History of the Sitcom (2021) User Reviews (20)

Should Have Been Titled, "The Progressive's Viewpoint of the History of the Sitcom"

[asc85 · 6/10 · 13 August 2021]

The content of this show is interesting, which is why I rated it as highly as I did. Unfortunately, from the first 5 minutes of episode 1, the series is decidedly hard left, which is so unnecessary. Who wants to hear smug talking heads pontificate on how bad sitcoms were in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, because all the shows were about White people?

The hard left focus was a bit of a surprise to me, as I had seen CNN documentary series in the past, like the ones of the decades (e.g., 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's) as well as their History of Comedy series, and they were all pretty much down-the-middle without an overt political agenda. Why they chose to have such a strong progressive point of view for this series is sad, and shows how much CNN has drank the Kool-Aid.

Episode 2, ostensibly about the evolution of showing sex on sitcoms was instead about 75% about the plight of LGBTQ. In episode 3, "Friends" co-creator Marta Kauffman had to apologize on camera for all the main characters being White.

Normally, I would wait until I had seen the entire series, but now that I've seen six of the eight episodes, my opinion is already baked in. I look forward to watching the final two episodes and learning more about how straight White men are the bane of human existence...and the TV sitcom.

Basically Solid, Though Blatantly Unfair To Certain Shows

[zkonedog · 7/10 · 23 August 2021]

All these CNN miniseries are made with such high production values that they are almost impossible not to enjoy. Of the ones I've watched, I don't think I've gone below a 7/10 star rating. "History of the Sitcom" slots right into that range. It isn't as good as some of the others, but still provides some great entertainment & education over the course of its nine episodes.

Basically, this miniseries lives up to its title, providing an in-depth look at the history of TV sitcoms. Instead of proceeding chronologically, each episode centers on a particular theme (fantasy, nerds, family, work, etc.) and explores the appropriate sitcoms to fit those themes.

Like I said, the production value is extremely high here. Clips from the sitcoms in question are interspersed with interviews from their stars and analysts providing historical context. It is all very sleek and just seems to fit together perfectly.

The only reason this isn't closer to a 8/9 star ranking? Frankly, because it is blatantly dismissive of certain shows for very politically-motivated reasons. For example, shows like "Friends" and "Gilligan's Island" are immediately dismissed after a sentence or two because of their lack of a diverse cast. Yet, "The Cosby Show" gets a much more in-depth look, considering its success and then subsequent problematic status in the wake of its star's actions. For the most part, "History of the Sitcom" actually does a fine job of presenting a diverse, wide-ranging look at all types of sitcoms, which is why the utter dismissal of a few iconic ones was so puzzling and frustrating.

Overall, though, this was a solidly produced look at an American TV institution. Maybe not quite as fair or compelling as some of its network counterparts, but easily a "worthy watch" for a string of weeks.

Same old political crap

[cockezville · 6/10 · 13 July 2021]

I would love to see a really good history of the sitcom without all the same players. Of course they were vital , but this series brushes over the 50's and naturally spends most of its time on I Love Lucy. So many other shows that could be explored. They drag Norman Lear, Suzanne Somers, Eric McCormick out to expound and naturally we once again visit, Maude, Good Times, Modern Family ad nauseam.

The sitcom is a special art, a half hour format whose style comes from that 2/ minutes of entertainment.

Sex and the City, Fleabag, and others mentioned are not sitcoms. This ruined the whole premise of the show. So far, very bored.

Interesting Exploration of How Television Both Reflects and Influences Evolving Society

[jennifer-baum · 9/10 · 29 August 2021]

This is an excellent and thorough examination of many of the most popular sit-coms and how the medium - unique in its widespread influence - interacts with society. The episodes are watchable and light, due to the presentation consisting of quickly interspersed clips of the sitcoms themselves, news clips showing life outside the TV, and interviews with people who have devoted their entire lives to the industry (sometimes from childhood).

I appreciate how it looks at the whole history within each episode, focusing on a particular facet of society (family, work, sex, race, etc.). The viewer is able to join actors, writers, producers, and critics of the shows we've all grown up with and hear stories explaining how the paths of shows were forged and how current entertainment is related to the very different earliest shows of 70 years ago.

People who don't like the diversity being explored in society today - and therefore within up-to-date popular culture - might not appreciate the value of this. This documentary series is acknowledging the ways our world has changed, not politicizing (unlike many of the reviews listed here). It's a valuable contribution to the history of popular culture.

Liking the history.

[dinojoeybell · 10/10 · 26 July 2021]

I'm enjoying these episodes. I grew up watching many of these sitcoms and like hearing from the actors and others in the business how they lived or viewed them. Yes they touch on topics that were affected during those years and you may or may not agree with it but that's their history.

Fun to upset the GQP

[loribateson · 10/10 · 26 July 2021]

So many sad conservatives upset by this series automatically earns it a 10.

When did reviewers become political

[jgager-95960 · 10/10 · 16 August 2021]

Seems like all the 1 star reviews here have one thing in common. They don't appreciate talking about race or class or anything ruffles their perspective of the American situation.

An incredible waste of time

[danashcraft-70060 · 1/10 · 17 July 2021]

For the woke generation. In the first five minutes they find ways to complain about all the sitcoms in the beginning being about white people, women wearing dresses and it just wasn't real. Guess what That's what people liked and watched. If you want to call it the history of the sitcom get the politics out of it get the opinion out of it and talk about the facts. People laughed at the Vitamratavegamin commercial on I love Lucy because it was funny. There was no message intended. Is there nobody in Hollywood that can present something without a bias?

