5 famous sitcoms

1. Friends
Satellite Channel – Comedy Central (Originally aired on NBC in America)
Currently shown multiple times throughout the day, previously was aired at times varying between 8:30pm
to10pm
Ran for 10 seasons, from September 22nd 1994 - May 6th 2004
Target Audience – Young adults aged 20-30
Modern Family
Satellite Channel – Sky 1
Scheduled to appear at 8pm
Currently on its 7th season, the programme premiered on September 23rd 2009
Target Audience – the show is pitched as being a family show that people of all ages can watch, understand and
relate to.
The Inbetweeners
Terrestrial Channel – E4
When still running the show used to air at 10pm
Ran for 3 seasons, from 1st May 2008 – 18th October 2010
Target Audience – Young people aged between 15-25
Not Going Out
Terrestrial Channel – BBC
When still running the show aired at 9:30pm
Ran for 7 seasons, in November 1006 – 24th December 2014
Target Audience – Adults aged between 30-40
Miranda
Terrestrial Channel – BBC
When still running the show aired at 8:30pm
Ran for 3 series, from 9th November 2009 – 1st January 2015
Target Audience – Women aged between 30-40

2. Why do people watch television comedy?
People enjoy watching television comedy as it takes us away from our busy, stressful and serious
lives. Viewers enjoy something that is able to make them laugh or put a smile on their face and
could be viewed as a form of relaxation to get rid of stress. Comedies tend to be easy-watching,
they don’t require a lot of attention and we don’t need to fully concentrate which means that
viewers are able to multitask and still be aware of what is going on. Also, a lot of comedies can be
relatable to people of different ages and this will be a great appeal when the viewer has been in a
similar situation, this may already be a funny or embarrassing situation or it may have had a funny
spin put on to it. Although some comedies are aimed at people of certain ages, there are some that
are categorised as family shows e.g. Modern Family, these are extremely popular as it is
something that the entire family can watch together and everybody is able to understand and relate
to the different characters. The comedies that are aimed at people of older ages are scheduled at
certain times that will fit into the schedule of adults, they normally air at times that will be when
parents have already put their children to bed and have the time to relax and this can be a way for
them to unwind before going to bed as it has a more positive note than a drama series.