Over years of watching television, fans have almost tuned out the tracks of laughter that are played over the scenes. If they come to think about it, are laugh tracks really necessary for sitcoms? Or ...

When was the last time you spared a thought about sitcom laugh tracks? Probably years. Maybe decades? Sitcoms with background laughter have seemed almost dead, definitely and firmly dying, for a very ...

Ah, the ’80s—what a glorious time for sitcoms! The neon colors, the big hair, and those laugh tracks that seemed to follow us around. If you grew up during that era, chances are you have fond memories ...

After the conclusion of “My Dear Debbie,” the theatergoers at my table sat in silence. It took a moment or two for us, all strangers, to speak a little and try to re-regulate our emotions. “I’m ...

If you look at a list of the most-watched television shows of the 1990s, you’ll find that seven of the top 10 were sitcoms. As any fan who lived through it can tell you, the decade was a golden era ...

Welcome to the “Joanie Loves Chachi” of the 21st century. Like that best-left-forgotten 1980s spinoff of “Happy Days,” the new CBS sitcom “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” plucks two young characters ...

There's a lot of things that can ruin an otherwise decent sitcom. A cheesy script or underwritten characters is one. Cringey, outdated jokes or overused, tired tropes is another. But when it comes to ...

*Refers to the latest 2 years of stltoday.com stories. Cancel anytime. In NBC’s “Happy’s Place,” Reba McEntire stars as Bobbie, left, who inherits her father’s bar along with her sister Isabella ...

In the 75 years since it was introduced, the laugh track has conditioned viewers to know when and how much to laugh Some audiences love it, and some audiences hate it, but the laugh track—which ...

Once upon a time, kids, there was a TV show called Seinfeld. It was a “sitcom.” This was a term for a popular genre — watched by tens of millions of viewers — in which amusing things were said and ...

I’ve been on a sitcom kick lately. Right now, I’m in the middle of “How I Met Your Mother” for the first time, as well as “Gilmore Girls” and “2 Broke Girls,” but I always go back to the classics like ...