Airdate: History Of The Sitcom
A must-see CNN doco on how sitcoms have changed our lives, next week on SBS.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Programming, Video
Good news for TV fans…. CNN doco series History Of The Sitcom will premiere next week on SBS in a 7:35pm timeslot.
The 8 part series spanning comedies from I Love Lucy and The Brady Bunch to Black-ish, Fleabag and Modern Family will screen in double episodes.
Exploring a groundbreaking genre that’s kept us laughing since the dawn of television, History Of The Sitcom reunites audiences with their favourite sitcom families, friends, and co-workers, while also introducing them to comedies that are sure to be a binge-watch.
From I Love Lucy and The Brady Bunch to Black-ish, Fleabag, Modern Family and beyond, this eight-part docuseries features hilarious clips and interviews with scores of comedy legends who have graced the small screen over the decades – including Tina Fey, Lisa Kudrow, Helen Hunt, Jason Alexander, Kelsey Grammer, Dick Van Dyke, and Mel Brooks, and explores how sitcoms have reflected – and affected – cultural change over the years.
Episode One: A Family Matter
This episode explores how sitcoms evolve to reflect the changing face of the fundamental social unit that is the family. From I Love Lucy to the blended Brady Bunch, from working class families in All In The Family, Good Times, One Day At A Time, from the groundbreaking Black-ish to Fresh Off The Boat, sitcom humour has helped broaden our horizons and open our minds to what a modern family can be.
Episode Two: Working For Laughs
The workplace is a rich source of comedy as it binds vastly different people together with laughter. From The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Murphy Brown, from WKRP to 30 Rock, from Barney Miller to Brooklyn 99, as America’s relationship with their jobs changes – and especially as women break through countless workplace barriers – sitcoms evolve in endlessly humorous ways.
Wednesday, 31 May at 7.35pm on SBS
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9 Responses
I just want to know when my episode is.
I agree about Mort Drucker, but that’s not his work (he died 2 years ago). It’s definitely in his style, though.
Oh my. You are correct. It is by Tom Richmond. Silly me just googled ‘History of the Sitcom’ and one of the websites attributed it to Mort. Gotta stop trusting everything I read online! Also never knew he passed. 🙁
I don’t believe that the 1960s comedies like ‘Gilligan’s Island’, ‘Bewitched’ or ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ could be reasonably described as sit coms-far too much fantastical content!
Going to be interesting which sitcoms are mentioned that have less significance than the ones they will ignore.
I am only tuning in to see if they mention “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. If they don’t the show is a write off.
It won’t be a write off…..you just have to have patience….hint hint.
This is a similar format as The History of Comedy from 2017 that I watched .The History of the Sitcom averages roughly 30 odd sitcoms per episode or roughly 220 sitcoms from 1950 to the present….. Some of which were shown on Australian TV when the country first got TV…. I remember watching Jackie Gleeson in the Honeymooners in b/w on a Pye TV when I was a kid and thinking how awful he was with his put downs to his wife Alice which was acceptable back then ( and unfortunately still happens today) and the awful canned laughter at inappropriate times they had during the show…..l watched Bill Carter executive producer on a virtual screening discussion and he’s idea of a sitcom is that if it makes you laugh it can be considered a sitcom because they are usually only half long and not one hour.
And just how brilliant is artist Mort Drucker! Along with Angelo Torres, masters of their art.