Sad Coms

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Sad Coms

    A recent article I read said that Netflix no longer was interested in developing “Sad Coms.” Now that’s a term I had never heard, but its meaning is clear. And maybe puts a finger on why I don’t like many current sitcoms.

    At the heart of these shows is a character or characters who are miserable. We’re supposed to find their struggles, most of them futile, amusing. The various ways they fail or **** themselves over is the path to comedy.

    I acknowledge it may be a generational thing, but I tend to find those shows depressing. Yes, there needs to be conflict, yes your protagonist needs to struggle, but as I writer I’ve always felt it was my job to love my characters. They could be horribly flawed, but like a proud father, I had to love them.

    I don’t get the sense that the writers of “sad coms” love their characters. They’re all too delighted to humiliate them for our entertainment. So there’s a certain mean-spirited quality that goes into the writing.

    All too often characters are so self-destructive that you lose empathy for them.

    I do think this is one of the reasons why TED LASSO was such a hit. To center the show around a hugely positive character was brilliant. Netflix and other platforms are seeing that there is a limited appeal for “sad coms” while brighter, life-affirming shows are attracting viewers.

    We’re all engulfed in such dark times. Why must all our comedy be dark as well? Again, I’m admittedly from a different era, but I miss sitcoms with characters I care about, grounded in humanity, that make me genuinely laugh. Just for fun, how about developing a few of those?


    More...
Working...
X