History Of The Sitcom Imdb

The final season of the sitcom about nothing included a finale where the whole group ended up in prison, an episode that many critics and fans disliked. The series, which made household names of its characters and eased its way into pop culture history, lasted nine seasons and began and ended with a discussion about shirt buttons. A remake of a British series, this Showtime dramedy takes on the struggles of a Chicago family headed by a deadbeat patriarch (William H. Macy) whose only concerns are what his next scheme will be and where his next beer will come from. Although some critics initially thought Macy was miscast, he has racked up three Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance in the role.

The show's ninth season made it the longest-running Showtime show in the network's history. Emmy Rossum, who plays Macy's eldest daughter Fiona, did not return as a regular for the 10th season, and the show concluded with its 11th and final season in 2021. My skin is getting softer, yet my bones are jutting out, so I'm half-soft, half-sharp! " Maria Bamford says in a shampoo commercial fantasy sequence within the show within the show that's drawn from the life of a real-life stand-comedian, who suffers from depression and bipolar disorder.

It's that kind of show, and its surrealist brand of comedy is not for everyone. Creators Pam Brady and Mitch Hurwitz bring extreme versions of those shows' sensibilities to Lady Dynamite, although it also possesses the absurdist streak of Brady's Hamlet 2. Oswalt and Bamford then have a conversation about Breaking Bad, before using a Breaking Bad reference to indicate a time jump. In other words, there's a lot of balls in the air in Lady Dynamite, but it rewards those who can keep up. Anthology series dominated American dramatic programming during the Golden Age of Television, when "every night was opening night; one never knew when a flick of the knob would spark the birth of great theatrical literature".

A different story and a different set of characters were presented in each episode. The high cost and technical difficulties of staging a new play every week, which would cost as much as—or more than—an episode of a filmed television series, led to the demise of anthology programming by the end of the 1950s. The void was filled with less expensive series like Gunsmoke or Wagon Train, which featured the same characters every week and had higher potential for lucrative rebroadcast and syndication rights. It was the American success in 1969–1970 of the British 26-episode serial The Forsyte Saga that made TV executives realize that finite multi-episode stories based on novels could be popular and could provide a boost to weekly viewing figures. Set in a world where anthropomorphic animals and humans live side-by-side, BoJack Horseman is about a horse named Bojack , the washed-up star of the 1990s sitcom Horsin' Around.

After a decade boozing on his couch and sleeping around, Bojack tries to resurrect his celebrity relevance with decidedly mixed results. What's unexpected, however, is that Bojack Horseman may be television's most honest and thorough examination of depression. The writing is sharp, the jokes are layered, and the situations are hilarious, but there's a melancholy undercurrent to the series.

Despite being a horse, Bojack is also one of the most human characters on television. It takes two or three episodes to hook viewers into its world, but once it does, it's an impossible series to stop watching. Evening doramas air weekly and usually comprise ten to fourteen one-hour long episodes. Typically, instead of being episodic there is one story running throughout the episodes. Since they are of a fixed length, doramas have a definite ending, and since they are relatively long, they can explore character, situation, and interesting dialog in a way not possible in movies.

Doramas are never canceled mid-season, but they also do not continue into the next season even if extremely popular. Popular doramas do often give rise to "specials" made after the final episode, if the show has been a huge success. ABC News will launch a groundbreaking primetime newscast, the first broadcast network newsmagazine that aims to put Black life in America front and center. The historic six-episode series,"Soul of a Nation,"will present viewers with a unique window into authentic realities of Black life and dive deeper into this critical moment of racial reckoning. Each episode will explore a specific theme including spirituality, Black joy, activism in sports and the racial reckoning that erupted after George Floyd's death. "We're excited to expand enterprising Black storytelling and the celebration of Black culture beyond the month of February," said co-executive producer Eric Johnson.

"Viewers of all backgrounds, regardless of race, will be moved, educated and inspired by the broad range of stories and topics shared on this show." In this critically acclaimed anthology crime drama series, new cast ensembles take on challenging crime investigations each season. The first season, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, was called one of the best drama series of the year, while other critics said it was one of the strongest in recent memory.

