Was 'WKRP in Cincinnati' The LAST of The Great Sitcoms 1970's Golden Age???

[Reinhold_Weege]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Interesting question: Can anyone think of a sitcom that premiered between 1979 and 1981 ( 1982 being the year that Cosby and Family Ties premiered) that lasted more than three seasons and/or will be considered a "classic" show? I'm having trouble myself. "Gimme a Break" was in that period, and I guess it might qualify though it wasn't one of my favorites.

I guess the overall point is that there are few if any shows that fall into this category from that era and it's interesting that there's that three year period where sitcoms kind of fell into a black hole until NBC rescued them with Family Ties and Cosby. Part of it was obviously due to the appeal of the show and part of it was probably just because people were ready to get into sitcoms again.

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

Benson came on in 1979 and that lasted 7 years. Too Close for Comfort came on in 1980 and lasted until Ted Knight's death in 1986 although it went over to first run syndication.

There were some short lived shows that aired during those years that I liked like Bosom Buddies and Best of the West. A lot of the hits of the 70's were still popular in the early 80's and it wasn't until 1983 that people started to think the sitcom might be dead. A year later The Cosby Show came on and sitcoms were popular again.

Remember that a writer's strike had a drastic impact on TV during this period. There were some short duration sitcoms from those years that may have had a different outcome if not for the strike.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Marvo301

After WKRP and Taxi sitcoms definitely took a drop in both quality and quantity and in fact there was a lot of talk about sitcoms being a dying art form. That was until the Cosby Show came along and revitalized the sitcom genre and ushered in the era of the Family Sitcom. (Family Ties, Growing Pains, Gimme A Break, Full House etc.)

After WKRP in Cincinnati and Taxi debuted in 1978, did American sitcoms definitely take a drop in both quality and quantity until The Cosby Show came along in 1984 and revitalized the sitcom genre?

There was a notable slump in American sitcoms in the early 1980s, affecting both quality and quantity, with The Cosby Show often cited as a turning point that revitalized the genre in 1984. While the perception of quality is subjective, there are factual reasons why the period between 1978 and 1984 is widely seen as a low point.

Factors contributing to the sitcom slump

End of the 1970s TV trends: The popular and groundbreaking trends of the 1970s—like the socially conscious sitcoms from Norman Lear (All in the Family, Maude) and the "Happy Days" nostalgic sitcoms—had largely run their course by the end of the decade. This left a void that was not filled by a strong successor trend for several years.

Departure of key talent: The late 1970s and early 1980s saw significant behind-the-scenes changes.

• Fred Silverman: The high-profile ABC executive who championed hits like Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley left for NBC in 1978. His failures there were so significant that it's said he "practically killed NBC," contributing to a weakened landscape for network comedy.
• Norman Lear: The creative engine behind many socially relevant 1970s sitcoms also largely stepped back from network television during this time.

Shift towards less ambitious content: The early 1980s saw a rise in what some critics called "saccharine" and formulaic sitcoms, which were less daring than their 1970s predecessors. The new trend veered toward more escapist, family-friendly fare, but much of it was deemed unoriginal and forgettable by critics and audiences.

Sitcoms from 1978–1984 that predate The Cosby Show
While the period was lackluster, it wasn't a total wasteland. The shows that thrived often did so by providing predictable, family-oriented entertainment. Some notable exceptions include:

• Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986): A very popular show that addressed social issues through the lens of a new blended family.
• The Facts of Life (1979–1988): A popular teen-focused sitcom that grew from its Diff'rent Strokes origins.
• Cheers (1982–1993): A critical success that did very well in the ratings but didn't spark the kind of widespread revitalization that The Cosby Show did.
• Family Ties (1982–1989): Also a major hit, it cleverly tapped into the generational divide of the 1980s by pitting liberal parents against their conservative son.
• Newhart (1982–1990): A more gentle and subtle comedy that was also highly successful during this time.

The revitalization by The Cosby Show

The Cosby Show became a monumental success upon its debut in 1984 and is widely credited with breathing new life into the sitcom format.

• Massive ratings success: The show spent five consecutive seasons as the number-one rated show on television, a feat matched only by All in the Family.
• Resurrected NBC: It almost single-handedly revived NBC, which was at a low point before the show's arrival.
• Inspired other family sitcoms: The show's success created a template that other series, like Family Ties and Who's the Boss?, would follow and be successful in.
• Changed the television landscape: Its immense popularity with both Black and white audiences demonstrated the viability of programming for diverse audiences, opening the door for many other successful sitcoms with predominantly Black casts.

That’s a sharp observation, and you’re right that many television historians point to the early 1980s as a low point for American sitcoms in terms of both creative vitality and cultural impact. But the picture isn’t quite as absolute as “quality collapsed until The Cosby Show.” Here’s how it tends to break down:

📉 Decline After 1978

• Changing tastes – The socially conscious sitcoms (All in the Family, MASH*, Mary Tyler Moore, etc.) were fading out, while the quirky/character-driven ones (WKRP, Taxi, Barney Miller) never became mass ratings monsters. The audience seemed to drift toward lighter, escapist programming.
  
• Rise of “junk sitcoms” – The early ’80s produced many shows regarded as mediocre or formulaic, often high-concept but shallow (Hello, Larry, Small Wonder a bit later, The Two of Us, We Got It Made). Critics at the time spoke of a sitcom “slump.”
  
• Quantity drop – Networks cut back on sitcom orders, especially between 1980–84, in favor of prime-time soaps (Dallas, Dynasty), action/adventure, and reality/documentary-style programming.

⚖️ Notable Exceptions (1978–84)

Even in the “slump,” there were still quality sitcoms with critical or cult followings:

• Barney Miller (continued until 1982)
  
• Mork & Mindy (hit early on, though it burned out quickly)
  
• Cheers (debuted 1982; critically acclaimed, though initially low-rated)
  
• Newhart (1982)
  
• Family Ties (1982)
  
• Silver Spoons, Diff’rent Strokes, Facts of Life – not critical darlings, but steady performers for NBC.

So the sitcom genre wasn’t dead—it was in a lull, with only a handful of shows that critics respected or audiences embraced.

🌟 The Cosby Show Effect (1984 onward)

• The Cosby Show combined family-friendly warmth with sharp writing and became a ratings juggernaut, immediately revitalizing the sitcom genre.
  
• It triggered a flood of family and workplace comedies in the mid-to-late 1980s (Growing Pains, Who’s the Boss?, The Golden Girls, Night Court, ALF, Full House).
  
• NBC’s “Must See TV” brand was built on that resurgence.

✅ Summary:

After WKRP and Taxi, sitcoms didn’t vanish, but they entered a rough patch—fewer shows, less cultural clout, and more forgettable series. Critics and fans often call 1980–84 a “sitcom slump.” Cheers and Family Ties were the bright spots, but The Cosby Show in 1984 is widely credited with restoring the sitcom as the dominant TV genre of the decade.

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Cheers and Family Ties came from people who had worked for MTM. Newhart was actually an MTM show. Night Court was basically a continuation of Barney Miller. Kate & Allie also predated Cosby.

I think the continuing presence of the popular 70s shows on the schedule was a problem for newer sitcoms: Laverne & Shirley, MASH and Archie Bunker lasted until 1983; Happy Days, 3's Company, and One Day at a Time until 1984, and the Jeffersons and Alice until 1985. These shows were all creatively exhausted by the start of the 1980s, but they kept rolling on by sheer familiarity and denied time slots and attention to newer shows. They even tried to bring Fred Sanford back in 1980.

[ThisLittlePiggy]

Favorite shows from 1979 are All in the Family and the Salem's Lost miniseries.