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How Have Family Sitcoms Changed?

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Evolution of Family Sitcoms “Blood is thicker than water.” A saying commonly heralded by family members in order to reaffirm the importance of family unity. These words spoke loud to the entertainment industry as they were trying to create new content for television. Situational comedies were quite popular, but there was a lack of relatability to families. The most logical step was to combine the two. Since then, the family sitcom has become the yearly ritual for television pilots. Furthermore, the question remains; Have family sitcoms changed? The First family sitcom to make it big is the eternally classic I love Lucy. In addition to being a pioneer of the multi-camera setup, it is considered one of the most worldwide popular shows of all …show more content…

The greatest influence of this being the animated series and longest running family sitcom; The Simpsons. The show originally started off as an animated short on the Tracy Ullman show in 1987. Later, in 1989 being picked up as its own series on Fox. The show focuses on the Simpsons family. Revolving around a satirical view on the middle class family. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie all get episodes with their perspectives being the premise of the episode. The influence the Simpsons have left on the world is clearly seen in people’s humor and hidden references. Even Homer Simpson’s catchphrase, “d’oh” is now a word. (Go ahead look it …show more content…

The past decade has not seen any notable family sitcoms that has surpassed such leaps of social justice as some had in the 1950’s or 1970’s. While that may be disappointing to some, this is also a great feat for all television audiences. So many issues that were once considered, “taboos,” now, can be the premise of the sitcom altogether. Even the little things like interracial couples, married partners in the same bed, and even mentioning a pregnant woman is considered normal. Yes, the family sitcom is still no direct comparison to the modern family arrangement, but it is as close as were going to get for

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