A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. Sitcoms usually consist of recurring characters in a format in which there are one or more humorous story lines centred around a common environment, such as a family home or workplace. A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... Comedy is the use of humour in the performing arts. ...

The situation comedy format seems to have originated in the Old time radio era of the United States, but today they are produced around the globe. Many countries, such as Britain, have embraced the form and so sitcoms have become among the most popular programmes on the schedule. Old-Time Radio (OTR) or The Golden Age of Radio is a term used to refer to radio programs that were broadcast during the 1920s through the late 1950s (with some outlying programs produced earlier and later) in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom and Canada and...

History

The situation comedy format originated on radio in the 1920s. The first situation comedy is often said to be Sam and Henry which debuted on the Chicago clear-channel station WGN in 1926, and was partially inspired by the notion of bringing the mix of humor and continuity found in comic strips to the young medium of radio. The first network situation comedy was Amos & Andy which debuted on CBS in 1928, and was one of the most popular sitcoms through the 1930s. Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America as the Roaring Twenties. // Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy gun John Logie Baird invents the first working television system (1925) Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly... Sam & Henry (also rendered as Sam n Henry) was a radio show which aired in 1926 and 1927 by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Clear channel stations are AM radio stations that are designated as such so that only one or two 50,000 watt powerhouses operate at night on each designated frequency, covering a wide area via sky wave propagation. ... WGN is the callsign of two broadcast stations in Chicago, Illinois, both owned by the Tribune company. ... 1926 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Amos & Andy (also rendered as Amos n Andy) was a situation comedy popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s. ... CBSs first color logo, which debuted in the fall of 1965. ... 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... // Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global depression. ...

According to the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, the term sitcom was coined in 1951, making I Love Lucy the first sitcom to be called a sitcom. 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... I Love Lucy is a classic and most popular American sitcom from the 1950s, starring comedienne Lucille Ball, her husband Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. ...

Situation comedies have been a part of the landscape of broadcast television since its early days. The first was probably Mary Kay and Johnny, a fifteen minute sitcom which debuted on the DuMont Television Network in November of 1947. Mary Kay and Johnny was probably the first situation comedy broadcast on television. ... The DuMont Television Network was the first licensed American television network, beginning operation in 1946 and predating CBS, NBC, and ABC as networks. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

This type of entertainment seemed to originate in the United States, which continues to be a leading producer of the genre, but soon spread to other nations.

Characteristics

Traditionally, situation comedies were largely self-contained, in that the characters themselves remained largely static and events in the sitcom resolved themselves by the conclusion of the show. One example of this is the animated situation comedy The Simpsons, where the characteristics of animation has rendered the characters unchanging in appearance forever -- although the characters in the show have sometimes made knowing references to this (the writers have made reference to that by calling The Simpsons a "frozen-in-time" show). The Simpsons is the longest-running animated television series in American television history, with 16 seasons and 356 episodes since its debut on December 17, 1989 on FOX, and is a spin-off of The Tracey Ullman Show. ...

Other sitcoms, though, use greater or lesser elements of ongoing storylines: Friends, a hugely popular US sitcom of the 1990s, contains soap opera elements such as regularly resorting to an end-of-season cliffhanger, and has gradually developed the relationships of the characters. Other sitcoms have veered into social commentary. Examples of these are sitcoms by Norman Lear including All in the Family and Maude in the US, and the controversial Till Death Us Do Part in Britain. Friends was a long-running American television situation comedy centered on lives of six twenty-somethings (eventually thirty-somethings) (3 males, 3 females) living in Manhattan. ... Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in which a movie or novel contains an abrupt ending, often leaving the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation (for instance, hanging from the edge of a cliff). ... Norman Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American television writer and producer who produced shows such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son and Maude. ... All in the Family is a popular and acclaimed American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 until April 8, 1979, when the final original episode aired. ... For other uses, see Maude (disambiguation) Maude is a half-hour American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from 1972 until 1978. ... Til Death Us Do Part (also known as Till Death Us do Part)1 was a BBC television sitcom series written by Johnny Speight that ran from 1964 until 1974. ...