Season two stars Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, and Taylor Kitsch; Mahershala Ali is the lead in the third season, with Carmen Ejogo, Stephen Dorff, Scoot McNairy, and Ray Fisher co-starring. This spinoff of AMC's flagship series "Breaking Bad" takes place before and after the events of that show, focusing on the life of sleazy attorney Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk. Although it had big shoes to fill, the show managed to surpass critics' expectations, while scratching an itch for "Breaking Bad" fans suffering from cancellation withdrawal. Here's a show so influential and comprehensive that "The Simpsons did it" endures as a popular meme—thanks to "South Park," that is. Indeed, for its first nine seasons in particular, this animated Fox comedy skewered society, pushed boundaries, and basically reinvented television for the modern era. Meanwhile, the love and devotion between each member of Springfield's Simpson family remains palpable, giving the show an earnest core.

That this wildly inventive sitcom recently became the longest-running scripted series on primetime TV feels secondary to its previous cultural accomplishments. For the legions of loyal fans, it will be hard to say goodbye to "Adventure Time," which delivered its final episode on Labor Day. Set in the Land of Ooo, the animated series pits a boy named Finn and his shape-shifting dog, Jake, against a range of sympathetic villains. It all comes to life by way of stunning animation and surprisingly complex character development. An average episode clocks in at 11 minutes, and doesn't waste a single second. The last sitcom to be shot in black and white, this certifiable classic stars Van Dyke as a popular TV writer and Mary Tyler Moore his wife.

The two made for such a convincing couple that a large number of viewers thought they were married in real life. The good news is that it stayed fascinating throughout, wrestling with the characters' flaws and exploring regret and loss in an entirely human way. Its main characters may work in a bar, but this show is no "Cheers." Caustic, cynical, crass, and hilarious, "It's Always Sunny" delights in pushing the boundaries of good taste far beyond what would fly in a network show. The first season took a while to find its comedic footing, but since season two, which kicked off with Danny DeVito joining the cast, the show has received universal acclaim from critics. When it was renewed for a 15th season in 2020 it became the longest-running live-action comedy series in American history. It's astounding that a show this strange was able to land a network TV time slot in the early 1990s.

The show follows the investigation of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper into the murder of a homecoming queen in a Washington logging town. While the premise makes it sound like a run-of-the-mill primetime procedural, the delivery from creators Mark Frost and David Lynch was truly bizarre. Combining surrealism, melodrama, horror, and comedy with movie-quality visuals, "Twin Peaks" stands as one of the most original pieces of American television ever made. The show was resurrected by Showtime in 2017 for a limited-run series featuring many of the original cast members to the delight of fans everywhere. This HBO guilty pleasure follows the career of Vincent Chase, an actor from Queens who brings a tagalong crew of friends from the old neighborhood with him for his ride to Hollywood stardom.

Reviewers enjoyed Jeremy Piven's portrayal of Vince's slimy Hollywood agent, but criticized the shallow characters and plotlines, while audiences were happy to live vicariously in Chase's hedonistic world. A 2015 movie that tied up some loose ends from the show garnered poor reviews and underperformed at the box office. One of the best and most underappreciated series on Netflix, Dear White People is a television adaptation that manages to improve exponentially on the movie upon which it is based. It's an eye-opening, smartly crafted television show that's as entertaining as it is important, and it features an outstanding cast, led by Logan Browning. Netflix's sixth Marvel series falls victim to the same problems that have beset the previous Marvel series, namely it takes a strong character and stretches the story entirely too thin. Frank Castle is, save for Jessica Jones, arguably the most compelling character in Netflix's Marvel universe.

He's a villain in the second season of Daredevil, but a dark anti-hero here, a man who has zero regards for the lives of bad people, who he pummels and tortures to death. Castle is a grim character, but — thanks to the buddy partner dynamic with David Lieberman (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — there are moments of levity and occasional doses of humor in the first season. The show's follow-up run lags a bit, but it introduces fans to new characters who test Castle's carefully constructed persona and force him to reckon with his past in interesting new ways.

G.L.O.W., from exec producer Jenji Kohan and a couple of her proteges, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, is based on the real-life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling television series. Set in the 1980s, G.L.O.W. sees a group of failed actresses and assorted misfits shaped into a female wrestling league by a cult-flick screenwriter and a trust-fund kid . There's nothing particularly original about G.L.O.W., which traffics in a number of tropes and stereotypes, but the characters are so unbelievably likable that it's almost impossible not to fall in love with these underdog heroes. It's a fast-paced, funny and immensely sweet series that goes down like candy.

