STUDIO PRODUCTION: SITCOM (FORMAT RESEARCH)

Sitcoms have been around for many years. The United Kingdom and the USA have both produced very popular sitcoms. Both a mixture of Studio based and on location. All depending on the style of the sitcom and the story it's following. American companies have produced sitcoms such as 'The Big Bang Theory', 'Will & Grace', 'How I Met Your Mother', 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' and 'Friends' which are all based inside a studio. From my research I have found that America has produced far more Studio based Sitcoms than the United Kingdom have, although they have all been popular outside of the USA.
The United Kingdom has also produced Studio Sitcoms such as 'Only Fools and Horses, 'Red Dwarf', I.T Crowd', 'Blackadder' and 'Mrs Brown's Boys' but in the modern day has produced sitcoms on location which are now produced more in the UK such as 'Gavin & Stacey', 'Fresh Meat', 'Bad Education', 'The Office', 'Outnumbered', 'Peep Show', 'The Royal Family', 'Spaced' and 'The Inbetweeners'. But, no matter where the Sitcom is being filmed, the set up and format for a Sitcom seems to be the same.

The first Sitcom to be made was back in 1947. It was aired until 1950. Called 'Mary Kay and Johnny' this Sitcom was produced in the early years after the war ended and shocked the world with some of the stories it told. Sitcoms were considered a joke and weren't thought to have any series storylines to them. This is true, they are made purely for comedy and to entertain but can have serious elements in them as well. Mary Kay and Johnny proved that, by being the first programme to show  a couple sharing a bed and also the first to show a woman's pregnancy on TV. This was also the first Sitcom to be broadcasted on Network TV in the USA. Since then, comedy has developed and rather than slapstick comedy which we would get between the 1940s-1970s. These days, we get far more vulgar comedy with swearing and sexual reference. But the format for Sitcoms has stayed the same over the years, with the only difference being the change in comedy.





Sitcom Format
The typical running time for a Sitcom is 30 minutes. However, if you take into account advertising these days it takes off about 5-10 minutes.
Characters are the main part of the sitcom. Same as a drama, horror, love story, etc. they make the story. For Sitcoms, they bring and create the comedy of the programme. Researching, I found that sitcoms often have 4 characters. The Hero, The Anti-Hero, The Lover and the Buddy. However, this doesn't always happen and can change between Sitcoms. But often this will fit the format. Looking at The Big Bang Theory: Sheldon is the Hero/Genius, Leonard is the Anti-hero/the one who tries to prove Sheldon wrong, Howard is the lover/womanizer of the show and Raj is the buddy, the friend of the group.
But sometimes a Sitcom will revolve around 2 characters such as in Gavin & Stacey where the writers, James Corden and Ruth Jones, explained that the story was created and revolved around the two characters Gavin and Stacey:

After watching a number of different Sitcoms, I've found that the plots of the episodes are structured the same each time, just the story and plot changes for each time. It will always involve the main characters, if there is more than 2 then the story can involve all characters or just focus on certain ones. Usually the story will focus and take place in a certain location of the show. For example, in The Big Bang Theory it might take place at the main flat, University or Penny's house. But often the storyline goes from A to B, A being the main storyline and running through the entire show and B is the secondary storyline, involving a side character for example. The main part of a Sitcom which makes or breaks it is the comedy and humour from the characters. Such as the running jokes/gags that I have mentioned in my research into The Big Bang Theory and Friends the running gags in those shows.
Often a running gag or a running catchphrase will come from audience reaction. If there is a large audience reaction in from a gag it will often be written into future scripts and can often stay for series after series. But the success of a gag or joke won't only depend on the structure of the joke but also on the actors delivery.

Location is also a main section of a Sitcom, from my own research I found that in Studio Sitcoms there is always a main location such as a living room which is where all characters can meet and the plot can fan out. Sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory, Friends, Fresh Meat, Will & Grace, How I Met Your Mother and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air all have a living room where all characters can meet and the majority of the plot will take place. It's a classic Sitcom location and will also make sense if the Sitcom is about a family, roommates or a group of friends who all meet at that house/flat.