The Disappearance of the American Sitcom
The American sitcom dominated television for decades, but its popularity has seen a sharp decline since the inception of streaming. The number of sitcoms produced today is a small fraction of what was produced during its more than 30 years on top of the charts. Sitcoms no longer sit at the top of television ratings, with sports and reality television taking the top spots. This suggests streaming is increasingly moving viewers away from the sitcom format, and possibly even comedic formats entirely. Netflix itself has become the go-to platform for dramas, and these numbers confirm that.
Since streaming became mainstream, major changes in sitcom preferences have come to light. According to analytics, the demand for sitcoms varies by streamer with viewers preferring network sitcoms to those created strictly for streaming. Not only that, but the same study shows that the sitcom was the most in demand sub-genre of television in-demand in 2022. During that period, the top three sitcoms were animated, with The Simpsons at the top of the list, followed by Rick and Morty and Family Guy. Below them was The Big Bang Theory, which since hitting Netflix has dominated the streaming charts. Demand for the show was so high following its Netflix debut that it was sitting in the 99.87th percentile of comedy shows. These numbers haven’t been replicated since. Part One of this research discusses the top ten most streamed shows in the U.S. in 2023.
Image: the Big Bang Theory Cast
Source: TV Fanatic
What Streamers are Currently Producing & the Algorithm
Dramas have overtaken the streaming landscape as streamers have outpaced traditional television watching methods. With nine out of ten of Netflix’s top ten original shows being dramas, the only exception being Fubar, the Arnold Schwarzenegger action comedy sitting at the bottom of the list at number 10, it is increasingly clear that streaming has become the go to place for dramatic series. At the top of the list for 2023 is The Night Agent, the Richard Madden drama with 812 million hours viewed as a singular season, an astounding feat as the second on the list, Ginny & Georgia, had 665.1 million views for its second season. Although viewing hours of the first season are not included, the momentum from the first season certainly helped propell the show to the number 2 spot. The first season took its own spot in the top ten with 302.1 million hours viewed. Combined these numbers out total The Night Agent.
Image: 11 Best Detective Shows to Solve the Mystery of Your Next Stream
Image Source: Netflix
Netflix is unable to assess demographics, but it does divide its viewers into taste groups that have led to an unfortunate cancellation cycle. Any viewer can be in any number of the company’s different taste groups dependent upon viewing habits. Those taste groups directly attribute to Netflix’s cancel or renew decision on each show. One of the most crucial factors in this decision is whether people within these taste groups complete a season or not. A show may have far more viewers than another, but if enough people do not complete the season within a certain amount of taste groups, Netflix will cancel the show. One great example of this being Netflix’s 90’s coming of age comedy, EVERYTHING SUCKS!. The show did quite well upon release in terms of sheer number of streams, but the completion rates were low. The show was subsequently cancelled a few months later, even with high enthusiasm from its audience, and has since solidified itself as one of the prime examples of the company’s cancelled too soon climate.
The precedent for cancelling incredibly popular shows in their first and second seasons on Netflix has now become common knowledge to viewers. This quick-to-cancel culture has created something of a conundrum for the streamer. The biggest shows on streaming are acquired titles with a large library of episodes, such as Friends. These titles ran for years, some over a decade, and therefore make for an ideal binge-watching experience. When Netflix cancels their shows so quickly, they remove the possibility of these shows from ever reaching the lengths that many of these top-streamed shows did. Not only that, but Netflix doesn’t take into account that viewers may want to come back and watch later once they know the show is safe and renewed for another season. Viewers are tired of investing in shows they know will be quickly cancelled, making it near impossible for a long running hit to come to fruition.
Thanks to the hostile viewing environment Netflix has created, shows are not allowed to take time to breathe and grow, especially within the binge-model. The streamer tends to cancel their shows quite quickly on average, and so if audiences want to keep their new favorite show around, they must essentially make sure everyone they know watches said show and completes the season in order to help secure its renewal. Netflix is not only setting viewers up for a letdown when the show they invest a minimum of eight hours into is cancelled, but also for themselves, as another viable show has just been cut and viewership will begin to plummet knowing that resolutions will never be found by audiences. The problem has grown so widespread that Netflix faced considerable backlash when it cancelled 1899, from the creators of their hit show DARK. The show was touted heavily as the follow up to DARK and the first of a three season run that had already been plotted out. Numbers were solid in its first week, but subsequently began to diminish, thanks in part to the fear of cancellation. When completion rates for the season didn’t match what Netflix had hoped for, the show was subsequently cancelled.
If Netflix were to remove the algorithm from its decision making process and give some of these shows a longer chance to find an audience, they may find themselves with a larger catalog of long-running series that could begin to rival the ones we are seeing currently dominating the charts. Netflix continues to foster this culture of quick cancellations, and by doing so, is removing itself from contention for these slots on the tv charts they so highly covet.
