Question

How did the TV Sitcom genre evolv from 1948-2010? Included the definition and image of the American family.

Answer 1

It used to feel that a sitcom was a comforting a 22 minute interlude during which it feels like everybody knows your name and will be there for you. But that was a simpler time, when American values were sweet and pure and you could have a running joke about punching your wife on primetime TV. While the television drama has certainly morphed over the past 30 years, it is the sitcom that has had a far more intense mutation, shedding its simplicity to become a multilayered space filled with unique individuals. But how, and more importantly, where are we going?

In order to examine the ways sitcoms have developed, I studied ten popular sitcoms indicative of their time and compared them based on several categories. To clarify: my ten sitcoms were based on collective criteria such as viewership, longevity, cultural impact, fandom strength, mentions over the web, Ranker lists by viewers, awards won, and so on. Some may wonder if Sex and the City is truly a sitcom or debate the merits (and assignment-to-decade) of cartoons, but the point is to show that we've moved beyond the traditional format. Hence "evolution."

In short, if you disagree with my "top" choices, think of them as just some exemplary samplings of the decades of television comedies, and rest assured that, if my picks were entirely subjective, no Chuck Lorre show would be on here.

So from Full House to The Office, Married...with Children to Modern Family, here's a brief refresher course on the past 30 years of sitcoms, and my predictions for the future.

1980s

Top 10 Sitcoms: The Cosby Show, Full House, The Golden Girls, Cheers, Family Ties, Night Court, Who’s The Boss, Newhart, M*A*S*H, and Growing Pains.

General Themes: Lots of adorable family misadventures where lessons are distinctly learned at the end of the day. Laugh tracks are a must, catchphrases are a plus.

Cast Type: Often nuclear families, occasional patrons of bars where everybody knows your name.

Female Presence: Media doesn’t like to see a woman past the age of 45 on television, making The Golden Girls a triumph. Also, Clair Huxtable was an accomplished lawyer, Maggie Seaver was a reporter, Elyse Keaton was an architect. Though the ‘80s weren’t perfect by any means, they were unique in showing women who balanced both career AND family (if not unrealistically).

Diversity Check: Barring current horrific scandals, The Cosby Show was wildly popular and featured one of the most iconic, intelligent and successful black families in media. However, there was a sort of unspoken segregation: you could have a handful of shows about people of color, but they rarely significantly mixed into predominantly white shows except as a humorous props (see Gary Coleman).

Relationship Statuses: Marriages were ever-present, end game, and ideal.

Set Locations: Scattered. Brooklyn, New York for The Cosby Show, San Francisco for Full House, freakin' Korea for M*A*S*H, etc.

Family Friendliness: Pretty saccarine, even with man-hungry Blanche throwing out the occasional saucy line. (Oh, Blanche!)

Lasting Legacy: Substantial. M*A*S*H was an important mix of comedy and drama, dealing with death and war in a very real way (the more whimsical Scrubs had a similar blend), and both M*A*S*H and Cheers are some of the highest watched programs to this day.

1990s

Top 10 Sitcoms: Friends, Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Everybody Loves Raymond, Fraiser, The Simpsons, Roseanne, Married…With Children, Saved by the Bell,and Home Improvement.

General Themes: You had either singles in the Big City figuring out their crazy single lives, or dysfunctional working class families being generally dysfunctional. Laugh tracks are a must, catchphrases are still lingering.

Cast Type: Four to six clusters for singles shows. Nuclear families (mom, dad, daughter, son) were still popular, with maybe some crazy in-laws or neighbors on the side for flavor.

Female Presence: Primarily part of the ensemble. What’s weird is that the ‘90s showed a return to mothers-as-housewives, with America’s mom Marge Simpson and the tacky-but fabulous Peg Bundy. Still, there are some specks of female empowerment there via Lisa Simpson and Roseanne.

Diversity Check: Kind of low. Friends and Seinfeld helped perpetuate that idea that only white people live in New York, which, uh, isn’t true. Fresh Prince of Bel Air made Will Smith's career, and you'd get an occasional token black character on other shows. But generally? Mixing races in one cohesive show was uncommon, and they ultimately made for slightly off-color stereotypes within a community.

Relationship Statuses: Everyone on Friends was screwing each other. Everyone on Seinfeld was screwing everyone. Kelly Bundy was screwing probably more than all of these people (bless), but was constantly shamed for it. Sex was not the enemy, but the framing was still hetronormative, and marriage was still a part of it all.

Set Locations: New York, NY and a smattering of suburbs.

Family Friendliness: Boundaries were definitely pushed, mostly in terms of crassness. Still pretty tame by today's standards.

Lasting Legacy: HUGE. The Simpsons has been on for 25 years now. Seinfeld was named TV Guide's greatest show of all time (for good reason). And we ALL know the humongous cultural impact of Friends; it’s all we’ve talked about for a month and a half.

2000s

Top 10 Sitcoms: Friends (STILL, I will count it twice), Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Malcolm in the Middle, That 70's Show, The Office, Will & Grace, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men, and Sex and the City.

General Themes: Friends format, wacky workplaces, laugh track is optional and catchphrases seem silly. VERY important to note the former.

Cast Type: More ensembles consisting of bold personalities, more clusters of friends, less families.

Female Presence: Not prominent, but an important parts of the ensemble.

Diversity Check: Ensemble casts are starting to become more diverse, although, if there's a singular protagonist, then they typically tend to be a heterosexual white male.

Relationship Statuses: Again, lots of sexing around before eventually tying the knot, although Will & Grace was significant for featuring homosexual characters in a principle role, which changed the game from having strictly heterosexual relationships on TV.

Set Locations: New York and generalized suburbs are still the preference, though we have some work backdrops in there.

Family Friendliness: Risqué, TV-14 shows become more prevalent, but, save for Family Guy, few shows really go there.

Lasting Legacy: There's some genuinely memorable series, but this was a tricky time for sitcoms. With the death of Friends halfway through the decade, some sitcoms tried to capitalize on the success of its format (HIMYM being the most successful) while others incorporated an element of quirk and a collection of different characters. Scrubs, which basically spanned the decade, was the clearest example of the huge change in sitcoms, lampooning it in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras."