When Pitching a movie, it's easy to describe it in terms of it's genre: buddy movie, horror movie, road movie, action movie, romance, rom com, zom rom com... etc.
What is the equivalent for sitcom? Is there an equivalent? What generic terms exist to describe a sitcom?
Family? dating? surreal?
Or is it always best to describe it as: "A sitcom about..."
Just started thinking about it and it puzzled me.
Can you think of any generic terms to describe sitcoms?
Please keep this thread serious.
EDIT - sorry, didn't read the last bit. 
jdubya - I'd only be googling 'sitcom genres' or 'types', which you can probably do yourself.
A serious answer from me would be probably write "A sitcom about...."
Pretty much sitcom IS a genre in itself, thus doesn't need to be sub catagorised.
If I'm describing my own sitcom, I think about 'keywords' that I want to put in the reader's mind, I think what is the absolute core of the piece, then I describe in one paragraph, using the keywords at the right points. I always think about good blurb lines to put around the page as false headers (You know the kind, e.g. an alien porn premise: In space, no one can hear you cream.)
I think Ellie has a point in that it's premise and not strict genre that may be the classification. Else we're talking about sub-genre and that's scary.
Maybe the type of humour? Black comedy, gallows humour, etc.
And the setting - ie. In an abbattoir, or in an airline cabin.
jdubya's first point was quite interesting to me so I'm going to drag it back up...
You see I'm trying to work out if it is possible to classify every sitcom within a small set of classification options.
I've got...
Workplace
Family
Community (Club, Pub etc)
I think pretty much every sitcom can be boiled down to one of those three? (A point for anyone who can find the inevitable exceptions!)
Each of these sections can then be further broken down. e.g. Workplace: Fire Station, General Office, Night Club, Airport, Hotel. etc
If anyone can come up with a great way of classifying sitcoms I'd be very interested. The reason being, I've still not managed to come up with a suitable classification for our new website!
I think I'd have to add the buddy comedy to Mark's list, like Men Behaving Badly, Friends and Peep Show. (Although those can also divided up into zooo's types of humour - so it becomes like a comedy matrix!).
Going back to my original (bit brief) response, I did google it and it came back with:
Actcom, Domcom and Dramedy. Which do have a nice ring to them... like Romcom. And Bummedy. (I made the last one up)
Quote: Simon Stratton @ January 21, 2008, 10:15 PMI think I'd have to add the buddy comedy to Mark's list, like Men Behaving Badly, Friends and Peep Show.
Ah yes, 'family' isn't quite the right word for those relationships! Thanks.
So there are several elements then. Are there?
Fawlty Towers
Type: Workplace comedy
Place: Hotel
Comedy: knockabout
Premise: Pretentious hotel manager makes life hell for guests and staff.
Peep Show
Type: Relationship
Place: inside the heads of lead characters.
Comedy: laddish
Premise: two very different pals looking for love.
that could be a way to do it.
If so, then what I'm interested in are the 'Types' of sitcom and the types of 'Comedy'
this is hurting my head now
I always think of "Flat-Share" sitcoms as a genre because they are so many of them, I won't give you a list as it could go on forever.
I sometimes discribe them as how much they are like other sitcoms... "a bit Spacedy with a touch of The IT Crowd" but that probably doesn't work...