• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pretty Much Pop: A Culture Podcast

A philosopher, an actor, and a sci-fi writer talk about media and how we consume it.

  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Contact

PMP#47: Sitcom Premises: Genius, Bonkers and Otherwise

June 9, 2020 by Mark Leave a Comment

https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/partiallyexaminedlife/PMP_047_6-3-20.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Sitcoms provide a form of escapism that doesn’t take one to a magical world of possibility, but instead to a basically unchanging, cozy environment with relatable characters engaged in low-stakes conflicts.

So what are the limits on the type of premise that can ground a sitcom? While most of the longest lasting sitcoms have simple set-ups involving friends or co-workers, streaming has led to more serialization and hence wider plot possibilities.

Does this mean that the era of sitcoms has come to an end? Or has the genre just broadened to admit entries like Ricky Gervais’ After Life and Derek, Harmon & Roiland’s Rick & Morty, Greg Daniels’ Upload and Space Force, and Armando Iannucci’s Avenue 5?

In this low-stakes, feel-good discussion, Mark, Erica, and Brian also touch on the Parks & Recreation reunion special, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Community, Modern Family, Red Oaks, The Simpsons, Last Man on Earth, WOOPS!, the stain of Chuck Lorre, and more. Plus a quiz to guess which weird sitcom premises are real and which Mark made up.

Incorporate these articles into your situation:

  • “The Best Current Sitcoms” by Ranker TV (note that this was a during-episode search, and I think we were confused that this was listing the most popular instead of the most critically acclaimed)
  • “When That Clever Hook Can Kill Your Sitcom” by Steven Shehori
  • “How Sitcoms Work” by Winifred Fordham Metz
  • “Are Hour-long Comedies Really Comedies?” by Gazelle Emami, et al
  • “Cracking the Sitcom Code” by Noah Charney
  • “Why the Family Sitcom Genre Can Succeed Even as ‘Modern Family,’ ‘The Big Bang Theory’ End” by Peter Sbledorio
  • “‘After Life’ is an Unassuming, Brilliantly Designed Sitcom About Depression” by Max Patten
  • “Upload Is Bleak As Hell” by Kathryn VanArendonk
  • “31 Worst Sitcoms of All Time: From ‘Mama’s Family’ to ‘Coupling’” by Tony Maglio
  • “11 of the Most Out-There TV Shows That We Can’t Quite Believe Got Commissioned” by Ian Sandwell
  • “10 of the Most Outlandish TV Concepts Ever” from Television Obscurities

If you enjoy this discussion, check out our previous episodes on Friends and The Good Place.

This episode includes bonus discussion that you can hear now by supporting the podcast at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com.

Filed Under: Comedy, TV Tagged With: culture podcast, entertainment podcast, Ricky Gervais, sitcoms, TV podcast

Reader Interactions

« Previous Post
PMP#46: “Casual” Games with Diner Dash’s Nick Fortugno
Next Post »
PMP#48: The Arts in Reality TV w/ Skin Wars’ Robin Slonina

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar


patreon

What is Pretty Much Pop?

Pretty Much Pop brings together philosophers, artists, comedians, and other smart folks to talk about media and how we consume it: TV, film, music, novels, games, comics, comedy, theater, podcasts, and more. Most of what (other) people like is pretty weird when you think about it, so thinking about it is what we do.

Get 3 shows ad-free with all bonus content from Apple Podcasts!

PEL Network

© 2023 · Pretty Much Pop