Christmas TV is all repeats: why can't Britain make any new sitcoms?

[TMC]

https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/g...-b1201557.html

We used to have Great British sitcoms coming out of our ears. Now, the only hope of a laugh round here is via a nostalgia-mining reunion

Maddy Mussen
15 hours ago

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Once, me and my boyfriend lived with an Italian couple. Well, one of them was Italian, one of them was British. And I didn’t actually live there, I just spent all my time there without contributing anything towards the rent, which is probably why we don’t live with them anymore.

Regardless, the story goes like this. The Italian half of the couple entered the living room one day to see my boyfriend and I sitting on the sofa, collapsing into fits of laughter at Outnumbered, the British family-based sitcom first released in 2007.

This was not unusual for us, in fact it was the only thing we had been watching (and re-watching) for months. “What is this show and why is it always on?” she said with a hint of annoyance, which gave way to a rather bumbling reply from us about why Outnumbered is so funny. Explaining why something is funny never works.

She made a good point though, without meaning to. What was that show, and why was it always on? Or rather, why were we still obsessively re-watching a sitcom from the late 2000s that we had watched a thousand times over?

There are a lot of reasons to pick from. The romantic idealisation of having a house and a relatively stable middle class life with kids in zone three, which used to be a given for anyone working in a well-paying job but is now more akin to a glue-huffing dream than it is real life.

The skill of the child actors, who improvised many of their lines and had a real natural chemistry with each other and with their fake parents, Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner.

The fact that Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner are now together in real life, a beautiful piece of non-gossip that brings the show a renewed relevance every time you remember it.

But really, it’s all those things, and one, big thing: where have all the bloody British sitcoms gone?

This Christmas, Outnumbered is thankfully, mercifully, back, and so is Gavin and Stacey, another stalwart of British comedy television. The BBC has absolutely aced their Christmas programming and, given that the last Gavin and Stacey Christmas special was watched by 18 million people, it’s guaranteed to pull in some very tidy viewing figures indeed.

All well and good, and reunions are a staple of Christmas content, I get that, as is re-watching old favourites. But should we really be relying so heavily on mining nostalgia? Should we not have new classics to choose from?

When James Corden found out Gavin and Stacey was getting its first Christmas Special, he said it was an honour. Getting a Christmas special means you’ve made it in the TV world. Now, I can’t think of a single living British sitcom deserving of a modern day Christmas special. The closest we had was Ghosts, which had a few and was completely deserving of them, but now that’s gone too — from this realm and the next.

What happened to the days of Peep Show? The Vicar of Dibley? The IT Crowd? The Office? The Young Ones? Motherland? Crashing?

I don’t think it’s the creators’ faults, maybe not enough people are watching them. Or they’re being culled too early. There have been plenty of brilliant Britcoms recently, just none now. Won’t anyone put in the work for a good seven season run these days?

The focus on Succession-esque mega-dramas has left us with a bit of a brain drain in the comedy field. Jesse Armstrong, come back, we need you. Or some kind of prodigy of yours, at least. Do you have a daughter? Maybe we should get Konrad Kay and Mickey Down to turn Industry into a more lighthearted romp for season five. Where’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge when you need her?

All I’m asking for next Christmas is a distinctly modern British sitcom, one worthy enough for a Christmas special of its own. It’s not a lot, honestly. It could fit under the tree! In boxset form, preferably.

[Dude111]

Well I have said this before on different bases.

Everyone now are dumbed down docile morons who cant act,etc...

They were made to be this way and its sad they couldnt see what was happening

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Well I have said this before on different bases.

Everyone now are dumbed down docile morons who cant act,etc...

They were made to be this way and its sad they couldnt see what was happening

That is not true and really insulting. There are several good actors still out there. You say you are loving, calling all current actors dumb morons who can't act sure doesn't sound loving or nice... It is sad you can't see anything good about the past few decades and want everything to remain like it was half a century ago.

[Dude111]

Well dont you Agree things were mucho better??