The last laugh: is the television sitcom really dead?

From Friends to The Thick Of It, the TV sitcom has evolved – but it’s no longer in rude health. Enter offbeat shows like Stath Lets Flats, bringing joy and potential redemptionThe sitcom has a long history of being dead. According to the former NBC president of entertainment, Warren Littlefield, in the early 1980s many people believed the sitcom was over. In 1999, Entertainment Weekly noted the genre’s demise. In 2005, so did Victoria Wood. The following year, the former ITV director of programmes, David Liddiment, made a programme called Who Killed the Sitcom? In the decade and a half since, similar questions have been posed repeatedly by publications on both sides of the Atlantic. Declaring the sitcom dead now seems more like an annual ritual than a convincing take on the state of comedy. But what if this time it’s actually true?There are a few reasons why the sitcom seems, if not comprehensively deceased, then at least less responsive than it has ever been. In terms of the comedy zeitgeist, the sadcom – a frequently bleak drama hybrid – continues to rule (see: I May Destroy You, Feel Good, This Way Up, Insecure). Streaming giants increasingly shape our viewing habits, and they don’t tend to make sitcoms (their discrete episodic plots mean they are not very bingeworthy, for a start). The newly established National Comedy Awards, meanwhile, doesn’t include a sitcom category, while Bafta dropped its sitcom award in 2015 and replaced it with one for scripted comedy: this... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-26 14:35:04 UTC ]
News tagged with: #early 1980s #victoria wood #feel good #viewing habits #anthology

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H&S: 'no Dapper Laughs book'

Hodder & Stoughton has said it is not publishing a book by controversial TV "comedian" Dapper Laughs, describing listings for the book on Amazon and its own site as being “mistakenly fed out”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mass Market Paperback: Not Dead Yet

When sales of ebooks doubled in 2011 over 2010, it seemed as if the mass market paperback format might quickly sink into oblivion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NZ Herald sorry for publishing photo of Jackass star instead of dead soldier

Newspaper took photo of the late Ryan Dunn from Facebook page of NZ-born Israeli killed in GazaA newspaper has apologised after mistakenly publishing a photograph of the late Jackass star Ryan Dunn to accompany a story about an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza.The error, on the front page of the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rupert Murdoch's six decades of television and newspaper deals

From one Adelaide evening paper to bidding for a US giant - Rupert Murdoch's life in acquisitionsRupert Murdoch created a global media empire from humble beginnings when he inherited Adelaide's The News from his father in the 1950s. More than 60 years and dozens of deals later, the 83-year-old... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Laughing Online with Keith Knight

Very few comic strip creators can match Keith Knight for production and overall cultural hilarity. PW spoke with "Keef" about growing his brand and online platform. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #keith knight #pw spoke #online platform


Print isn't dead after all, magazine biz shows signs of revival

The struggles of print media are far from over, but the first quarter of 2014 has been a particularly upbeat period for the magazine business, and not just because 35 titles launched, compared with... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2014-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print isn #print media #upbeat period #magazine business


Print isn't dead after all; mags record upbeat quarter

The struggles of print media are far from over, but the first quarter of 2014 has been a particularly upbeat period for the magazine business, and not just because 35 titles launched, compared with... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2014-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #print isn #print media #upbeat period #magazine business


Why Amazon's Next Conquest Will Be Your Television

Amazon started as an online bookseller and transformed the entire publishing industry. Now it's assembling the pieces it needs to do the same to an even bigger medium: television.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The beautiful magazines setting out to prove print isn't dead

A new wave of publishers is bucking the digital trend with stylishly printed magazines that are as much a joy to hold as beholdSee a gallery of some of the best-looking new magazinesThe magazine is dead, long live the magazine. It's not so much a resurrection of the magazine in the digital age... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newsweek to Bring Print Edition Back From the Dead

Newsweek's new owners think they can succeed at something its previous owners failed at: printing a weekly magazine in the United States. IBT Media, the obscure media company that bought Newsweek in August, said Tuesday that it intends to rev ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BBC lines up Tim Minchin sitcom

Comedian and musician to play loudmouth cocktail pianist in pilot for 88 Keys, which will also star Fonejacker's Kayvan NovakComedian and musician Tim Minchin will star in his first sitcom as a loudmouth cocktail pianist in 88 Keys for the BBC.Minchin will co-star with Fonejacker's Kayvan Novak... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Will Happen To Your Emails After You're Dead?

What do we lose in a world without handwritten letters? A new book explores how the digital age affects how we communicate.New York Times bestselling author Simon Garfield is worried that we are losing track of our communications. No, he's not griping about NSA mass surveillance and government... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazines Are Dead, or Why There's No Such Thing as a (Mere) Magazine Company Anymore

In the Oct. 21 issue of Advertising Age, you'll find the closely watched annual Magazine A-List, which honors 10 glossies that are doing really, really well. I'm part of the editorial team that, each summer and fall, works on the list (which involves a lot of in-depth research and... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Images Still Drive Laughing Elephant Press

Harold and Sandra Darling founded Green Tiger Press in 1969 as a greeting card company whose products featured their collection of images from vintage pre-1940 children’s books, calendars, paintings, and posters. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Humble Comedy Bundle lets you pay what you want for laughs, big spenders get Louis CK

The Humble business model can apply to anything. Now, you can pay what you want for stand-up comedy in addition to ebooks, music and video games. For the next two weeks, you can get comedy specials from Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, Hannibal Buress and Jim Norton for as little or as much as you... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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These Deadly Diseases Turn Into Art When You Zoom In

Hepatitis B gets a little less awful sounding when you see how it looks under a microscope, as part of a new book called Hidden Beauty: Exploring the Aesthetics of Medical Science. It’s strange how something deadly can also be beautiful. These images are all of major diseases--hepatitis B,... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #medical science #human life


Why the Traditional Advertiser-Media Sales Rep Relationship Is Dead

Content marketing has radically changed perception between client and publisher. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book Is Dead, Long Live the Book

Publishing houses are Germany's intellectual backbone. For many years, they created a culture of literary abundance and generated healthy profits. But in the age of Amazon, ebooks and self-publishing, they could be facing demise. Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2013-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is the Romance of Publishing Dead?

Has the romance of publishing the way of liquor-fueled lunches, first-class book tours and boozy book parties? Or is there still enough hope and passion in publishing to sustain it? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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William Shakespeare: He’s Hot, Sexy and Dead

Several current projects—from YA novels to television to our own year-long reading group—are striving to make Shakespeare accessible to a contemporary audience. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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