TMC
04-07-2026, 02:18 AM
https://jacksonupperco.com/2026/04/01/the-ten-best-community-episodes-of-season-one/
Community, like the next two shows on my docket — Modern Family and The Middle — premiered in the last season of the 2000s decade. But since it largely ran during the 2010s, I’d say its arrival here on Sitcom Tuesdays officially marks this blog’s entrance into a new era of situation comedy. Oh, all right, we’ve been dabbling in the 2010s for a while now. Both The Big Bang Theory and Parks And Recreation made deep runs into the 2010s, and many of the other shows I’ve recently examined here have touched it as well. I guess you could say the 2010s have crept up on us. But that’s by design because, truthfully, the prospect of studying this decade has been daunting. With so many shows as a result of TV’s expanding media landscape, a full picture of the 2010s requires a look at many shows. And the problem with that is… well, I don’t love this era. I resent that its overarching trends have been harmful to the situation comedy art form that I cherish. That is, I believe both “situation” and “comedy” have been conceptually undermined by Peak TV and its consequential tenets. Specifically, the increasing need for binge-able, on-demand content has only accentuated narrative serialization, forcing higher emotional stakes within storytelling while naturally emphasizing dramatic ideas, and in turn minimizing comedic ones.
Community, like the next two shows on my docket — Modern Family and The Middle — premiered in the last season of the 2000s decade. But since it largely ran during the 2010s, I’d say its arrival here on Sitcom Tuesdays officially marks this blog’s entrance into a new era of situation comedy. Oh, all right, we’ve been dabbling in the 2010s for a while now. Both The Big Bang Theory and Parks And Recreation made deep runs into the 2010s, and many of the other shows I’ve recently examined here have touched it as well. I guess you could say the 2010s have crept up on us. But that’s by design because, truthfully, the prospect of studying this decade has been daunting. With so many shows as a result of TV’s expanding media landscape, a full picture of the 2010s requires a look at many shows. And the problem with that is… well, I don’t love this era. I resent that its overarching trends have been harmful to the situation comedy art form that I cherish. That is, I believe both “situation” and “comedy” have been conceptually undermined by Peak TV and its consequential tenets. Specifically, the increasing need for binge-able, on-demand content has only accentuated narrative serialization, forcing higher emotional stakes within storytelling while naturally emphasizing dramatic ideas, and in turn minimizing comedic ones.