Simply Sitcoms; The situations that precede the comedy

Situational comedy or sitcoms are easily one of the most popular and bingeable genres of TV shows. Light, funny and well written characters make this genre an absolute delight. Personally, I never thought much about sitcoms. Easy to follow, no real plot twist and everything seems to return back to the way it was towards the end of the episode. Just another passing event that really didn’t change anything. Or so I thought.

It all began when I was watching this underrated show called “It’s always Sunny in Philadelphia”. Three dudes own a bar, and the episode starts off with a random problem they find. They use their amazingly stupid ideas to solve their problem and the episode ends. Fairly simple. Nothing new and it’s almost textbook sitcom. But what really made me think was the fact that the situation would have never happened to me in real life. Take almost any episode of a good sitcom and you’ll realize the situation that was created would almost never happen to you in your life. And YET, you relate to it like it might actually happen to you. Is it just amazing writing ? Is it got to do with something related to how the show presents it’s characters ? Or you just have a crazy life with random weird stuff happening everyday. I’d actually say it’s a bit of all it ( probably not the last one). So let’s dive right into it and see what makes a good sitcom and makes it one of the best genres in all of TV history.

First of all, any good TV show would have a plot. It’s pretty basic. What’s the point of making a movie or a show if you don’t have anything to tell. When it comes to sitcoms though, things change. Plots are pretty loose there. Let me explain further. Most sitcoms follow ‘Dan Harmon’s Story Circle’ (learnt about it in that weird Rick and Morty train episode). It goes something like this :

1. A character is in a zone of comfort,
2. But they want something.
3. They enter an unfamiliar situation,
4. Adapt to it,
5. Get what they wanted,
6. Pay a heavy price for it,
7. Then return to their familiar situation,
8. Having changed.

Seems pretty familiar right? Well that’s because it is. F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and every other sitcom religiously follow the exact same blueprint almost every single episode. This circle is regarded as one of the golden tools to write a long series sitcom by writers and to put it simply, it works. The key points here are third and the last one. Entering an unfamiliar situation might be an easy statement to understand but a really difficult one to write.

A good situation must be created first and for a sitcom it must be funny. Another great tool that writers generally use is conflict. Conflict creates drama and drama has the comedic value for any class of humour. Most older sitcoms like the infamous Fresh Prince of Bel-Air usually had one main character usually the center of conflict and the side characters either supporting or going against the main character. Most Disney shows followed this too, with the kids being the reason for the conflict and their interaction with the grown ups/parents serving as the main humour content.

This was the staple, until F.R.I.E.N.D.S decided to change it. Instead of following one character, the show was one of the first to give us 6 different characters to follow along, each having their own thoughts and opinions about the problem which gave the entire show another set of flavour and colour.

Comedy thrived in the contradiction of their opinions and more importantly, each character trying to prove that they are right over their fellow peers. Each character is made unique, given different backgrounds and upbringings, thus making the overall show more relatable to a wider audience.This started as the new meta of writing for the sitcom genre.

The show that took this to the next level, by adding a plethora of characters was Ricky Gervais’ The Office (mostly recognised by its, I guess I can say reboot?, The Office US, starring Steve Carrell playing Michael Scott, regional manager, Dunder Mifflin.) With each character beautifully written and portrayed amazingly by its cast, it added a whole new level of humour just by basic interaction between the characters. Jim representing the normal and average person working in office gives us a relatable stance to all the drama that’s happening around. The drama created by Michael, enhanced by Dwight, ignored by Stanley, tried to be solved by Oscar, made even worse by Andy and whatnot.

All of this sounds super cool and fun, till you realize that writing all these characters is no joke. Keeping each character in mind, and then thinking of how these characters will react while also making it humorous and maintaining the continuity from the previous seasons is pretty much a herculean task. The Office is one of the victims of the double edged sword that is keeping too many characters.

While it seems most writers team up with other co-writers to write their show and its episodes, like The Office, it’s actually pretty far from the truth. Even though the storyline is primarily written by its creators, the cast plays an important role while deciding the finer details of the show. Shows like It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and F.R.I.E.N.D.S use open book writing where the main cast and the writers are seated on one big table and there is open discussion regarding the direction the episode is going to take. This makes sure that all characters stay in their character and don’t do something that the character wouldn’t do just for its comic appeal. Thus, the jokes made in the show almost instantly receive an upgrade, as they are funny for a pseudo audience. This also allows for the cast, playing the characters, to make changes that suit their style of acting, making the show even more realistic. Even though all this work doesn’t result in each and every joke being an intelligently crafted line that represents peak comedy, the dedication of the cast and writers is definitely seen throughout the show.

And finally we have the eighth point of the circle. The characters having changed after all the drama they went through. This really puts plot perspective on the show on the level of the entire season.

I guess the biggest example of this would be Dan Harmon’s written Rick and Morty season 4. It was the most unpopular season of the TV show and has its own reasons to be. The second half of the season really focuses on Rick’s character development and his relationships with his family. This sets up the upcoming seasons more or less like a cliffhanger. An emotional cliffhanger so to speak. After we see how the character has grown throughout the season, like Rick’s relationships, we automatically start thinking of what’s to come next. Will Rick mend his relationships or will he just leave them like he did before? This is how easily we get hooked onto sitcoms and it really adds to the bingeable part of the show.

And that’s all I have to say about sitcoms.

Until next time,

Surit