What makes a good sitcom?

What makes a good sitcom?
by Niel | Blogging | June 12, 2009

Sheldon Who doesn’t love sitcoms? It is guaranteed to make you laugh. However, why are certain sitcoms way more popular than others?

You can correct me here, please and share your opinion, but to me the good sitcoms are the ones with extremeties. For me series such as Big Bang Theory with the obsessive compulsive behaviours of Sheldon, the sycophantic Dwight Schrute from the The Office, the ridiculousness of the whole Arrested Development family (Tobias you know who you are!), the prudeness of Kevin in 30 Rock, are what makes a series unique.

We love these characters and make a show interesting, because of their strange and extreme behaviour. When every character is unique it extends the topic of conversation of the sitcom when it comes up in a chat at the bar. Arrested Development is a prime example of this, even 30 Rock, Big Bang Theory and The Office. How I Met Your Mother is a little less so, but piggybacks on the massive success of Neil Patrick Harris and his character of Barney. However, HIMYM is also an example of the series being absurd and/or extreme in its writing. They can easily run a whole episode on just finding that perfect burger parlour that Marshall once visited.

So next time you watch a sitcom just wonder how extreme the characters are and you’ll realize why they are so popular. It’s as if the characters are real people, however it seems unlikely that such a situation exists. The suspension of disbelief and escapism is what makes it a success.