The Curious Case of the Reboot & Spin-Off
The sitcom reboot has become a curious trend of the past decade, ushering in a variation on an old format that started with Arrested Development’s unsuccessful return. It was set Fuller House however that cemented the formula for sitcom reboots to come when it burst onto Netflix with its nostalgia-soaked antics. This sanitized continuation of Full House was met with critical and audience disdain, but in spite of that, persisted for five seasons. Other sitcoms followed, all returning with less serious tones, leaving audiences polarized. One of the few reboots to reach both audience and critical success is The Connors, a revival of Roseanne that debuted in 2018. Even after firing its lead star Roseanne Barr following controversy after the first season, the show has continued on to great success. Although it hasn’t seen massive numbers in streaming, it is the exception to the reboot trend, and successfully managed to keep a similar tone to its predecessor.
Hulu took a massive risk that paid off for a short period of time with their sitcom How I Met Your Father, a spinoff of How I Met Your Mother which aired on CBS. The show, released in 2022, was one of the few straight-to-streaming sitcoms to come out of the last few years. Led by Hilary Duff of Lizzie McGuire fame, and a host of other up and coming actors, the show was poised for a huge success, especially with the promise of returning characters from the original series. Hulu also chose to release the show on weekly basis, unlike other streaming services. The 13 episode first season debuted to horrible reviews unlike its predecessor, but numbers and curiosity were enough to keep it afloat, and Hulu renewed it for a full size 20 episode second season. This was almost unheard of in the streaming era. However, audiences and critics alike noticed an even further decline in quality and by the end of the season, interest had faded. The show was cancelled shortly after season 2 wrapped its launch on the platform. The success of the first season demonstrates that audiences still have interest in these formats of shows, but quality has to be maintained, and with the second season of How I Met Your Father, this was simply not the case.
One major exception to the failed reboot and spin-off trend is Young Sheldon, which has become the single biggest sitcom spin-off to reach mainstream success. The show has grown to be the biggest comedy of cable, in part thanks to the success of its predecessor, The Big Bang Theory. The family sitcom follows the hijinks of genius Sheldon Cooper as he navigates the world of academia throughout his formative years. The show has been a resounding success for its network, and became an even larger hit once it landed on Netflix in 2024. Young Sheldon strayed from the reboot and spin-off formula with a sense of genuineness that hasn’t been seen in the sitcom landscape in many years. Young Sheldon and How I Met Your Father are two exceptions to the current state of the sitcom show that there can be success if the right market is tapped into, however quality must be maintained if the show wants to continue long term.
What do Audiences Want?
Streamers are not adapting their content development strategies to focus on what audiences want. Viewers are heavily rewatching older shows, especially in a post-covid world where Suits was the most-streamed show on streaming in 2023, after its acquisition by Netflix. This trend continued with the top ten most streamed shows, with all ten shows being acquired titles, instead of streaming originals or shows airing currently. This suggests that audiences’ tastes are not lining up with the content that streamers are producing.
In a statistically insignificant survey of 160 random viewers, 63.4% of television viewers said that they are satisfied with the content that streamers are producing. Percentages go up drastically as the viewer gets younger. In contrast, when asked if viewers thought that streamers were listening to what audiences want, only 47.5% said yes. That left 52.5% of viewers in disagreement, saying that they believe streamers are not listening to what audiences want. These numbers align with the 51.6% of viewers surveyed who said they do not believe television today is well balanced, with 13.2% saying current television is not serious enough, and the other 38.4% saying it is too serious.
Chart created by author.
Viewers’ tastes ranged across the spectrum, but where viewers surveyed showed the most discourse in their answers was their treatment of the sitcom versus a comedy. When asked to input their favorite television show and its genre, 1 out of 5 of viewers mislabeled their favorite shows. The biggest disparity came from comedies and sitcoms. Viewers seem to not understand what a sitcom is versus a comedy. Although there is a grey area between some shows, a sitcom is defined as a situational comedy that features a family or a family-like unit, a definition many seem to have lost sight of.
Chart created by author.
Another point of contention is when viewers were asked what decade their most-watched show was from. A staggering 36% said that the show they have watched most is from present day, in sharp contrast with the viewing data from 2023’s top ten. In that list, every show had debuted prior to 2018.
With these numbers in mind, it becomes clear that American television viewers are unsure of what they want. Not only do they not know how to properly define some of their favorite shows in a landscape where the lines between genres are blurring, but also in what they want from streamers. With over 50% of all viewers wanting a change in programming, streamers are left to produce what they want. If the viewer cannot even explain themselves, streamers are left unrestrained to use their tools and algorithms to continue to produce the type of content they have been that has left viewers unhappy.
When asked what audiences want to see more of, responses were broad. The three most common were shorter runtimes, a desire for more comedies, and more shows that are family-oriented. These responses seem to be a sharp rejection of streaming’s current slate of productions, but audiences have so quickly become attuned to streaming’s darker, more serious ways since its inception, that they seem to have a hard time recognizing they are not happy with what streamers are producing as a whole. Each of these charts demonstrates a conflicting response from the same group. Streaming came far too quickly and progressed too rapidly, and viewers simply had to accept what streamers wanted to create. Instead of streaming playing catch up to viewers needs, viewers are having to align themselves to the streamers’ wants.