A common aspect of family sitcoms is that at some point in their run they introduce an addition to the family in the form of a new baby. One exception to this are the several sitcoms starring Bob Newhart, who insisted that his sitcoms not have babies or children. However while babies are cute and give adult characters opportunities to act silly, toddlers are of little use in comedy as besides the difficulties of the "terrible twos" they basically can only look cute and say a few words - thus most sitcom kids are aged to four or five within two years of their birth - for example "Andrew Keaton" on Family Ties and "Chrissy Seaver" on Growing Pains. Cases of sticking with the same child such as Erin Murphy's "Tabitha Stephens" on Bewitched or the Olsen twins' "Michelle Tanner" on Full House are the exception to the rule. Bob Newhart is an American actor, comedian and writer famous for his timing and bemused demeanor in delivering lines. ... Family Ties was an American television sitcom which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. ... Growing Pains was a television sitcom that ran on the American ABC network from 1985 until 1992. ... Erin Margaret Murphy is an actress who was born on June 12, 1964 in Encino, California, and is best known for her role as Tabitha Stevens, which she shared with her fraternal twin sister, Diane Murphy, on the television sitcom Bewitched, which ran from 1964 to 1972. ... Bewitched was an American sitcom starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery, broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1972. ... Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) are twin American actresses who have appeared in television and films since the age of nine months. ... The Full House title sequence, featuring the Golden Gate Bridge. ...

Most contemporary situation comedies are filmed with a multicamera setup in front of a live studio audience, then edited and broadcast days or weeks later. This practice has not always been universal, however, especially prior to the 1970s when it became more common. Some comedies, such as M*A*S*H, were not filmed before an audience. (In the case of M*A*S*H, the use of multiple sets and location filming would have made this impractical.) Pioneered by Desi Arnaz with three cameras, commonly now four, the multicamera setup is used to shoot most studio-produced television programs such as situation comedies, soap operas, news programs, game shows, and talk shows. ... Film editing is the placing of one or more shots together in a sequence. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... M*A*S*H at the Internet Movie Database Finest Kind - Fan Site w/ News, Episode Guides, Video Clips U.K. Fan Site w/ Interviews, Episode Guides Best Care Anywhere - Fan Site w/ Episode Guides, Memorable Moments TV Tome Categories: 1970s TV shows in the United States | 1980s TV shows...

Specific countries of origin

Most US sitcoms are written to run 30 minutes in length with commercial breaks, leaving about 22 minutes of showtime, although ones made outside the US may run somewhat longer. US sitcoms are often characterised by long series runs of 20 or more episodes, whereas the British sitcom is traditionally comprised of distinct series of six episodes each. US sitcoms often have large teams of script writers firing gags into the script and round-table sessions, whereas the British sitcom is usually written by two co-writers or is the work of one person.

Canada

See also: Canadian humour Canadian humour is an integral part of the Canadian Identity. ...

Despite Canada's wealth of comedic talent, Canadian TV's conventional sitcoms have generally fared poorly with both critics and audiences. One particularly notorious example is The Trouble with Tracy, regarded by many Canadians as one of the worst TV shows ever made. Other Canadian sitcoms have included Snow Job, Check it Out!, Mosquito Lake and Not My Department, all of which were mocked in their time as being particularly unfunny. The Trouble with Tracy was a Canadian television series produced by CTV for the 1971-1972 television season. ... Snow Job was a Canadian television comedy series airing on the CTV network. ... Check it Out! was a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on CTV from 1985 to 1988. ... Not My Department was a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on the CBC in 1987. ...

The few successful Canadian sitcoms have included: La famille Plouffe and its English version, The Plouffe Family, King of Kensington, Hangin' In and Corner Gas. La famille Plouffe was a television drama about a Quebec family that first aired in French on Société Radio-Canada in 1953. ... King of Kensington was a Canadian television sitcom which aired on the CBC from 1975 to 1980. ... Hangin In was a Canadian television sitcom which aired on the CBC fron 1981 to 1987. ... Canadian DVD release of Corner Gas first season. ...

