Are Sitcoms Dead?

I went out on a Friday night to an event with 20-30 year olds, proudly wearing my Hillman College sweatshirt. Naturally I found myself in conversations about how great the show was and how there will never be anything like it in the future. Then my cousin made this comment: “Sitcoms are dead.”

At first my heart hurt because I felt the statement was true. Then I thought, ‘are they really?’ Are they really dead or are they different from what we grew up on? That’s what inspired me to write this.

I grew up in the 90’s. I watched shows like “Sister, Sister”, “Boy Meets World”, “Family Matters”, and, even though they could be considered as before my time, “The Cosby Show” and “A Different World.” The thing that made these shows great was that they were funny but still able to have serious moments that taught the viewer something, even if we didn’t realize it at the time. And yes, there were corny moments in all these shows but we can’t deny the fact that we still enjoyed them.

As I grew up I started watching show like “Girlfriends”, “All of Us”, “One on One”, “Eve”, and “Half and Half.” But, after these shows ended there was nothing. The only show that I can think of that could be considered a sitcom that was recently on the air is “The Game”, which is a bit of a reach.

After much thought, I don’t think sitcoms are dead. I think they are different and here’s why. The sitcoms we watched back in the 90’s and 00’s had a special feel to them. That’s why we considered them so great and that’s why they were hits. This feel these shows created is something that can never be recreated. There are and can be sitcoms in the 10’s and beyond. In order for them to work they have to create their own feel that makes them hits just like the ones before them. A couple examples of this is “black-ish”, “Fresh off the Boat” and “The Carmichael Show.” These shows work because they aren’t trying to be  carbon copies of the sitcoms that came before them. Yes, the basic blueprint is the same, but these shows are taking what worked in the past and altering it to make it work for this time. TV shows are constantly evolving. The sitcoms of the 00’s were different from the sitcoms of the 90’s. The evolution is necessary because the audience is always changing. I am glad this occurs because this is what keeps the genre alive. Instead of creators giving up because they can’t recreate the magic of the 90’s, they are adapting to create the magic of the 10’s, and soon the magic of the 20’s. They’re doing what they have to to make sure that this genre that we all love keeps kicking in the future.

So the 90’s sitcoms will always have a special place in my heart, but there’s always room for the sitcoms of the future.

Do you agree with me? Yes? No? I would love to hear your thoughts.