An underrated aspect of these older sitcoms is the sheer quantity of television. The Big Bang Theory has 279 episodes, The Office has 201, and Cheers ran for 275 (to give an example). This makes them excellent "filler" shows that you watch in between your other currently airing shows.
I do think that the rewatchability comes at the expense of viewers on the first airing, which is what makes pitching a new comedy so difficult. Dramas have a built-in sense of urgency, where you want to know what happens next. This also opens up avenues for online discussion and social media attention. Unfortunately, sitcoms will make their money in the years *after* airing, which means that you won't know for a long time whether it was a good investment.
The Big Bang Theory was a great show and I enjoyed watching it because especially for nerds, it showed that being smart and being unabashed about passions and “geek” things was cool and yes, you would still attract girls. It was not just funny, but also empowering.
Another reason why people are streaming older sitcoms is common sense that the big studios have forgotten for many years. They have forgotten that many people regardless of background, sometimes just want to be entertained after a long day. We don’t always need to be lectured to or be given morality lessons by Hollywood; we just want to relax, tune out from the world, and laugh.
Classic sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory, Cheers, Frasier, Seinfeld, Married With Children, and others do that very well; putting them on streaming platforms is a smart move, but I still recommend buying them on DVD just in case they stop streaming or they push disclaimers about “offensive content.”
Put me in the snob camp since I've never understood the popularity of this show. I may just be turned off of sit-coms now even though I grew up with them and was a fan for many years. I am intrigued with your suggestion of "cultural liminal spaces." There's an idea for me that is worth exploring more.
One minor geeky note since I work in data vizzes a lot. A barbell graph is a better choice to display the watching/rewatching statistics. That would show the drop-off between watching & rewatching as well as how popular each genre is.
Just for what it's worth, Bluey is a girl.
An underrated aspect of these older sitcoms is the sheer quantity of television. The Big Bang Theory has 279 episodes, The Office has 201, and Cheers ran for 275 (to give an example). This makes them excellent "filler" shows that you watch in between your other currently airing shows.
I do think that the rewatchability comes at the expense of viewers on the first airing, which is what makes pitching a new comedy so difficult. Dramas have a built-in sense of urgency, where you want to know what happens next. This also opens up avenues for online discussion and social media attention. Unfortunately, sitcoms will make their money in the years *after* airing, which means that you won't know for a long time whether it was a good investment.
The Big Bang Theory was a great show and I enjoyed watching it because especially for nerds, it showed that being smart and being unabashed about passions and “geek” things was cool and yes, you would still attract girls. It was not just funny, but also empowering.
Another reason why people are streaming older sitcoms is common sense that the big studios have forgotten for many years. They have forgotten that many people regardless of background, sometimes just want to be entertained after a long day. We don’t always need to be lectured to or be given morality lessons by Hollywood; we just want to relax, tune out from the world, and laugh.
Classic sitcoms like The Big Bang Theory, Cheers, Frasier, Seinfeld, Married With Children, and others do that very well; putting them on streaming platforms is a smart move, but I still recommend buying them on DVD just in case they stop streaming or they push disclaimers about “offensive content.”
Own the content if you like it that much.
Put me in the snob camp since I've never understood the popularity of this show. I may just be turned off of sit-coms now even though I grew up with them and was a fan for many years. I am intrigued with your suggestion of "cultural liminal spaces." There's an idea for me that is worth exploring more.
One minor geeky note since I work in data vizzes a lot. A barbell graph is a better choice to display the watching/rewatching statistics. That would show the drop-off between watching & rewatching as well as how popular each genre is.