Canadian TV networks have had much more success with sketch comedy shows such as The Kids in the Hall, CODCO, SCTV, This Hour has 22 Minutes and Royal Canadian Air Farce, and quirky dramedies such as Twitch City, The Newsroom, Made in Canada, Trailer Park Boys, The Beachcombers, and Seeing Things. The Kids in the Hall was a Canadian sketch comedy group, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Kevin MacDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. ... CODCO was a Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian troupe that aired on CBC from 1988-1992. ... Second City Television, or SCTV, was a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of The Second City. ... This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a Canadian television comedy. ... Royal Canadian Air Farce is a Canadian radio and television show, broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. ... Dramedy, a contraction of drama and comedy, is a genre of movies and television in which the lines between these very different genres were blurred. ... Twitch City was a Canadian sitcom produced by the CBC. The series aired as two short runs in 1998 and 2000. ... The Newsroom is a Canadian television dramedy series which ran on the CBC in the 1996-1997 and 2003-2004 seasons. ... Made in Canada is a Canadian television sitcom, which aired on the CBC from 1998 to 2003. ... Trailer Park Boys is a popular Canadian sitcom/mockumentary from 2001 focusing on the misadventures of ex-convicts living in fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park which is located near Halifax, Nova Scotia. ... The Beachcombers was a popular Canadian television program broadcast on CBC. The series ran from 1972 to 1989 and is the longest-running dramatic series ever made for Canadian television. ... Seeing Things was a Canadian dramedy mystery television series which aired on the CBC in the 1980s. ...

One of Canada's most enduring comedic television series airing today, The Red Green Show, is essentially a cross between a sitcom and a sketch series. Each episode unfolds through short comedic sketches rather than a conventional sitcom plot, but unlike a true sketch series, the sketches always draw from a single set of characters and no actor plays more than one role. Red Green The Red Green Show is a television comedy that has aired on the CBC in Canada and on PBS in the United States from 1991 through the present (as of 2005). ...

A notable Quebec sitcom in recent years was La Petite Vie; one episode of that show holds the world record for the highest market share ever achieved by a television program. A popular current Quebec sitcom is Les Bougon. During the 1960s, a terrorist group known as the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) launched a decade of bombings, robberies and attacks on government offices. ... La Petite Vie was first a stage sketch of the comedy duo Ding et Dong, formed by Claude Meunier and Serge Thériault, and later a hit Quebec television sitcom from 1993 to 1999. ... The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human achievement and the extrema of the natural world. ... Market share, in strategic management and marketing, is the percentage or proportion of the total available market or market segment that is being serviced by a company. ...

New Zealand

New Zealand began producing television programmes later than many other developed countries.

Early sitcoms included Joe & Koro and Buck House. Later there was The Billy T James Show (subsequently rerun in early 2004 as part of the first year's offering on Maori Television). The team of David McPhail and Jon Gadsby produced and/or starred in quite a number (such as Letter to Blanchy), with help from writer A K Grant. Billy T. James (b. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Twentieth-century broadcasting in Māori was provided by various New Zealand TV stations. ...

In 1994, a spectacularly unfunny sitcom called Melody Rules was produced and screened. It has become part of the lexicon within the television industry to describe an unsuccessful sitcom. (e.g. that show will be the next "Melody Rules" )

Many British and US sitcoms have been popular in New Zealand, including most of those mentioned in this article.

United Kingdom

Main article: British sitcom A British sitcom is a situation comedy (sitcom) produced in the United Kingdom. ...

