Tv Genre- Sit-coms

Sitcoms

List of Sitcoms

Friends

How I Met Your Mother

Family Guy

American Dad

Red Dwarf

Bad Education

Inbertweeners

Baby Daddy

Rules of Engagement

The Big Bang Theory

Spaced

Two and a Half Men

Format

The format of this genre can differ greatly. This means that in many such as How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) a story unfolds throughout many seasons of the show, adding and removing characters as the narrative progresses. However in many sitcoms such as Family Guy or American Dad the entirety of the narrative is expressed within one episode then returning to the equilibrium. There is many differences however there is also conventions, for example the vast majority of sitcoms work on a series by series bases, rather than being continually broadcast such as many soap opera's (Eastenders, Coronation Street etc.). A TV show of this genre usually broadcasts before the nine o'clock watershed; capturing larger audiences than if it was after. Being more specific the TV shows tend to broadcast around dinner-time (6-7 O'clock).

Appeals

There are many reasons people would watch TV shows of this genre, the most common of which being relatable. For example many of the socially considered 'Nerds' would likely be drawn to shows such as The Big Bang Theory. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs audience members would consume sit-coms as it appeals to the needs for love and belonging, this is due to the expressed themes throughout and the fandom that follow it. The need to belong is suited when your interacting with the fandom that surrounds it. According to Jib Fowles 15 basic appeals sitcoms supply the audience with a need for escapism as you get caught up within the narrative of the characters, however another appeal they kinder too is the need to achieve as you as an audience member gain a sense of achievement through the achievements of the characters within the show. A convention of sitcoms is that they tend to contain a internal quest, the most common of which being attempting to find love. This is shown in HIMYM, The Big Bang Theory, Friends, Two and a Half Men etc. This is due to the relatable-ness of it as many people have a internal struggle if that’s attempting to find themselves or someone else, and they feel confortable expressing this through comedy. Something that is unconventional of this genre when compared to others is the fact that it often explores dark themes and actually makes light of them doing it for comedic effect. This is very graspable via an audience; this is shown due to the very large numbers of viewers each of these shows access. Stars tend no really participate with sitcoms, unless they are making rare guest appearances. For example Britney Spears in HIMYM. Sitcoms instead tend to use 'Unknowns' meaning unheard of actors; I believe this is done as it adds relatable-ness, for example Josh Radnor (the lead in HIMYM) appears more relatable than Brad Pitt or other A List actors. Productions values are important within any genre of TV show, there is no exception to the rules here. The production value tends to be lower than other genres such as drama, this is due to the lack of locations expressed, usually 3-4 per episode. This saves money but due to this sitcoms tend to have lower shooting budgets.

Target Audience

According to the 4 C's model sit-coms appeal to the mainstream, this is the case due to the immense popularity of them. This means that many may engage with this source of media for the need for acceptance as well as social interaction. An example of this is The Big Bang Theory, which comes up in conversation in my personal life often; this allows people to share interest and opinions. The 4 C's model has the premise that there is seven types of people in the world explorer, expirer etc. Using lifestyle categories it is possible to find out the types of people to text will appeal to. In this case sitcoms appeal to the trendies, due to the popularity that I mentioned earlier. However they also appeal to the drifters as with many sitcoms you don't have to watch previous episodes to get an idea on what is happening. The general age of those that watch sitcoms is teenagers, this is due to the shows making occasionally mature jokes as well as having the seriousness to approach sensitive issues. However it needs to be said that it is impossible to really narrow down the audience for a certain genre due to shows approaching different topics and themes. The general age of those that watch sitcoms is teenagers, this is due to the shows making occasionally mature jokes as well as having the seriousness to approach sensitive issues. However it needs to be said that it is impossible to really narrow down the audience for a certain genre due to shows approaching different topics and themes.

Setting

Settings within Sitcoms tend to be very similar, for example Friends and HIMYM has very similar locations, utilizing cities and apartments. Many sitcoms tend to take place in doors, this is due to many having studio audiences who laugh along with the show. This means that the majority of shows use sets rather than actual shooting locations. However in many sitcoms a laugh track is overlaid and there is no audience, this means that they can use actual shooting locations, expressed within HIMYM.

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Characters and representations

A stereotype is sorting a complex character into few attributes for example a jock would be dumb, strong, ladies man. The purpose of these is to express large amounts of information to the audience quickly. These are often shown in TV, as there simply isn't enough time to go into depth on every character. For example if you watched any episode of The Big Bang Theory it would be easy to say the protagonists are nerds, this is due to the attributes, glasses, weak, superheroes, comic books, smart, etc. However in most sitcoms there is a few basic stereotypes expressed, The funny one, Barney in HIMYM, Howard in The Big Bang Theory etc. there main purpose is for tension relief, when anything 'real' happens they are there with a joke. The career obsessed, Robin in HIMYM Will in The Inbertweeners, these characters express drive and often have to learn to relax. All of these archetypes I previously mentioned are regularly used for comedic effect, showing there strengths and weaknesses throughout. Sitcoms tend to be very gender and culturally neutral, showing everyone fairly in a nice way, this avoids exclusion or elitism. This is done to ensure the shows are accessible by the most people possible of that age, gender, ethnicity etc.

Narrative

Many enigma codes are brought up throughout every TV so within sitcoms there is no exception. This is since enigma codes make the audience want questions threat have been raised to be answered, a way of keeping the audiences attention throughout. It is hard to give an example without delving too much into one exact episode of a sit-com however they are usually raised early on and answered near the end since this hopefully ensures viewership. However if the sitcom has an extended narrative a enigma code may be done at the end of one episode so the audience feel inclined to watch the next one. Many of the themes expressed throughout sitcoms lack depth however one of the recurring one is the need to be loved, this is shown in HIMYM with Ted, The Big Bang Theory with Leonard Two and a Half men with Alan (Charlie’s Brother). This is added with the need for completion as a person whether that is financially or within there personal lives. However this raises the ideology that everyone needs a significant other to be complete and reach optimum happiness and fulfillment.