Chart created by author.
The Standoff
With audiences unable to accurately voice what they want, and streamers self-sabotaging algorithms running amok, dictating what they create, a standoff between the two has begun boiling under the surface. The streaming world has developed its own sensibilities, slowly since inception, but audience tastes haven’t kept up with those changes, especially in older generations. Now that streaming is a mainstay in the television market, audiences are slowly becoming aware of the often overwhelming amount of shows and the minuscule amount that actually fit their tastes. This problem has been well-acknowledged by Netflix, with the company creating a new feature that will choose what to watch for viewers. This doesn’t address the root of the problem though, as viewers are finding it more and more difficult to find shows they enjoy watching, as many from the above survey suggested.
Streamers, far more so than cable, are refusing to capitalize on the consumers’ desires for sitcoms in an age where few exist. Netflix does not have a single long-running sitcom show as of 2024, an astounding statistic for the biggest streamer in the industry. Yet shows like Young Sheldon, which are dominating the cable charts, are hitting its service and shooting to the top of the streaming charts. Revenue is being lost by streamers by not moving into this market more aggressively, and a once culturally significant art form is slowly dying away. This begs the question of why streamers seem oblivious to the amount of comedy viewers watch as acquired titles on their platforms, yet do not move forward with comedy projects, even when the market is wide open and shows such as Young Sheldon are prime examples of the success a well-produced show can be.
Audiences may not know how to voice what they want, but they do make it clear with their viewing habits. Although sensibilities may vary from state to state in the U.S. in terms of overall taste, audiences know quality and when to invest their easily spent time. Until either makes a move, the same errors will keep being repeated. Streamers will continue to develop and produce shows that will inevitably be cancelled quickly, and audiences will receive shows that they aren’t even interested in watching because it all follows the same format that streaming has been stuck in for a decade now. The sitcom will be the biggest victim of this standoff, as streamers further invest in their old habits that have led to its demise.
How We Move Forward
In order to resolve this standoff between streaming services and their viewers, a solution is going to have to be found. The only one that creates extra revenue though is if streamers change their approach to their algorithms or find creative ways to survey customers tastes. Netflix in particular has created a particularly self-destructive model that will not allow for shows to find an audience. Binge-models work for certain types of programs, but when it comes to comedies, specifically sitcoms, longer lead times between episodes to help foster a sense of care for these characters is crucial. Their current algorithm eliminates that by not giving viewers enough time to complete a season of a new show. In this current climate, viewers are apprehensive to start a new show and invest a time in something that could be quickly cancelled. This is even more understandable when the sheer number of television shows on streaming is recognized. Until Netflix, and streamers as a whole, step back and stop worrying about minor short term losses from certain shows not picking up steam quickly, they will not find themselves with long-running series that they so greatly wish to emulate.
Hulu showed a sitcom could be successful with How I Met Your Father, as long as the writing stays consistent. Audiences still have the capacity to watch a comedy week to week, but these shows must have the beating heart that audiences grown accustomed to in the days of television past. In terms of How I Met Your Father, comparisons to the quality of the original series were inevitable. It isn’t enough for a sitcom to simply be amusing in the age of streaming. Audiences want to see the heights of the greatest sitcoms reached once again, and until that happens, they will happily rewatch their old favorites instead of investing the time into new ones. Streamers need to recognize the value these shows have, and the numbers they hold on streaming, and give audiences the grace and time to be able to develop a fondness for their productions.
Another great option would be for streamers to find a better way to survey their audiences besides the like button. Incentivizing a rating after viewing, asking for feedback, and more could all be implemented in ways to get audiences to not only interact with the platform more, but to also help them truly learn what their audiences want instead of creating show after show and cancelling them within months of their debut. Not only would this be more financially sound, not investing millions into development, but also it would allow streamers to hopefully create shows that would stand the test of time and could build them up a catalog of seasons and even spin-offs if they were to continue long enough.
On the other end of the spectrum, viewers will also have to start to be more vocal moving forward. Social media will be vital to making their voices heard when it comes to cancellations of shows they enjoy. This isn’t new information, but it is something that viewers will need to become more accustomed with if they ever want to get the attention of streamers who refuse to listen to what they want.
There may be no clear cut way to end this standoff, and with no resolution to be found, comedy and the sitcom will remain a dying art form. If streamers want to build a catalog of long-running shows, they will need to take a hard look at what their viewers are watching and rewatching, as well as what is doing well on cable. The sitcom has lived a cyclical existence, and we are fast approaching the time when we could see a revival, but in order for that to happen, streamers will have to step back from their habits and begin to reassess their production slate. The sitcom has grown and developed with the world it is being aired in, and it will have to find a way to adapt to today’s day and age. What shape that may take remains to be seen, but when a sitcom is done well, and when audiences have the time to invest week to week with its characters, it can capture the heart of viewers. If streamers wise up, and take a look to the past, they may just find their future, and we may once again see the sitcom rise to the top of the charts.
Until that time, streamers and viewers will remain at odds, both unhappy with the shows being produced and the reception to them.
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