The United Kingdom has produced a wealth of sitcoms, many of which have been exported to other nations or redone in adaptation. Classic British sitcoms include Only Fools and Horses, Porridge, Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army, Blackadder, Open All Hours, and The Young Ones. More recent successes have included Father Ted (a partly Irish sitcom), The Royle Family, and The Office. The original lineup of Only Fools and Horses, featuring Rodney, Del Boy and Grandad, lasted from 1981 to 1985. ... Porridge is a British BBC television sitcom (1974 - 1977), written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and starring Ronnie Barker. ... The cast of Fawlty Towers, clockwise from top: Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), Sybil Fawlty (Prunella Scales), Manuel (Andrew Sachs) and Polly Sherman (Connie Booth) Fawlty Towers was a British sitcom made by the BBC and first broadcast in 1975. ... The cast of Dads Army (left to right): Pike, Frazer, Warden Hodges (front), Godfrey, Mainwaring (front), Walker, Jones and Wilson Dads Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard in World War II, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968... The second series of Blackadder was set in Elizabethan England, starring (left to right) Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Rowan Atkinson as Edmund, Lord Blackadder, and Tim McInnerny as Lord Percy Percy. ... Open All Hours was a BBC sitcom which ran for four series (26 episodes in all) between 1976 and 1985, with a pilot episode from the Seven of One series. ... The Young Ones; Left to right: Jerzei Balowski (Alexei Sayle), Neil (Nigel Planer), Rick (Rik Mayall), Mike (Christopher Ryan) & Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson) The Young Ones was a British sitcom about four male students sharing a house. ... Father Ted is a 1990s television situation comedy set on the extremely remote fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. ... The cast: Clockwise from top: Dave, Antony, Barbara, Jim and Denise The Royle Family was a popular BBC television situation comedy (sitcom) that ran for three series between 1998 and 2000. ... Ricky Gervais as David Brent in The Office The Office is a British and American television comedy series. ...

The British sitcom tends to rely less on quick-fire jokes and quirky characters than plots, the analysis of the British individual and exaggerated caricatures of everyday stereotypes. There are, or course, some exceptions. Bottom gained popularity through its exaggerated comical violence and childish humour mixed with adult situations, Red Dwarf was a parody of the Sci-Fi genre, and The League of Gentlemen revolves around the macabre. There is also a tendency towards black humour - Porridge, for example, is set in a prison, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin involves a man who is suicidal, Steptoe and Son can be heart-breaking as the ambitions of Harry are quashed by his needy, manipulative father, and the end of each series of Blackadder involved the ritual slaughter of the cast. Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson as Richie and Eddie in Bottom Bottom was a British sitcom of the early 1990s written by Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, who were the shows main stars, playing Richard Richard (Richie) and Edward Elizabeth Hitler (Eddie) respectively; they share a flat in Hammersmith. ... Red Dwarf is a British science fiction comedy, created and originally written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. ... See: The League of Gentlemen (novel), by John Boland The League of Gentlemen (film) starring Jack Hawkins and made in 1959. ... The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin was a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role. ... Steptoe and Son was a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherds Bush, London. ...

Many British sitcoms are re-made for American audiences. For example, Till Death Us Do Part became All in the Family and the hugely popular Steptoe and Son became Sanford and Son. However, most British sitcoms usually fare better in their original forms. Re-makes of Red Dwarf, Men Behaving Badly, Coupling, and One Foot in the Grave fell victim to adaptations that largely removed the essence of the comedy and did not stand the test of time. Possibly the best example of this was Fawlty Towers, where the character of Basil became a woman. This eliminated the roles of the hen-pecked lead and the dragon-like wife. Reports of plans for a re-make of The Office, with David Brent, the comedy powerhouse who made the British version so popular in America, taking a backseat to the relationship between Tim and Dawn also seems destined for the scrap heap of British crossovers. Til Death Us Do Part (also known as Till Death Us do Part)1 was a BBC television sitcom series written by Johnny Speight that ran from 1964 until 1974. ... All in the Family is a popular and acclaimed American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 until April 8, 1979, when the final original episode aired. ... Sanford and Son is a television sitcom, the American remake of the British sitcom Steptoe and Son. ... Red Dwarf is a British science fiction comedy, created and originally written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. ... Men Behaving Badly is a British sitcom, broadcast originally on ITV but moved to BBC ONE (and a later timeslot) from the third series onwards. ... Stars of Coupling Coupling season one cover Coupling is a sitcom written by Steven Moffat that debuted on BBC2 in May 2000. ... One Foot in the Grave is both a television situation comedy (see below) and a 1994 album by Beck (see One Foot in the Grave (album)). One Foot in the Grave was a popular BBC television situation comedy series written by David Renwick. ... The cast of Fawlty Towers, clockwise from top: Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), Sybil Fawlty (Prunella Scales), Manuel (Andrew Sachs) and Polly Sherman (Connie Booth) Fawlty Towers was a British sitcom made by the BBC and first broadcast in 1975. ... David Brent David Brent is the boss and primary character from BBC television comedy The Office played by co-writer Ricky Gervais. ...

