Sitcoms are best when they're mean universes
But Larry David has written himself as another famous Jew
The key to good sitcoms is that the writers are critical of the main characters of the sitcoms. (Archie Bunker’s a racist, Meathead is a loser, Chandler’s a loser and unmasculine, Joey’s retarded, Rachel is vain and spoiled, Monica’s competitive and and obsessive, Phoebe’s a hippie, Ross is insensitive and obsessive, Balki Bartokomous is a dimwit, Cousin Larry’s a bully and overconfident, Peg Bundy’s a sponge, Kelly’s an idiot and a slut, Bud is a loser, and Al Bundy has too many faults to count many to count) The shows mock these characters’ failings as people. And they're the butt of the jokes. Then at the last second the show does a deus ex reversal so that it's all ok so as not to bum people and keep it light. This is the fundamental concept of situational comedy. The characters are unlikeable. The comedy makes you like them anyway.
SEINFELD and CURB are the only two prominent examples I can think of which don't have the deus ex happy ending reversal. It's because they're both also comedies of manners. So there's very few stakes. It’s not like MODERN FAMILY where if the problem isn’t revealed at the end as a mere misunderstanding a family is facing divorce.1
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM is unique because Larry David is the sitcom equivalent of Jesus. In most sitcoms their gods mock them from the characters from afar. Punishing them for their limitations through situations that they never permanently learn their lessons from.2 But Larry David wrote himself into his own show to criticize his own creations to their faces. Much like G-d did when, as Jesus, He came to Earth to tell us what he didn’t like about us and how we should change.
Which brings us to modern sitcoms with likable characters. Like everyone else in the world I haven’t seen much of them. But the thing they all lack is a dislike for the main characters. Their problems are not themselves but external evils. And they teach “lessons”. These have always existed. And have never been very good. Everything from THE BRADY BUNCH to the TGIF lineup. Now at best there’s a dumb dad who aggravates the mom. In a reversal of the 1950’s - 70s sitcoms where a wise husband was dealing with the tribulations caused by his wife. The best of these being I LOVE LUCY and BEWITCHED. Because Ricky didn’t exactly have flaws (well, for the time the accent). But him and Fred also were occasionally the butt of the joke. And the problems Samantha caused Darren were often slapstick caused by her magic. Rather than her being incompetent. If anything she was too competent. But they both wanted to live a normal life. Although for those who do want to get offended sometimes his bitch mother in law would drop in make him miserable for an episode.
There are a couple of modern popular sitcoms. THE BIG BANG THEORY still got something in the range of pre-streaming sitcom viewers. But it was similarly mean, mostly to White Steve Urkel.
PS - A special note should be made for THE SIMPSONS. Where Homer is truly one of the worst men in the first 6 seasons. During which time he’s not an idiot. I mean he’s dumb. But not the cartoonishly dumb character he becomes. As the show goes on Homer’s selfish cruelty has to be explained. And the show morphs him into a character that’s less of a man and almost a force of nature. A kind of Mr. Magoo level of stupidity where his level of stupidity makes his behavior forgivable because you can’t reasonably expect more consideration from him than you would a chimp in a zoo. And it is in this state of innocence that the show begins to lose any relevance to real life. And Homer blindly walks Magoo-like into space, I think he runs a farm. And the change the show undergoes3 starting, I believe, in season 7. Homer provides an amusing response to the Bush I criticism of the belief in the corrupting affects of art however. Since Homer being a cause of corruption rather than a reactionary response to it is demonstrated by the fact that the biggest fans of the show are simply the softest boys. The show succeeded in creating an image of selfishness that young men watched as only existing ironically. The casual, near sociopathic, disregard for even a superficial consideration as something they would never do. Although, that too probably has more to do with their nature and the lack of abuse they endured rather than the effects of the show. Which likely reinforces, at best, or acts as a mere signal/ indicator of personality at worst.
While their lack of deus ex happy ending doesn’t bother me. I always found the fact that someone did a social faux pas kind of a low stakes boring premise. These are middle class problems. Sex farce, family dynamics (the two classic sitcom premises) are universal. But both are well made. Even if not my taste.
A kind of character development Ragnarok. The end the episode evolved. And wake up the next episode with all the same flaws. But then again do people ever really change? Or do they have revelations only to go back to their old ways a day, week, or month later?
Matt Yglesias one said that the degradation of THE SIMPSONS was evidence for why serialization was bad. Which misses that without it we’d never have a season past the first. And the show has its perfect season at 6.