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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George Schlatter and Lily Tomlin chortle as 'Laugh-In' nears 50

Once upon a time in TV Land, a sketch-comedy show from "beautiful downtown Burbank" swept through prime time like a comic cyclone.The weekly mayhem was anchored by two relatively straitlaced comedians in tuxedos and included a bizarre array of characters: a cigarette-puffing German who found... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lack of sprinklers raises concerns about older high-rise buildings across the U.S. after deadly Hawaii fire

At least three people died Friday after a fire blazed across the upper floor of a Honolulu high-rise, shooting flames and plumes of thick, black smoke out windows and causing hundreds of residents to evacuate. The 36-story tower was not equipped with sprinklers. The fire broke out on the 26th... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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3 dead in fire at Honolulu high-rise with no sprinklers

At least three people died and 12 were injured Friday in a fire at a Honolulu high-rise that was not equipped with sprinklers, authorities said, and hundreds fled the giant condominium complex as smoke billowed from the upper floors. The dead were found on the 26th floor, where the fire broke... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Denis Johnson, 'Writer's Writer's Writer,' Dead at 67

The award-winning fiction writer, poet, and playwright, whose best-known and most influential work, the story collection 'Jesus' Son,' turned 25 this year, has died. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo's Librarians' Lounge 2017: Laughing at Death with Malachy McCourt

On Thursday, June 1, from 4:30–6 p.m., stop by the PW BookExpo Librarians’ Lounge (Booth 875) to meet Malachy McCourt, whose new book, 'Death Need Not Be Fatal' was published this month by Center Street. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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De Waal and McMillan to feature in Dead Ink's 'working class anthology'

Kit de Waal and Andrew McMillan are among the names contributing to Dead Ink's crowdfunded anthology on the working class entitled Know Your Place. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lesley Stahl Highlights an Author Who Always Makes Her Laugh

amazon.com It's fun to peruse New York Times chats with famous personalities about their favorite books, even more so when summer beach-reading season is just around the corner. A few weeks ago, for T magazine, actor Viggo Mortensen ran down some very heady choices. Now it is the turn of veteran... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Best of the week: Subscription sites like the Information can thrive, but scale isn’t dead

A look at Jessica Lessin at her subscription tech news site, why Google is beating out Facebook for publisher hearts and minds, the lonely plight of the agency Republican, and why scale isn't dead yet. The post Best of the week: Subscription sites like the Information can thrive, but scale isn’t... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Balancing the books: how Waterstones came back from the dead

The chain of booksellers has announced its first profit in years – thanks in part to a bold decision to run each branch like a local bookshop Late on Thursday afternoon, would-be wizards across the UK dropped what they were doing to join the professors of Hogwarts for Harry Potter night. At 6pm... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholastic buys YA set in ‘deadly circus’

Scholastic set to publish a YA novel set in a deadly circus, where the children of immigrants are forced to perform in a travelling circus. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Skinned zebra found dead on beach near Hearst Castle

A zebra that once belonged to a collection of wild animals at Hearst Ranch was found dead and skinned on a San Simeon beach Saturday after heavy rains carried it down a creek and into the sea, authorities say. The carcass, which had much of its hide removed, was discovered just before 12:30 p.m.,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Homestar Runner is back with a few laughs before 2016 ends

The internet felt like a kinder, simpler place during Homestar Runner's heyday. As if to combat all the bad vibes 2016 has given the world, we have a new video featuring Homestar and shirtless luchadore Strong Bad reading a children's book about a sp... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fact Check: Vanity Fair’s Numbers Are Not “Way Down, Big Trouble, Dead!”

Vanity Fair’s new subscriptions increased 100 fold after the president-elect tweeted without evidence that the magazine is failing. The post Fact Check: Vanity Fair’s Numbers Are Not “Way Down, Big Trouble, Dead!” appeared first on Folio:. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2016-12-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Counterpoint Staffer Among Oakland Dead

Nick Gomez-Hall, an administrative assistant at Counterpoint Press, has been confirmed dead in the wake of Friday night’s fire at the Oakland warehouse known as the Ghost Ship. He was 25. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of Walking Dead Graphic Novels Higher Than Ever

Sales of the Walking Dead graphic novels keep climbing, driven by the hugely popular TV show adaptation. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Esquire Brings Back Satirical Magazine SPY to Make You Laugh, Not Cry, Over the Election

Does this election feel different to you? Newspapers are trying to get ahead of this intense cycle with early endorsements. Presidential campaigns are embracing #TBT photos. Not to mention the kinds of stories eagle-eyed political reporters keep uncovering, from CNN Politics team's Playboy... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dead Ink receives £65k grant from ACE

Dead Ink has received a "significant" grant of £65,359 from Arts Council England. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kit Caless | ‘If I’d pitched the book from scratch, I’d have been laughed out of every publisher’s office’

An offbeat look at the carpets adorning the UK’s largest chain of pubs, Kit Caless' Spoon’s Carpets: An Appreciation has the feel of a festive bestseller, says Caroline Sanderson. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Night of the Living Dead' Lives Again, as a Graphic Novel

The latest act for comics publishing legend Bill Jemas sees him running the publishing operation of Take Two interactive, where the most recent project is a graphic novel adaptation of the horror classic 'Night of the Living Dead.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK writer Helen Gradwell lay dead at home for four months before body found

Helen Gradwell lay dead on her floor for four months – with a book deal sitting unopened on her doorstep. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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