United States

Mary Kay and Johnny was followed by The Goldbergs which first aired on January 17, 1949. Probably the most well-known and successful early television sitcom was I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball, which is well known because the producer took the step, unusual for its time, of shooting the episodes on film, thereby inventing reruns. The Goldbergs was a situation comedy which ran on USA radio from 1929 to 1947 and then on television from 1949 to 1956. ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... I Love Lucy is a classic and most popular American sitcom from the 1950s, starring comedienne Lucille Ball, her husband Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. ... Lucille Ball (1911~1989) Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian and star of I Love Lucy. ... Rerun van Pelt is the name of Linus and Lucys younger brother in the comic strip Peanuts. ...

Popular or notable sitcoms

United Kingdom

Sitcoms marked with an asterisk (*) have had one or more 'Christmas Specials' since regular series ended. Allo Allo! was a British sitcom that ran on BBC1 from 1984 to 1992. ... Are You Being Served? was a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. ... As Time Goes By is a song written by Herman Hupfeld for the 1931 Broadway musical Everybodys Welcome, made famous by its inclusion in the film Casablanca. ... The second series of Blackadder was set in Elizabethan England, starring (left to right) Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Rowan Atkinson as Edmund, Lord Blackadder, and Tim McInnerny as Lord Percy Percy. ... Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson as Richie and Eddie in Bottom Bottom was a British sitcom of the early 1990s written by Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson, who were the shows main stars, playing Richard Richard (Richie) and Edward Elizabeth Hitler (Eddie) respectively; they share a flat in Hammersmith. ... Birds of a Feather is the name of a successful situation comedy shown on BBC1 in the United Kingdom between 1989 and 1998. ... Citizen Smith was a British TV sitcom (britcom) from the 1970s. ... The cast of Dads Army (left to right): Pike, Frazer, Warden Hodges (front), Godfrey, Mainwaring (front), Walker, Jones and Wilson Dads Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard in World War II, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968... Father Ted is a 1990s television situation comedy set on the extremely remote fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. ... The cast of Fawlty Towers, clockwise from top: Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), Sybil Fawlty (Prunella Scales), Manuel (Andrew Sachs) and Polly Sherman (Connie Booth) Fawlty Towers was a British sitcom made by the BBC and first broadcast in 1975. ... For other uses, see The Good Life (disambiguation) The Good Life was one of the most successful British sitcoms of all time, produced by the BBC during the mid-1970s. ... Hancocks Half Hour was a famous BBC radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock. ... Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom (sometimes referred to as a Britcom in America) which ran on BBC1 from 1990 to 1993 and again in 1995. ... Last of the Summer Wine, written by Roy Clarke, is a British sitcom, which has run longer than any other comedy series in the world, now in its twenty-sixth series. ... Men Behaving Badly is a British sitcom, broadcast originally on ITV but moved to BBC ONE (and a later timeslot) from the third series onwards. ... Mr. ... Ricky Gervais as David Brent in The Office The Office is a British and American television comedy series. ... Open All Hours was a BBC sitcom which ran for four series (26 episodes in all) between 1976 and 1985, with a pilot episode from the Seven of One series. ... One Foot in the Grave is both a television situation comedy (see below) and a 1994 album by Beck (see One Foot in the Grave (album)). One Foot in the Grave was a popular BBC television situation comedy series written by David Renwick. ... The original lineup of Only Fools and Horses, featuring Rodney, Del Boy and Grandad, lasted from 1981 to 1985. ... Peter Kays Phoenix Nights is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working mens club in the northern English town of Bolton. ... Porridge is a British BBC television sitcom (1974 - 1977), written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and starring Ronnie Barker. ... This article describes the British science fiction comedy television series. ... The cast: Clockwise from top: Dave, Antony, Barbara, Jim and Denise The Royle Family was a popular BBC television situation comedy (sitcom) that ran for three series between 1998 and 2000. ... The Smoking Room is a British television sitcom, written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. ... Tim (Simon Pegg) and Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) share a flat in the sitcom Spaced. ... The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis, and mostly written by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer. ... Waiting for God title card Waiting for God was the name of a situation comedy shown on BBC1 between 1990 and 1994. ... Yes, (Prime) Minister: Sir Humphrey Appleby, James Jim Hacker, Bernard Woolley Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister were British sitcoms transmitted by the BBC between 1980 and 1988. ... Yes, (prime) minister: Sir Humphrey Appleby, James Jim Hacker, Bernard Woolley Yes, Minister and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister are British sitcoms about the struggle between (Dr) James Jim Hacker (played by Paul Eddington), the government minister of the (fictional) Department of Administrative Affairs (and later as Prime Minister) and... The Young Ones; Left to right: Jerzei Balowski (Alexei Sayle), Neil (Nigel Planer), Rick (Rik Mayall), Mike (Christopher Ryan) & Vyvyan (Adrian Edmondson) The Young Ones was a British sitcom about four male students sharing a house. ...

