Death Of Mainstream American Comedy?

Every now and then I get mildly worried that American comedy seems to be going the way of the British model, i.e., producing shows that although very funny just don't have mass appeal. Five or ten years ago there seemed a a hole host of great big American sitcom juggernauts like Frasier, Friends and Will and Grace that were examples of beautifully constructed shows which were'nt ashamed of being popular. Nowadays the American sitcom market seems to have fractured slightly so that although there are still great shows - Curb Your Enthusiasm, My Name Is Earl, etc - none seem to have that mass appeal. Am I being unduly negative?

Yep. The 90s was a golden period for US sitcoms and standards have declined, but there is still a good mix of cult shows like Curb and programmes with mass appeal (Two and a Half Men, Ugly Betty, Scrubs).

personally i find "the war at home" quite good aswell but the 90's was a good time in America we had men behaving badly and ab fab that were meant to be our best 90's sitcoms, ab fab?

I hate The War at Home - it's a piss poor rip off of Married With Children. It's depressing that shows like Arrested Development get cancelled whilst The War at Home remains on air.

Interesting discussion chipolata.

I think American sitcom is going through what British comedy has been through recently - a move into more cult territory (like you say: Curb, Earl, Arrested Development, The Office). I suspect this is because mainstream sitcoms can't help but begin to repeat themselves after a while... hence the temporary shift to keep things fresh.

It's noticable that Britain is now coming out the other side of our cult phase... "The IT Crowd", "The Worst Week of My Life", "The Green Green Grass", "Not Going Out" and "Vicar of Dibley" are all deliberately aimed at the mainstream.

For anyone who thinks that American mainstream sitcom is dying, I simply point you to abc1.

US TV won't move completely in to cult territory due to its ruthless pursuit of ratings. Yes, there is Curb, My Name Is Earl etc (I wouldn't class The Office as a cult - as far as I'm aware, the ratings are excellent), but you've also got top 10 shows like Two and a Half Men and Ugly Betty.

I live in the States and think you have hit the nail on the head.I cannot watch the so called comedy shows on today here..I think our really last good ones were those mentioned and Archie Bunker in that show.Now it is see who can bring the most sex and naked girls into it and to h*** with the jokes and funny lines..Valentine

two and a Half men has over run its course and Ugly betty is just finding its niche..As for the others "not"!!!I would rather watch dvd's of the English comedies I have bought..Valentine

Quote: VALENTINE @ December 13, 2006, 5:52 PM

Now it is see who can bring the most sex and naked girls into it and to h*** with the jokes and funny lines..

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They must edit out all the sex and naked girls when they show US programmes here because I have no idea which shows you're talking about. When they show Friends in the US, do Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox spend a lot of time wandering around in the nip, because that would be great.

You have this peculiar view that all UK shows are sweet and innocent like Last of the Summer Wine. They're not.

Believe me I know that ..I have seen Benny Hill and The Vicar of Dibley..I like the guy who plays in Father Ted but I do not like My hero very much. We do not get the series from over the pond for years and years..Do you get ours right away..say like,,C.S.I/ or things that are on now/ Valentine..if you do you are most fortunate as we do not get yours and they do not even put the dvds out in Region 1 format so we can buy them,,

Quite a lot of stuff we do get within a few months of it being on in the US. Certainly the case with the more popular shows anyway.

Valentine, to give you an idea, Ugly Betty starts next month, the third series of Lost started a few weeks ago and the third series of Desperate Housewives is on soon.

I'm not sure 'Earl' 'Arrested Development' and 'Two and a half Men' are cult shows. They're 8pm onwards in the US, aren't they? The fact we have to search around to find them and then at 10 or 11 at night is the work of the controllers. I like 'The New Adventures of the Old Christina.'

Cult isn't defined by time though, but by appeal. I'd say Two and Half Men was quite mainstream, but My Name is Earl and Arrested Development seem to be a bit more "niche" and cult-like.

How I met Your Mother is very mainstream, and quite fun, but as of yet it isn't in the same league as the likes of Friends and Will and Grace. It might well develop into a big hitter, though.