View Full Version : What if Cheers was a single-camera show instead of a multi-camera one


TMC
01-15-2022, 01:28 AM
To give you a better idea (http://nostalgiarush.blogspot.com/2019/09/random-thoughts-are-multi-camera.html):
Single camera shows have their advantages. For instance they have a lot more freedom to explore their own universe, not being confined to a stage week after week. Imagine if on Cheers the gang were able to get out into the city more often (aside from the occasional teaser). But Cheers is one of the greatest sitcoms ever made, not because it was multi camera but because it was so damn good. The big pro to multi camera format is that the focus is tighter on the characters so we get to know them better which makes us care about them more. There is a reason why when a multi camera sitcom signs off its an event while not so much for a single camera sitcom (with exceptions of course, MASH for instance).

Alan Brady's Hair
01-15-2022, 08:30 AM
Single camera shows display an unusual inability to grow an audience. It's extremely unlikely that Cheers could have moved from #77 in the ratings its first season to #34 in its second. The show would have had two choices: either go the Odd Couple/Happy Days route and switch to a live audience or get cancelled.