The Odd Couple
YES: Without major advances, the network sitcom will become totally obsolete
In the most recent quarterly Nielsen ratings of prime-time network shows, only two comedies made the top-10 ranks. Both of them were produced by ruler-of-the-network-world CBS and both of them are an indication of just how messed up our network comedy landscape is right now.
The first is a show long beloved by old white people and science teachers who want to seem cool: The Big Bang Theory. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the show has been getting staggeringly high ratings for years. Unfortunately, its future is secure as anything on TV right now.
The second show that cracked the top 10 is a brand-new remake of a classic 1968 movie and ’70s era TV show that now involves Matthew Perry (Friends). Some pairings just make sense. This is not one of them. But, for some reason, America is eating up CBS’ The Odd Couple.
And that might be because there are just not many tasty comedies left on the network menu.
Ten years ago today, The Office premiered on NBC. The Americanized version of a British hit had some early trouble finding its footing, in part because it was unlike anything many network comedy fans had seen before. It lacked the feel-good predictability of Cheers or Frasier, and it wasn’t stuffed with the complex writing of Seinfeld. The Office was awkward and a bit sad, its documentary-style format highlighting the human side of its small-town Scranton, Pennsylvania, setting.
The show soon became a hit and a cornerstone to what became a powerhouse Thursday night lineup for NBC. The Office, 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation were all smart, creative shows that contributed more than just memes to television culture.
Now we have Matthew Perry driving another guy up the wall with his carefree attitude and refusal to be tidy. How did we get here?
I take shots at the CBS shows because at least they’re successful. ABC, NBC and Fox have comedies of their own, but their attempts to find a voice and/or an audience have been mostly futile. The Big Four’s formulaic approach to comedy right now will never help them replace the magic they had five and 10 years ago, and even worse, it will allow cable stations and streaming services to continue to race right past them.
And that’s where the real problem lies: If the networks continue to struggle for laughs, their content will just be rendered obsolete by all of the quality content coming from outlets like Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Comedy Central and FX, which are all creating hits by pushing the envelope, giving platforms to young, creative minds and marketing themselves as the bolder, better alternative to the network graveyard.
Until CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox realize what’s going on around them and start to model themselves based on their far-superior competitors and take more creative risks, their biggest punchlines will continue to be the quality of their shows.
— Michael Errigo
NO: The eulogies are premature; network sitcoms can still be fresh
NBC’s comedies are no longer Must See TV, mainly because NBC is no longer airing any during its renowned Thursday night lineup. In December, NBC announced a midseason schedule with no comedies on Thursday, the night of the week that had been bringing hit sitcoms such as The Office, Seinfeld and Friends to households since the ’80s.
However, this isn’t a blow for the existence of the network comedy, despite recent grumblings since the Parks and Recreation sendoff and the success of Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a show NBC passed over to the streaming platform.
The Washington Post sent in its obituary for the sitcom with an article entitled “‘Kimmy Schmidt’ proves the network sitcom is dead.”
“Network sitcoms are generally — how shall I put this? — kind of unwatchable,” wrote Jenny Jaffe, a guest columnist for PostEverything. “They can’t afford to lovingly hand-craft shows that appeal to niche interests, so they are forced to continually dip back into the well of the things that they know can work.”
This is a fair point, and it’s true that viewers are still eating up CBS’ endless trove of lowest common denominator Chuck Lorre comedies. Looking beyond NBC, though, the landscape of sitcoms on network television has potential. Each major competing network has its own hit shows — ABC with Modern Family, CBS with The Big Bang Theory and Fox with a collection of buzzy series such as New Girl, The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
And declaring network comedies dead by focusing on NBC is overlooking the experimental freshman sitcoms on the air. ABC continues to prove that diversifying works with promising comedies like Blackish and Fresh Off the Boat. Fox’s The Last Man on Earth resembles a cable series, thanks to its original, less-than-network-friendly premise. Even the CW is finding its comedy footing with the critically lauded Jane the Virgin.
So maybe it’s time to pump the brakes on the mourning. People simply aren’t going to sit in front of the television anymore with so much access to content online these days, but that doesn’t mean a high-quality television show won’t work on networks. NBC said no to Kimmy Schmidt, which undoubtedly would have attracted a niche audience like Community or 30 Rock. And that’s a much better alternative to what NBC has now, which is nothing (and The Slap).
While NBC treads water, it can look to its competitors for inspiration. Aside from the CBS Lorre-juggernaut, the other networks have exercised creativity in airing newbie sitcoms. Even cable and streaming platforms demonstrate that quality series get attention in smaller markets.
A post-Parks and Recreation NBC might appear frightening when one considers the network’s lucrative sitcom past, but the state of network comedies remains in solid shape for the other big network players.
And as for NBC? Well, I, for one, look forward to five nights of James Spader and spinning chairs.
— Dustin Levy
