Mourning the sitcom
C4 to examine the death of a genre
Former ITV executive David Liddiment is to front a 90-minute Channel 4 documentary examining the crisis in sitcoms.
Who Killed the Sitcom?, will chart how the once-ubiquitous genre is now rarely seen in TV schedules.
He told Media Guardian: "There was a time when there wasn't a weekday evening on ITV without a sitcom. What has happened? Why has sitcom died?
"One of the ironies is the power of good sitcoms to endure. Classic sitcom repeats still sustain big audiences on the BBC at a time when very few new sitcoms are being made. But for every one that endures, there are 12 that have been forgotten."
"American sitcom is also dying with the advent of reality TV. But not so long ago US sitcoms were seen as superior to British ones. In the US it's seen as a noble tradition. We have got great comedy talent, but it tends not to express itself through sitcoms."
While ITV's director of programmes, Liddiment commissioned sitcoms Barbara and Duck Patrol.
Published: 9 May 2005