A poll of the best British sitcoms from the Radio Times includes a longer list. Britains Best Sitcom is the name of a poll conducted in 2003 and 2004 by the BBC. Criticism was levelled at the BBC after it was revealed that the top ten programmes were all their own productions and that only one place lower at number 11 was the highest...

United States

The cast of 227. ... Four major characters from the original television adaptation: Thing (foreground) with Uncle Fester, Morticia and Gomez Addams The Addams Family is the creation of American cartoonist Charles Addams. ... Look up Alice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Alice is a female given name and ALICE is an acronym. ... All in the Family is a popular and acclaimed American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971 until April 8, 1979, when the final original episode aired. ... Archie Bunkers Place was a CBS sitcom that had previously been known as All in the Family. ... Griffith as Andy Taylor and Howard as Opie Knotts as Barney Fife and Griffith as Andy Taylor The Andy Griffith Show was an American television series that aired from 1960 to 1968. ... Mayberry R.F.D. was a spinoff from The Andy Griffith Show. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Benson was an American television series which aired from 1979 to 1986 on ABC. The character of butler Benson DuBois, played by Robert Guillaume, had originally appeared on the soap opera parody Soap. ... The Beverly Hillbillies is a TV sitcom about a hillbilly who strikes oil while hunting on his land, near the fictional Bugtussle, and moves his family to Beverly Hills, California, with the resultant wealth. ... Bewitched was an American sitcom starring actress Elizabeth Montgomery, broadcast on ABC from 1964 to 1972. ... Alternate meanings: See Blossom (disambiguation) Cherry blossom Blossom is a term given to the flowers of stone fruit trees (Genus Prunus) and of some other small plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely but for a short period of time. ... The Bob Newhart Show is the name of two different television series. ... The Brady Bunch was a US television situation comedy, based around a large blended family. ... Boy Meets World was a US television sitcom about the life of a teenage boy named Cory Matthews who is entering adulthood. ... Cheers is the name of a long-running sitcom made by Charles-Burrows-Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC. The show premiered on September 30, 1982 and had its widely-watched series finale on May 20, 1993, followed by a long and ongoing run in syndication. ... This article discusses transportation vehicles. ... Cosby was a popular American situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS Television from 1996 to 2000. ... The Cosby Show, starring Bill Cosby, is an American sitcom that was first broadcast in 1984. ... A promotional image from the third season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. ... Dennis the Menace is one of two cartoon characters. ... Designing Women was a U.S. television sitcom that centered around the working and personal lives of four women in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. ... The Dick Van Dyke Show was an American television situation comedy which aired from October 3, 1961 to September 7, 1966. ... Diffrent Strokes was an American sitcom that aired from 1978 to 1985 on NBC and from 1985 to 1986 on ABC. The sitcom starred Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother Willis—two African-American children from a poor Harlem background who were adopted... The Donna Reed Show was a situation comedy which aired on ABC from 1958 to 1966. ... Everybody Loves Raymond, commonly known as Raymond, (1996 – 2005) was a long-running CBS sitcom. ... The Facts of Life was a spinoff of the popular NBC sitcom Diffrent Strokes. ... Family Guy is an animated television series originally created by Seth MacFarlane for the FOX Network in 1999. ... Cast of Family Matters. ... Family Ties was an American television sitcom which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. ... Father Knows Best was an American TV and radio sitcom of the 1950s and 1960s. ... The