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Sitcom

A sitcom (a shortening of situation comedy, or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy centred on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms.

For the film by François Ozon, see Sitcom (film).

A sitcom may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the program's production format. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track.


Critics disagree over the utility of the term "sitcom" in classifying shows that have come into existence since the turn of the 21st century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use the single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, thus often resembling the dramedy shows of the 1980s and 1990s rather than the traditional sitcom.[1]

Black sitcom

List of sitcoms

Animated sitcom

Lewisohn, Mark (2003) Radio Times' Guide to TV Comedy. 2nd Ed. Revised – BBC Consumer Publishing.  0-563-48755-0, Provides details of every comedy show ever seen on British television, including imports.

ISBN

Padva, Gilad (2005) Desired Bodies and Queer Masculinities in Three Popular TV Sitcoms. In Lorek-Jezinska, Edyta and Wieckowska, Katarzyna (Eds.), Corporeal Inscriptions: Representations of the Body in Cultural and Homosexual Literature (pp. 127–138). Torun, Poland: Nicholas Copernicus University Press.  83-231-1812-4

ISBN

Asplin, Richard (2004) Gagged – A Thriller With Jokes – Arrow books.  0-09-941685-9 is a contemporary comic thriller set in London and Los Angeles that covers the financing, production, creation, ratings and marketing of a modern American network half-hour situation comedy

ISBN

Mary M. Dalton (1 February 2012). . SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-8263-6.

Sitcom Reader, The: America Viewed and Skewed

Antonio Savorelli (13 April 2010). . McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5992-6.

Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy

Joanne Morreale (2003). . Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2983-2.

Critiquing the Sitcom: A Reader

Brett Mills (12 January 2006). . British Film Institute. ISBN 978-1-84457-087-4.

Television Sitcom

Brett Mills (2009). . Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-3752-2.

The Sitcom

Starman, Ray "The Sitcom Class Wars:20th Century". (2014) The Troy Bookmakers, Troy NY. History and analysis of 60 classic American sitcoms. Also includes glossary for easy access. Photos for every program.

(via UC Berkeley)—mostly US programs.

Situation Comedy Bibliography

Sitcoms Online

(archived 4 April 2005)

British Comedy Guide