Back in 2019, I remember watching Abby’s (about a woman who had a bar in her backyard) and thinking ‘this is a total normal sitcom.’
There are sitcoms that shatter genres and make us think, like All in the Family or Maude (by dearly departed Norman Lear), talking about being gay when it wasn’t common, or a whole episode about an abortion. Those sitcoms are the ones we love, and talk about for years after. Even something like I Love Lucy broke boundaries.
On the other hand… Some sitcoms are just there. They’re funny, but not world changers, they make us think a little, laugh a little, and give us a half hour of fun.
Is anything wrong with that?
Situations to Success
A sitcom is a situation comedy. The concept is really that simple. Take your characters, put them in a specific situation, and see what happens. It’s a lot like fanfic, in the sense that you don’t dig deep into motives, you just take the established world, and go. At their heart, these are simple shows.
But you can take a situation and make it monumental. A situation is an abortion (again, this was done in the sitcom Maude in 1972 – just over 50 years ago). Those situations are big ones. They create watershed moments that we talk about for years to come.
On the other side, we have those normal sitcoms that carry along on the backs of good actors, common tropes, and nothing really special at all. You know those tropes: the oafish husband, raising kids is hard, and of course fake drama that would be solved by someone calling another character and asking “Hey, did you mean baking soda or bacon soda?”
Those sitcoms never reach the pinnacle of eternal re-runs, and many fake away into obscurity. I’m pretty sure The Neighborhood will be one of those. It’s headed into its sixth season and exists on a basic conflict point. A new family moves in to their perfect home, only to find the community is standoffish, and their neighbour is the worlds’ biggest extrovert. That’s it. Every episode touches on that.
The same concept is there for Dharma and Greg — opposites attract, how will the families get on? And, if you think about it, isn’t that the same concept for Bob Hearts Abishola?
Basic Isn’t (Always) Boring
Those shows have one big thing in common. They are not deep. They might have a special episode, but generally we’re talking about basic, straightforward, shows. And really, some of those shows are incredibly, mind numbingly, boring. Indebted lived barely a season before getting the axe. But… so did Broke, which was a very similar concept and yet had actual laughs.
What’s the difference? Broke leaned into tropes and was self aware of them. It understood we were in a sitcom and let us enjoy the hilarity of the stupidity of the main characters. It also had Jaime Camil who is one of the funniest guys out there. They both only lasted a season. Same with Abby’s and a hundred other sitcoms.
But at the same time, Night Court (the revival) started last year and, filled with actors who know how to make you laugh, just began their second season with a chill reveal that an OG main character (Roz) was gay.
Un-Boring Takes Awareness
That is the secret, isn’t it?
Take a sitcom, lean into those tropes, and make us remember that there are funny parts of life. Let us laugh with you (and sometimes at you…) and don’t make things like “OMG Roz is gay!?!” a huge deal. It just is. Instead of making the characters the butt of all the jokes, let them be in on it sometimes.
I’m hella picky about my sitcoms, but you know what? Sometimes it’s nice to just laugh without pressure. So if you watch one of those normal, trope-filled, ‘boring’ shows? There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with escaping for a half hour and letting someone else’s mistakes remind you that maybe yours aren’t so bad.