Flintstones, a Hanna-Barbera animated series, is one of the most successful animated television series of all time, originally running in American prime time for six seasons, from 1960 to 1966, on the ABC network. ... Frasier was an American TV situation comedy. ... The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a sitcom that ran from 1990 to 1996. ... Friends was a long-running American television situation comedy centered on lives of six twenty-somethings (eventually thirty-somethings) (3 males, 3 females) living in Manhattan. ... The Full House title sequence, featuring the Golden Gate Bridge. ... Gilligans Island was an American TV sitcom which aired on CBS from 1964 to 1967. ... Getty as Sophia, McClanahan as Blanche, White as Rose, and Arthur as Dorothy The Golden Girls was a popular sitcom that originally aired Saturday nights in primetime on the NBC network from September 14, 1985 to September 7, 1992. ... Good Times is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast from February 1, 1974 until August 1, 1979 on the CBS television network. ... Aerial photo featured in the opening sequence of Green Acres There is also the US town of Green Acres, Washington Green Acres was an American television series that was produced by Filmways, Inc. ... Growing Pains was a television sitcom that ran on the American ABC network from 1985 until 1992. ... Happy Days is a popular United States television sitcom that originally aired between 1974 and 1984 on the ABC television network. ... This article is about the tree; for other meanings of hazel, see Hazel (disambiguation). ... The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991. ... The cast of Hogans Heroes Hogans Heroes was a television sitcom that ran on the CBS television network from 1965 to 1971. ... Home Improvement was an American television sitcom series that starred Tim Allen as Tim Taylor. ... Cover a book about the Honeymooners. ... I Dream of Jeannie was a popular sitcom, filmed from 1965 to 1970 and produced by NBC. It was created by Sidney Sheldon in response to the great success of rival network ABCs Bewitched series, which had debuted in 1964 as the second most watched program in the United... I Love Lucy is a classic and most popular American sitcom from the 1950s, starring comedienne Lucille Ball, her husband Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. ... The Jeffersons was an American sitcom broadcast on the CBS network from January 18, 1975 until July 23, 1985, lasting 11 seasons. ... Laverne & Shirley was a popular American television situation comedy which ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983. ... Leave It to Beaver Cast, (from left) Tony Dow, Barbara Billingsly, Hugh Beaumont, and Jerry Mathers Leave It to Beaver was a situation comedy which ran on CBS from October 4, 1957 to 1958 and then on ABC from 1958 to June 20, 1963. ... M*A*S*H at the Internet Movie Database Finest Kind - Fan Site w/ News, Episode Guides, Video Clips U.K. Fan Site w/ Interviews, Episode Guides Best Care Anywhere - Fan Site w/ Episode Guides, Memorable Moments TV Tome Categories: 1970s TV shows in the United States | 1980s TV shows... Mad About You is a United States situation comedy which appeared on NBC from September 23, 1992 to 1999. ... The Danny Thomas Show (also known as Make Room for Daddy for the first three seasons) was a comedy television series starring Danny Thomas, Jean Hagen, Rusty Hamer, Sherry Jackson and Louise Beavers. ... Malcolm in the Middle is an American situation comedy on the Fox Network. ... Married. ... The Mary Tyler Moore Show was an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977. ... For other uses, see Maude (disambiguation) Maude is a half-hour American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from 1972 until 1978. ... The Munsters was an American television sitcom, depicting the home life of a family of horror movie monsters. ... Murphy Brown was an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998. ... Scan of original 1965 box art of AMTs My Mother the Car model kit My Mother the Car was an American television situation comedy which aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965 and