Entertaining and informative doc series that takes one back thru the tube decades and how series and shows changed with generational times!

[blanbrn · 9/10 · 3 August 2021]

"CNN" original series has once again done it as with this latest "History of the Sitcom" it's a historical and text book lesson a journey down TV's memory lane as it looks at landmark shows of the past and how they shaped culture and society. Any TV history or pop culture buff will love this series, as it looks thru the decades of the tube even as far back as black and white to see how times would change over the course. Interviews are given with series stars, TV network and series creators as they give their takes on how certain sitcoms changed America. Clips shown bring back memories of joy, comfort, and escape, as it's nice to see show origins along with it's growing pains. And each episode focuses on a different theme and genre that involved the overview of the sitcom from "Family", "Just Friends", "Sex", "Working for Laughs", "Race" and "Moving on Up", to being cast as "Outsiders". And with each episode the viewer sees how sitcoms and the theme changed with times and people. Really this is great TV history! Thru it all as one views each episode looking back you can again enjoy old laughs and old times while realizing that the history of sitcoms and the way they changed opened up people's minds for new thoughts.

Not very informative

[drjgardner · 4/10 · 26 July 2021]

With a series like this they could have done a marvelous job talking about society, the business, the actors, the networks, etc. Instead they do a half-based job on everything. Why do it?

All about wokeness

[lhmosca · 3/10 · 19 July 2021]

Typical of CNN, this is all about wokeness. I couldn't even make it through the second episode as it's ALL about normalizing what isn't normal. I had to just turn it off.

Another rewrite attempt

[b4blue · 1/10 · 19 July 2021]

It's a history from a parallel universe, that briefly exists in ours. Everything you thought was true isn't, according to some people, that try to kill humour in everything. Thankfully we can just ignore them and enjoy comedy without their grumpiness.

lmao cnn

[ttegoss · 1/10 · 20 July 2021]

They pulled out all of the stops for this one...2 episodes in and they're really shoving their agenda down the viewers throat...it's funny some of the sitcoms they drone on about being so great ( the woke reboot of one day at a time) funny those shows got cancelled because nobody wants to watch a woke reboot and here these guys are celebrating it in the history of sitcoms...

This is so woke it is broke

[cdeanroane · 1/10 · 4 August 2021]

A few old stars from great sitcoms but mostly unknowns who are pushing their revisionist agenda!

Rhetoric does not help bring our country together

[starrillion · 1/10 · 9 August 2021]

Like any problem we have, either personally or as a group, you move forward by letting go of the past and doing better for the future. Any Psychologist will tell you this. They would never suggest you constantly rehash what happened. This is especially detrimental to the health of those oppressed.

Fun spoiled by over analysis, misrepresentation and woke nonsense

[bluesman-96747 · 5/10 · 18 August 2021]

What should have been a fun and light hearted look back, with minimal social commentary sadly turned into a cringeworthy and often irrelevant , inaccurate over analysis that took all the air out of the balloon.

Rather too many people attempting to apply their on rather faulty and false social ethics to history that often simply made comedy for what it as, something to laugh at and with.

Many of these people had little or no direct involvement in the actual comedy creation process.

It seems as if CNN management sat round a table with a white board full of all the latest terms and words that had to be included in order to fulfil some false sense of diversity and wokeness.

But in the end, it delivered too much that made the viewer roll eyes, tut and sigh.

I tried so hard to look past the faux commentary and.enjoy reliving some moments from my past but the final straw came when Margaret Cho spoke of cultural appropriation and misogyny, not having a clue what each actually means and with such an airy tone that looked down upon the audience.

It is so ironic that what should be a celebration of comedy was too often used as an excuse to over analyse, make wholly subjective assumptions, presented as fact and completely forget the whole point of the exercise.

One of the frequent contributors was the editor in chief of the A. V. Club, that has a tagline 'Pop culture obsessives writing for the pop culture obsessed'.

Obsessed is correct but sadly, all the obsession has clouded the brain so much that the neurons cannot be seen for the grey matter.

Very uneven

[rwags333 · 4/10 · 23 August 2021]

This series definitely had some great observations on the subject but overall I felt like it could have been so much better. Add in the glaring omission of shows like Soap and Benson among others really make it feel like a missed opportunity.

Too Much Social Commentary

[deeez_nutz · 3/10 · 14 September 2021]

Too much "woke" angles in this documentary. That's nice and all that these show broke barriers but please let us know more about the performers, writers, show history, economics and studio atmosphere instead of yet another group of talking heads telling us about the advancements of "x" group for the 100th time.

A pathetic, scary footnote to update (2021)...

[rsvp321 · 25 August 2021]

A pathetic, scary footnote for 2021 - So many of these comedians, notably Jerry Seinfeld et al, refuse to perform at any of today's college campuses because the students have lost their sense of humor. With so many social agendas, there are too many people that are sitting on the edge of the seat ready to be offended and attack.

Scary.

Very formulaic

[networktvisdead · 5/10 · 29 August 2021]

This series follows the formula that most History Channel docs follow: Snippet, actor/critic comment, repeat, commercial. It's nice to see some of the old shows represented, as well as the grown up actors comment. We watched these shows because they were funny, that's it. Never gave two sh#ts if the actors were white or black. Those were the good times!!!!