The sitcom isn’t dead yet.
There’s no denying that the 30-minute genre lost prestige when “Friends,” “Frasier” and “Sex and the City” stopped producing new episodes last season. The departure of “Everybody Loves Raymond” this coming season won’t help.
And the broadcast networks are introducing only eight sitcoms this season, starting last week with NBC’s “Father of the Pride.” No new entry announces itself as the next “All in the Family” or “The Cosby Show,” groundbreaking series that reinvigorated the medium in the 1970s and ’80s.
Yet sharp comedy thrives on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Fox’s “The Simpsons” and CBS’ “Raymond,” which bows out in May. Other sturdy comedies, such as NBC’s “Scrubs” and CBS’ “The King of Queens,” could gain notice in a weaker field.
A few Hollywood veterans dismiss the whole idea that the sitcom is expiring.
“There’s comedy–it may not look like ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ or ‘Friends’ even,” says “Raymond” creator Phil Rosenthal, who says his writing staff loves “The Simpsons,” Fox’s “Arrested Development” and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
“But I bet you that there’ll be another sitcom, a traditional sitcom that will come along,” he adds.
Perhaps it already has.
CBS’ “Two and a Half Men” debuted last season in the slot after “Raymond,” and posted good ratings. Its summer performance suggests that the series about odd-couple brothers (Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer) could take off in its second season, which starts Sept. 20.
Chuck Lorre, co-creator of “Two and a Half Men,” says his show disproves the idea that the sitcom is dying, although he acknowledges that comedy is harder to do these days.
“The business has contracted,” Lorre says. “Television is going through some kind of tectonic shift. For a traditional four-camera, live-audience show to succeed seems to be a fairly rare event.”
The single-camera show, filmed in the style of a movie, has gained notable additions too.
“Arrested Development,” about a stressed businessman (Jason Bateman) and his wildly dysfunctional family, earned the best reviews of any new series last season. It made a strong showing in the Emmy nominations, collecting seven, including top comedy series.
“Arrested Development” won a second season, starting Nov. 7, largely because of rave reviews. It placed No. 122 last season in total viewers. Despite the weak showing, Fox put it behind “The Simpsons” in June to bring it a wider audience.
HBO’s “Entourage,” which debuted in July, looks more like a documentary than a sitcom. The adventures of a young Hollywood star (Adrian Grenier) and his three best buddies unfold in acerbic but natural style.
HBO so liked what it saw that it renewed “Entourage” for a second season shortly after the premiere. HBO also gave the show a prime slot after “Six Feet Under” at 9 p.m. Sundays. “Entourage” concludes its season Sunday.
None of these newcomers could be considered a phenomenon along the lines of “Seinfeld.” But current comedy is bound to suffer if it’s judged by those standards.
Take it from Jason Alexander, who played George on that seminal hit and tries for another with this season’s “Listen Up” on CBS.
“I think what happened with that TV show is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he says.
