Three Words You Won't Hear this Fall? "New Hit Sitcom"

What's the comedy outlook for fall? Bleak. Very Bleak.

Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki in CBS' "The Big Bang Theory"

CBS

Amy Kane, Sep 14, 2007

Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out whether the sitcom is a dying breed, or if it is just temporarily out of vogue. Although there are a few solid shows returning (including How I Met Your Mother, part of CBS’s Thursday night lineup), the real litmus test for a genre is what new material is being developed. I decided to take a look at this season’s new comedies to see if there was anything worthwhile.

Samantha Who?(Mondays at 9:30, ABC)
Jesse not withstanding, Christina Applegate does have a valid comedy pedigree. The premise leaves room for plenty of laugh-worthy moments: Samantha is hit by a car and gets amnesia. As she learns about her former self, she discovers that she used to be a raging bitch. The supporting cast includes Jean Smart, Barry Watson, and Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls’ Sookie). Promising, but it’s up against Heroes.

Aliens in America (Mondays at 8:30, CW)
A bullied Midwest teenager with no friends decides to import one: an exchange student from Pakistan. Situations will arise that deal with typical coming-of-age issues, as well as social issues that are inevitable when a Pakistani Muslim is plopped in the middle of snow-white Wisconsin. It’s definitely not safe, and I think it has potential. The cast includes Gilmore Girls’ Scott Patterson.

The Big Bang Theory (Mondays at 8:30, CBS)
One of two geek-themed shows premiering this fall (the other one is time slot competitor Chuck), The Big Bang Theory features Roseanne’s Johnny Galecki and Garden State’s Jim Parsons as brilliant physics geeks who compete for the affections of their neighbor. It’s true that many super-smart people are not so good with social skills, but I’m not sure a whole series can be built around that. And when that’s played out, what’s left? Math humor?

Cavemen (Tuesdays at 8, ABC)
I don't know what to say about this one because I'm pretty sure it's not actually a real show. I predict that during the time slot of the season premiere, some ABC network honcho and that little lizard are going to come on and announce that it was all an elaborate practical joke/publicity stunt to promote the actual show, a smart, single-camera comedy about a network exec (Stephen Root) unable to effectively do his job because he is crippled by twin addictions to crack and online shoe shopping. His band of underlings have a running bet to see who can get him to greenlight the most preposterous show.

In the pilot, Seymour (Nicholas Brendon) pitches Cavemen, and it looks like he's won, but scrappy Taylor (Tina Majorino) has a project up her sleeve featuring the Aflac duck and Travelocity Roaming Gnome as feuding neighbors. Wacky hijinks and sexual tension ensue. The title of the show is, naturally, Unnamed Corporate Mascot Project. It will run for 11 years.

Carpoolers (Tuesdays at 8:30, ABC)
I was all prepared to hate the very idea of this show. It’s paired with Cavemen, and the words Jerry O’Connell and comedy in close proximity tend to make me think of Kangaroo Jack and Tomcats. But then I heard that it is helmed by The Kids in the Hall’s Bruce McCulloch, and now I’m going to have to watch it at least once.

Back to You (Wednesdays at 8, Fox)
Between them, Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton have 31 years of starring on highly rated sitcoms. Although it is getting good press, Back to You (about rival local news anchors) seems like it will appeal to a slightly older demographic, people like my dad, who fondly remember shows like Cheers and Murphy Brown. I’m not sure those people are Fox viewers. In fact, I’m pretty sure my dad doesn’t know he gets Fox.

And that’s it, folks. Between the four broadcast networks, there are a total of six new half-hour comedies premiering this fall. That is compared to 16 new dramas. None of these look like surefire hits; few of them even entice me to watch the pilot. It looks like anybody hoping for a comedy renaissance is going to have to wait until at least 2008.

* * *

Amy Kane spends as much quality time with her television as possible, when she's not busy at her day job as a cube dweller.

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Three Words You Won't Hear this Fall? "New Hit Sitcom"

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