At once intimate and sweeping, The Crown presents an inside view of the ascension of Queen Elizabeth II, played by Claire Foy, and the first few years of her reign. John Lithgow is featured as the indomitable Winston Churchill, struggling with the ignominy of age at the end of his career. Churchill's support and mentorship of Elizabeth, despite his limitations, creates an important emotional center around which various historical events turn. Elizabeth's relationship with her husband, Prince Phillip is also wonderfully explored; his role as consort is one that he by turns delights in and rebels against. And because the show has committed to exploring Elizabeth's length reign, we're treated to different versions of these characters throughout their lives. In season 3, Olivia Colman picks up the crown while Tobias Menzies plays Prince Phillip and Helena Bonham Carter comes on board as Princess Margaret.

The story of how a man named Ted met the mother of his two kids provides the basis for this highly rated CBS sitcom. That said, the show primarily chronicles the comedic exploits of five best friends, while throwing in a clever mystery in for good measure. Meanwhile, some fans wondered if Ted was in fact an unreliable narrator, implying that the events and characters weren't being depicted accurately.

According to Neil Patrick Harris‚ who played a womanizer named Barney in the series—it's a totally plausible theory. Two red-headed brothers both named Pete are the subject of this quirky sitcom, which ran on Nickelodeon for three seasons. Originally based on a series of one-minute shorts, the show takes place in the fictional town of Wellsville, and features regular appearances from Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Kate Pierson from the B-52s. Thanks to a distinct surrealist aesthetic, "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" appealed to kids and adults alike, and retains a cult following more than two decades after its final air date. Released the same year as "The Munsters" was this similar sitcom about a lovable, but macabre family of outsiders.

Based on a cartoon series by Charles Addams, the show introduced audiences to classic characters Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, and Lurch. Like "The Munsters," "The Addams Family" only ran for two seasons, but endured well past its cancellation date. In 1991, a star-studded movie version smashed expectations at the box office, though the same couldn't be said for the 1993 sequel. After difficulty behind the scenes contributed to the show's cancellation at NBC, it was picked up for a sixth and final season at Yahoo. Happy Endings is one of those shows with a small but mighty fanbase who love to say things like, "I wish they'd bring it back," and "I can't believe no one watched it when it was on" whenever it's brought up. The world just wasn't ready for the truly oddball jokes Happy Endings excelled at, even though its premise -- a small group of friends hang out all the time and get into hijinks -- pretty much seemed like a recipe for sitcom success.

The cast's chemistry is just so good, the jokes come lightning fast, and there are also some legitimately heartwarming episodes, like the one where the group helps Max come out to his parents. "House of Cards," which is often referenced as the case study for Netflix and the new era of television developed based on "big data," was an adaptation of the 1990 BBC miniseries of the same name. The acclaimed political thriller, which starred Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, suspended production after allegations of sexual assault and harassment came out against Spacey, then severed ties with the actor for good. Regularly referred to as one of the best TV shows of all time by Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, and TV Guide, "Seinfeld's" iconic characters, storylines, and catchphrases have become an indelible part of popular culture. Created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld in 1989, the show launched the careers of Seinfeld and co-stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jason Alexander, while Michael Richards' Kramer character became unforgettable.

It won an Emmy in 1993 for "Outstanding Comedy Series," and in 2014, Hulu acquired the streaming rights to all nine seasons of the series' episodes for a reported $130 to $180 million. In this animated Netflix series, a former sitcom star voiced by Will Arnett attempts to reignite his showbiz career. While many reviewers found the show's first season too short on laughs to justify its bizarre premise, subsequent seasons added surprising depth to the BoJack character and drew acclaim from audiences and critics alike.

F is for Family will appeal to anyone who shares Bill Burr's worldview — dark, unapologetically politically incorrect, and honest. Despite its vulgarity and crude animation, the series also boasts a few poignant turns that border on heartbreaking. For people of Burr's age, F is for Family really captures what it was like to grow up in the early 1970s. Alias Grace, adapted by Sarah Polley from a Margaret Atwood novel which itself is based on a true story, is set in Canada in the middle of the 19th century, where a house servant Grace Marks has been convicted of a double murder.

