Between Netflix, Peacock, and catching reruns on YouTube TV, I've found myself rewatching a lot of The Office, Parks & Recreation, 30 Rock, and Community lately, and loving/appreciating every minute of each one, maybe more than ever. Add Arrested Development, along with a few others, to that general era, and the run of *great*, modern, popular network comedies lasted, roughly, from 2003 to 2015. That's a solid 12 years, at least, in the post-Seinfeld/Friends era, as the concept of live studio audiences started to feel more and more passe.

I totally get why the network drama died, in terms of being the dominant, water cooler conversation, as it was replaced by cable dramas and the Golden Age of TV. But nothing really took the place of the great network comedies mentioned above. Sure, HBO comedies gradually gained more popularity, but they still remain only a small slice of the larger pie. Rather, the popular, truly great network comedy seemingly just... stopped existing, for no apparent reason, with no obvious replacements filling that void, not even on streaming. Sure, there's still Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but it feels like the lone, surviving exception, as opposed to there being five shows of that ilk and quality airing simultaneously, being talked about all the time, creating new memes, etc.

Was that era really that rare? Was the talent both behind and in front of the camera really *that* great and unique? Lately, I've just been wondering why the networks haven't been able to duplicate - and seemingly haven't even tried to duplicate - the kind of success and brand of comedy that seemed so ubiquitous for over a decade, not that long ago. Because I feel like people would totally tune-in in droves for another would-be classic network comedy in the vein of any show I've mentioned. I can't think any reason why they wouldn't. Sure, a couple of those shows probably have, say, one two many gay jokes for modern times, but watching them again, none of them feel like they couldn't exist and succeed basically as-is today, both comedically and culturally.

So... what's the deal? Any thoughts or theories?

Notice that, of all the series you mentioned, none were on CBS. Yet CBS had the highest-rated "comedies" of the recent past.

So.....I blame Chuck Lorre and his putrid output that dominated ratings and actually dumbed down audiences. The best comedies that you mentioned eschewed live audiences for single cameras and quick witty writing. CBS and Lorre to this day still cling to pauses after jokes, laugh tracks and live studio audiences. Why? This practice should have never made it into the new century as it's incredibly dated.

The Big Bang Theory, Mom, Two and a Half Men, Young Sheldon, Mike and Molly.....all insults to comedy that were inexplicably hugely popular. I blame CBS and Lorre for killing network comedy.

The Good Place was a quality show with stars in the cast on NBC. It ran from 2016-2020. It fits the mold of big network comedy. It didn't become a huge cultural hit like the others mentioned though.

Laugh tracks

Streaming is more to blame than anything in my opinion. Networks don't have any patience thanks to streaming, and comedies need time to develop and find their audience. Seems like anyone will watch a random garbage drama show, I know because my wife does it. All the shows you mention needed two seasons to figure it out and take hold.

When I say streaming is responsible, I mean that in correlation to the viewer. I think Netflix in particular figured out they have less than the length of an episode to draw in the audience. There's no time for a slow burn when you're searching for a large audience. It's why **** like Tiger King becomes important and shows like Succession, even with its brilliance, fly under the radar.

It stinks to say, but good comedic television is a niche market these days. Really, I feel like aficionados of comedy are basically foodies, seeking out unique and high quality items to share with their people. So when you find a good one, be thankful and tell everyone you can find that might appreciate it.

BBQ4Me said:

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Laugh tracks

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I hate them, but for whatever reason, I like one with Seinfeld. Cheers, too.

Some recent winners quality and comedy wise have been The Good Place, *****ts Creek, and Brooklyn nine nine but they do seem to be much less available.

One thing that might make a difference is the changing times. A lot of things in The Office, Community and some of the others probably wouldn't have been as well received if airing today, there would be outrage/cancel articles all over. So I think it's harder for comedy shows because they have to walk a very delicate line of being funny but not offensive and you never know what the next thing people are going to be upset about is or the next big thing people get offended about. You see it on Brooklyn Nine Nine where one group gets upset when they try to tackle serious topics, and another group that is upset if there isn't enough diversity/representation/using your platform for good, so they have to figure out how to walk that line too. Community and The Office have already had episodes, scenes removed from streaming

I think it's probably just easier to do other kinds of shows too. For a good comedy you need not only a great solid main cast, but good supporting and recurring cast also. The writing has to be witty and clever with good timing, and that can be hard.

I couldn't name a single network show currently airing.

Look at the list that tcttscs put up. The Greatest ones (arrested development, parks and recs, community) had a fraction of the viewers that the mostly OK one (office) had

If you liked Scrubs (the last network comedy that I watched all the way through), you'll probably love Ted Lasso (on Apple+, which sort of proves the OP's point).

BBQ4Me said:

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Laugh tracks

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Laugh tracks didn't kill comedy. They've been used for decades.

Not to be "that guy" but I think "wokeism" is slowly killing comedy. I'm sure some writers might be gun shy on certain topics for fear of being cancelled. Just looks at the first few seasons of The Office, a lot of those episodes wouldn't fly in today's climate.

bigcat22 said:

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Not to be "that guy" but I think "wokeism" is slowly killing comedy. I'm sure some writers might be gun shy on certain topics for fear of being cancelled. Just looks at the first few seasons of The Office, a lot of those episodes wouldn't fly in today's climate.

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Valid point. See all of the stand up comedians who have publicly stated they no longer work on college campuses because of this.

bigcat22 said:

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Not to be "that guy" but I think "wokeism" is slowly killing comedy. I'm sure some writers might be gun shy on certain topics for fear of being cancelled. Just looks at the first few seasons of The Office, a lot of those episodes wouldn't fly in today's climate.

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Fear is the answer.

A controversial comedy might offend a group that will turn it into their personal mission to get that show off the air and burn it to the ground. Imagine Seinfeld running its Puerto Rican parade in today's Twitterverse. Or friends having zero black people in any significant role until I don't know the 7th or 8th season when Aisha Tyler was on as Ross/Joey's love interest for a bit?

The networks don't have pay walls other than their on demand stuff, their big numbers are advertisers who want eyes on their commercials attached to safe shows that are gently amusing without taking any big controversial stands. And they go with safe actors or people nobody's heard of that they can dispose of quickly if things get uncomfortable.

That's why the networks brought back Roseanne and Will & Grace - although Roseanne quickly effed that up; regardless the show is a concept people are familiar with and can slip back into like a comfortable pair of shoes.

No network wants a show like the Office any more where Michael is so cluelesly anti-PC, mysoginistic and racist without realizing it. No advertiser wants to be associated with a show that is getting brow-beat on Twitter within seconds of Michael having everyone play the game with the racial stereotypes on the index cards on their foreheads. That's suicide.

Of course, the networks could also just ignore social media and play the shows that make people laugh, but as of right now, that doesn't seem to be an option; the instant perception is impossible for any of them to ignore.

I think it's more to do with successful comedies are based on seriously flawed characters who are also endearing being in relatable situations to the viewer.
Two things are happening:
1. Being able to tolerate other peoples flaws is going away in this country especially with the younger generation. Social media and its interconnectedness creates a rapidly auto-correcting process in an ever evolving world of social norms. This leads to characters who have to evolve likely unnaturally which makes them hard to relate to or stuck in their old ways, which makes them unlikable.

2. Our shared experiences as a country
are declining. As we become more fractured as a country, certain subsets of the country have completely different and even incompatible world views on certain topics, which could ripe for comedic fodder.

Comedy will be just become more niche as a result in my opinion.