!! What is this, the 70's?! Ha ha, you kids.
If, as you say, "this is the ONLY similarity," then definitely not... full steam ahead!
There must have been a dozen sitcoms with this as a theme so there's no problem.
Make one of them Gay - oh no - that's been done.
Make one of them an alien - oh no - that's been done.
Make one of them agorophobic - oh no - that's been done.
See - its not that they live together - its what they are and what they do.
You don't have to scrap it on those grounds. But there has been loads of 'flat-share sitcoms' and I think companies may be looking for something set in a different environment. But like others have said if your characters and plots are original it probably wouldn't matter too much about it been set in a flat.
I don't think you need any more people telling you not to scrap the idea, but in case you need one more - don't scrap the idea.
Well the BBC used to say in their guidelines (don't know if they still do) 'Don't send us flat-sharing sitcoms, they've been done to death.' Then they commission Not Going Out.
It might work if one is the prisoner of the other, lot's of scope there... 
Quote: David Chapman @ September 8, 2007, 12:08 PMMake one of them agorophobic - oh no - that's been done.
What sitcom was this? Game On?
Quote: David H @ September 8, 2007, 4:55 PMWell the BBC used to say in their guidelines (don't know if they still do) 'Don't send us flat-sharing sitcoms, they've been done to death.' Then they commission Not Going Out.
Exactly. If your script's good enough, it'll get taken up - simply as that.