Dec 11
7
Sitcoms Bounce Back and Reclaim the TV Entertainment Throne
In this down economy, it seems like everyone needs a laugh – and that’s definitely proving true in the television viewership ratings.
Over the past 10 years, dramas and reality television squeezed comedies out of the rankings, but starting in 2009 things began to change. Comedy shows now hold seven of the top 10 spots in television entertainment (excluding national football). Network executives and media buyers should be taking notice.
Leading the pack are brand-new shows – “New Girl” on Fox, “2 Broke Girls” on CBS. Longer running comedies are also holding their own. CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” experienced a renaissance due to the off air antics of former star Charlie Sheen, who was replaced with Ashton Kutcher in the new season. Viewership has increased by 65 percent with the casting change. Other older comedies like “How I Met Your Mother” and “The Big Bang Theory, both from CBS, are seeing percentage increases as well.
ABC’s “Modern Family,” which won four Emmys last year, has seen a 25 percent improvement during the new fall season. Some analysts point to Modern Family as the reason for the increase in interest in comedies. Although other networks had sitcoms running that were doing quite well, ABC’s critical and commercial success with Modern Family, about a multi-generational blended family, “took the genre to a new level.” It was declared a hit from the pilot episode and gave the creative community a “thumbs up” to pitch and develop comedy shows.
Whether it’s because of boredom from reality programming or the socio-economic realities, one thing is clear – comedy is back!
