re: Jerry Seinfeld and his comments about comedy on TV.
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/julia-louis-dreyfus-says-criticism-jerry-seinfelds-political-correctne-rcna156352

Bottom line: things change. What people laugh at changes over time.

Shows in the 60s that were popular then seem dumb now (i.e. - Gilligan's Island, Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, etc.).

And some shows that were considered funny or even edgy in the 70s couldn't be broadcast now (i.e. - All in the Family, Barney Miller, Threes Company, etc.).
To be fair, many shows that were popular recently wouldn't be aired during "The Golden Age of Comedy" (whenever you think that was). 2 Broke Girls was way more crass than it was funny.

Even the original Night Court vs. the remade Night Court proves my point - Viewers who thought the original was incredibly funny (like me!) believe that the remake is less funny. It's not; it's just different.

Bottom line: things have changed.

And some shows that were considered funny or even edgy in the 70s couldn't be broadcast now (i.e. - All in the Family, Barney Miller, Threes Company, etc.).


I assume you mean that they couldn't shown in first run today? I don't think there's any evidence of that at all. Big Bang Theory dominated for as long as it was on, and it was a throwback - very similar to Friends.

They simply stopped producing sitcoms that people wanted to watch. I don't know why that was. Part of it was that they could charge higher ad rates for "Office"-type shows because kids watched them, and kids are susceptible to advertising. But they had very poor ratings overall, and when 30 Rock, Parks & Rec, etc. failed to draw significant audiences, they just replaced them with similar shows that also failed. It was a failure of networks, producers, advertisers, but there's no evidence that the audience would have rejected comedies in the traditional style.

They simply stopped producing sitcoms that people wanted to watch. I don't know why that was. Part of it was that they could charge higher ad rates for "Office"-type shows because kids watched them, and kids are susceptible to advertising. But they had very poor ratings overall, and when 30 Rock, Parks & Rec, etc. failed to draw significant audiences, they just replaced them with similar shows that also failed. It was a failure of networks, producers, advertisers, but there's no evidence that the audience would have rejected comedies in the traditional style.

I think that such may be the same for dramas (action shows, crime dramas, medical dramas)-- apparently a lot of people these days don't want the really good shows of that genre (in my opinion) like The Untouchables, Have Gun Will Travel, Emergency! and The Streets of San Francisco among others; they seem to gravitate more towards Buffy, True Detective, Supernatural and Ghost Whisperer, among things that I personally wouldn't touch hide or hair of.