September 6, 1966. ... The Nanny was a 1965 British suspense film starring Bette Davis as a psychotic governess suspected of killing one of her charges. ... My Three Sons was a television series sitcom that ran from September 29, 1960 to August 24, 1972. ... The Odd Couple was a 1965 play by Neil Simon. ... Opening titles from 1976. ... Petticoat Junction was an American situation comedy that was produced by Filmways, Inc. ... Roseanne was an American sitcom which aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997, starring the stand-up comedian Roseanne Barr. ... Sanford and Son is a television sitcom, the American remake of the British sitcom Steptoe and Son. ... Scrubs is an American sitcom on NBC created by Bill Lawrence, who also co-created Spin City. ... Seinfeld is a television sitcom, considered to be one of the most popular and influential of the 1990s in the U.S., to the point where it is often cited as epitomizing the self-obsessed and ironic culture of the decade. ... South Park is a comedy animated series created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. ... Step by Step is a television sitcom which was aired on ABC from September 20, 1991 to 1997 and CBS from 1997 to 1998. ... The Simpsons is the longest-running animated television series in American television history, with 16 seasons and 356 episodes since its debut on December 17, 1989 on FOX, and is a spin-off of The Tracey Ullman Show. ... Soap was a sitcom which ran on the ABC network from 1977 through 1981. ... Threes Company is an American sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1984 on ABC. The show was a remake of the British sitcom Man About the House and revolved around two women and a man sharing an apartment together. ... Titus was an American dark-comedy sitcom that debuted on the Fox network in 2000. ... Welcome Back, Kotter is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the ABC network from 1975 to 1979. ... Will & Grace is an American television situation comedy focusing on Will Truman, a gay attorney and his best friend Grace Adler, a straight woman who runs her own interior design firm. ... Wings was a sitcom that ran on NBC from 1990 to 1997. ... The cast of WKRP in Cincinnati is pictured in this 1978 publicity photo (clockwise from top left): Richard Sanders (Les Nessman) Gordon Jump (Arthur Carlson) Tim Reid (Gordon Sims, aka Venus Flytrap) Gary Sandy (Andy Travis) Jan Smithers (Bailey Quarters) Howard Hesseman (John Caravella, aka Dr. Johnny Fever) Loni Anderson... Whats Happening!! was an American sitcom that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1979. ...

Related topics

• Laugh track
• List of comedies
• List of common situation comedy plots
• List of television comedies without laugh tracks
• List of British television series remade for the US market
• Stand-up comedy

A laugh track or canned laughter is a separate soundtrack with the sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into TV comedy shows and sitcoms. ... A list of comedies by medium and country of origin. ... This article contains a list of standard plots contained in many situation comedies, especially those prior to the 1970s era of contemporary social comedies. ... This list of television comedies without laugh tracks includes all known television shows that go against the grain in television humor programming, by not having live or prerecorded laugh tracks. ... Many successful British TV shows (particularly sitcoms) have been remade for the American market. ... Richard Pryor hits the money line (NB This article refers to the history of stand-up comedy in the United States of America) A stand-up comedian or stand-up comic is someone that performs in comedy clubs, usually reciting a fast paced succession of amusing stories, short jokes and...

Further reading

• Lewisohn, Mark (2003) Radio Times' Guide to TV Comedy. 2nd Ed. Revised - BBC Consumer Publishing. ISBN 0563487550 -- Provides details of every comedy show ever seen on British television, including imports.
• Martin Wainwright, The Guardian, June 7, 2005, "Del Boy is top of the class, say sitcom scientists" - scientist develops formula for measuring (British) sitcom success