After spending time in a mental asylum and while serving time in prison, an early version of a therapist is called in to try and discern if Grace is guilty, innocent, lying or telling the truth. Grace's account of the murders is as confounding to the viewer as it is the doctor, but the truth is not the point. The point of Alias Grace is to illustrate how the men in her life and the lives of the women around her have tyrannized and abused them. They are the product of that abuse, of a system controlled by men, and if a woman were to rise up and murder her terrorizer, who could blame her? It's a smart, brilliantly acted, and entertaining series, but more than that, it's an important one for these times.

Aziz Ansari's Master of None is a post-racial dating and relationship sitcom about millennials. It also explores intimacy without resorting to gender stereotypes or relationship clichés. It's a good series about genuinely good people, and the chemistry between Ansari's character and his love interest in the first season is electric.

It's not laugh-out-loud funny, but Master of None is funny in its observations, clever in its writing and honest in the depiction of its characters. It's a truly great sitcom and something of a roadmap to dating for a new generation. Brilliantly shot, excellently choreographed, and superbly written, Daredevil lives so far outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as to be completely distinct. It is darker, more brutal, and grittier than the film franchise, although there are enough light and humor in the show to make its characters sympathetic. The series nails the tone of the comic, the characters are complex, and it really understands the grey area between hero and villain, and the fine line between the two where violence is concerned. The fight scenes are brutal, and one couldn't ask for a better Matt Murdock than the one depicted by Charlie Cox.

The villains — Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin in the first season, and Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle in the second — are not caricatures. It's a potent combination of writing, acting, and directing that makes Daredevil one of the best Netflix originals and the best superhero series on television. It's a shame Marvel's deal with Netflix ended because the show's third season was a masterclass in how to act like a tortured hero from Cox and it set up some interesting storylines we're still dying to see play out. Henry Cavill leads this fantasy epic based on a best-selling series of books and a popular video game franchise. The expectations are high, but they're more than exceeded by Cavill, who plays a mutated monster hunter named Geralt.

Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich laid out for us the changes she made from page to screen, introducing key characters like the sorceress Yennefer and the destined princess Ciri early on, changes that take this show to the next level. It's a cross between a police procedural and a Lord Of The Rings-style adventure. On January 22, 2004, Corner Gas, the live-action sitcom, premiered on Canadian broadcaster CTV and was an immediate runaway hit.

During the majority of its six-season run, Corner Gas was the #1 primetime sitcom in Canada, maintaining an impressive average audience of 1.4 million viewers over its 107-episode run. The series finale made television history when a record-breaking 3.02 million viewers tuned in on April 13, 2009. It remains the largest audience on record for a Canadian scripted television series. Created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, this iconic series upended the sitcom format at every turn, in part thanks to a strict "no hugging, no learning" policy.

Chronicling the misadventures of four selfish New York friends, the show got off to a slow start, then launched into the ratings stratosphere during its fourth season. In the time since, the series hasn't lost an ounce of its comedic luster, which helps explain why Hulu recently dropped more than $100 million for streaming rights. Along with "The Simpsons," "Seinfeld" is arguably the most influential TV comedy of the modern era. Blending comedy and drama to brilliant effect, "The Wonder Years" takes place during the late 1960s and early 1970s, following young Kevin Arnold as he comes of age against a backdrop of cultural upheaval.

Narrated by Kevin's adult self, the show explores themes of love and friendship through a particularly heartwarming lens. Indeed, one doesn't need to have grown up during Kevin's time in order to feel empathetic—or even nostalgic—when watching this hit ABC series. Saved from cancellation not once, but twice, Seth MacFarlane's animated series now endures as a mainstay on the Fox network and in popular culture alike. Despite an opening theme song that laments the decline of old-fashioned values, "Family Guy" delivers an endless supply of raunchy jokes and morally bankrupt characters, skewering the traditional sitcom format. The eighteen-hour 1983 miniseries The Winds of War was a ratings success, with 140 million viewers for all or part of the miniseries, making it the most-watched miniseries up to that time.