Sitcoms, also known as situation comedies, have been a huge part of television for decades, entertaining their audiences with humor based on everyday life. Each decade of sitcoms have brought new themes and styles to connect with their viewers. From laugh-track classics to more realistic, socially aware shows, sitcoms have stayed trendy and classic for years. By looking at shows like Friends, The Office, Modern Family, and Abbott Elementary, we can see how sitcoms have evolved over the years.
1990s
One of the most iconic sitcoms of the 1990s was Friends, starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer. The sitcom follows six friends living in New York City as they face all sorts of challenges, including love, family, work, and more. The show utilized the iconic laugh track and multi-camera format. The humor was focused on everyday life and relationships, making it enjoyable for people to watch. Though the laugh track has been criticized over the years, some argue that without the laugh track, the show isn’t as fun to watch. “But take that laugh track out and [Ross] comes off like a psychopathic villain,” Danielle Maguire, a reporter for abc.net, said. “Part of it can be explained by a study from a team of University College London researchers, who found that jokes are perceived as funnier with laugh tracks or “canned laughter.”
2000s
The Office changed the style of modern sitcoms by using a mockumentary format. Contrary to the popular 1990s sitcom, The Office did not utilize the laugh track and instead allowed humor to come from awkward and realistic reactions. Additionally, the sitcom turned away from traditional multi-camera formats and instead chose to use a single-camera format. “Up until fairly recently, the multi-camera format was the name of the game in the sitcom world. The Office changed all that…the stripped-down format of the NBC series, along with the mundane nature of the Dunder Mifflin set, shed the Hollywood-ness of the production and brought the audience into the relatable on-the-job story in a way that hadn’t really happened in television,” writer Aaron Pruner said. The show centered around simple office workers at a paper company, turning ordinary work situations into comedy. Compared to earlier sitcoms, the show’s humor is more subtle, selective, and character-driven. The Office reflected a new direction for television—one that felt more authentic and modern, appealing to viewers who liked dry and clever humor.
2010s
Modern Family, a mockumentary with 250 episodes and 22 Emmy Awards, focuses on a large, diverse family, made up of three households. The show utilizes misunderstandings and humor to explore experiences such as love, family, friends, hardships, and more. However, what makes Modern Family stand out from the rest is its diversity; creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan use the same satirical humor to represent the LGBTQ+ community, different ethnic backgrounds, and a transracial family at a time when many other sitcoms remained silent. Through the 11 seasons of the hit show, we watched the characters learn from each other, whether it was Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill) accepting his son Mitchell’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) relationship with his husband Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), or Haley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland) growing from a popular, irresponsible teen to a mature mom of twins. Overall, Modern Family does not portray the stereotypical American family, but instead illustrates a realistic, heartwarming story of a blended, loving family.
2020s
In the 2020s, the sitcom Abbott Elementary uses the mockumentary to follow the lives of teachers who work at an underfunded Philadelphia public school. Quinta Brunson, the creator and actor on Abbott Elementary, shares how watching her mom teach as a child influenced the show. “ I would go to school with her early and sit with her until it was time for me to go to class, and I would be with her at school until she was done with work. I saw so much. I saw her meeting with parents, principals. She was a huge inspiration for the show,” Brunson said. The popular show uses humor to not only show the joys of teaching, but also to portray the harsh reality teachers face, whether it’s lack of supplies, being underpaid, or dealing with personal problems. Throughout the five seasons, the audience watches as the school continues to struggle financially, though the teachers of Abbott Elementary always make it work, finding various solutions to connect, care, and keep the learning alive in their students. Nevertheless, Abbott Elementary isn’t just made for entertainment, but to show how important it is to appreciate our teachers and to recognize their efforts towards helping the future generations.
Over time, sitcoms have greatly evolved to reflect the changes in society, humor, technology, and more. Shows like Friends that focused on simple, feel-good comedy changed into sitcoms such as Abbott Elementary, which utilized a more realistic and awkward sense of humor to highlight real-world issues. Overall, sitcoms have grown from light entertainment into meaningful stories that combine humor with modern perspectives.
