Mark A. Robinson - Sitcommentary: Television Comedies That Changed America

Mark Robinson is a graduate of the State University of New York in Cortland with a degree in speech/theater. He has taught high school theater and writing and regularly directs youth and professional theater productions. A resident of upstate New York, he has been honored by the New York State Legislature for his work bringing arts education to underprivileged youth in economically depressed areas. A featured writer for several theater websites, including BroadwayDirect.com, ShowTickets.com, and Playbill.com, he has spent the past 15 years researching and writing about theater, film, and television. He is also a travel and tourism writer for a variety of e-commerce platforms. He is the author of the books The Disney Song Encyclopedia (with Thomas S. Hischak), The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs, and the two-volume reference series The World of Musicals.

I would like to thank Thomas S. Hischak and Todd Stephen Schechter for their help and support with research and for assisting in assembling the book; Angelina Du Puy for patiently reading chapters and offering constructive criticism; Derek Davidson at Photofest for his invaluable assistance in finding the pictures for this publication; the ongoing input and encouragement of my editor Stephen Ryan at Rowman & Littlefield; and my undying gratitude to James Rice, Robin Duffy, Robbie Rozelle, Cathy Hischak, Tiffany Robinson, and the other supportive friends who pushed and prodded me to write this book.

Over the years, there have been many TV sitcoms that had the potential to make a difference, open minds on social issues, and create a dialogue over divisive topics, but because the shows didnt catch on with the viewing public or the networks didnt give them enough of a chance to build an audience, they never realized that potential. Here are some of the titles that could have had an impact but departed too early:

Producer Norman Lear, despite his iconic output in television production, couldnt have a hit every time out. Hot L Baltimore, adapted from the play by Lanford Wilson, was one of those shows that just didnt ignite. The show took place in the residential Hotel Baltimore (The letter E had burned out on the sign) and followed the stories of its residents, including prostitutes, an illegal immigrant, and one of televisions first gay couples. The series ran on ABC in the spring of 1975 and starred the likes of James Cromwell, Richard Masur, Conchata Ferrell, Al Freeman Jr., and Charlotte Rae. It ran for a total of 13 episodes and was Lears first failure after such monumental successes as All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.

Another sitcom from the pioneering Norman Lear, The Powers That Be was a sitcom that aired on NBC. The series was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman (who would later create Friends), and Lear served as executive producer. With a cast featuring John Forsythe, Holland Taylor, David Hyde Pierce, Eve Gordon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Valerie Mahaffey, Peter MacNicol, Elizabeth Berridge, and Robin Bartlett, the series followed U.S. Senator William Powers and his eccentric family with more problems than any clan should ever have to deal with. The Powers That Be was a political satire, commenting on the corrupt politics of the day.

A spin-off of the popular (and consistently socially relevant) Designing Women, Women of the House saw the character of Suzanne Sugarbaker (Delta Burke) enter politics as a newly appointed member of the U.S. House of Representatives. As she had done for Designing Women, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason created and wrote the episodes of Women of the House with the hope that juxtaposing the often uninformed beauty queen with an eccentric life against the world of D.C. politics and the days socially relevant issues would strike comedic gold. It didnt. The show, which also starred Teri Garr, Patricia Heaton, Valerie Mahaffey, Lisa Rieffel, and William Newman, lasted for 13 episodes on CBS in 1995.

The New Normal represented a new shift in LGBTQ storytelling, centering on a wealthy gay couple who are trying to have a baby. The series follows them as they secure a surrogate, move her into their home (with her nine-year-old daughter) and begin to plan for the arrival of their new child. Starring Justin Bartha, Andrew Rannells, Georgia King, Bebe Wood, NeNe Leakes, Jayson Blair, and Ellen Barkin, the series ran for one season on NBC and was abruptly canceled. It had faced criticism from affiliate stations such KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They would not carry The New Normal, claiming the show contained messages and content they believed to be inappropriate for broadcast during prime-time television. The series was created by Ryan Murphy (Glee, Nip/Tuck, American Horror Story) and Allison Adler (Supergirl).

Reconciling ones faith with ones sexuality, particularly if you are a gay teenager, can be a challenging obstacle of adolescence. In The Real ONeals, Kenny ONeal (Noah Galvin) is a teenager in a Catholic family where their reputation in the Chicago community is of paramount importance to his mother, Eileen (Martha Plimpton). When Kenny comes out of the closet, Eileen struggles to deal with how her sons homosexuality will be perceived, not so much about how it will look in the eyes of God but in the eyes of their congregation. Meanwhile, her own marriage is heading toward divorce, and that, in her eyes, is the unforgivable sin. The series also starred Jay R. Ferguson, Matthew Shively, Bebe Wood, and Mary Hollis Inboden. Created by Joshua Sternin and Jennifer Ventimilia and based on an idea by Dan Savage, The Real ONeals played on ABC for two seasons.

Just as there are series that tried to offer discussion of social issues, there are series that are still too new to determine what their impact will be. Here are some sitcoms that have the potential to change the face of television with their daring, out-of-the-box story lines and characters:

Having come a long way since the troubled run of All-American Girl in the 1990s, Fresh Off the Boat has definitely overcome the networks concerns that a culturally Asian American family would not play successfully to the masses. It had been two decades since America had witnessed an Asian clan at the center of a television sitcom. This time around, audiences seem to have embraced the idea. As of this writing, Fresh Off the Boat has enjoyed five seasons on ABC. The story follows the Taiwanese Huang family, who have relocated from Chinatown in Washington, D.C., to Orlando, Florida, where they are an anomaly in their white suburban neighborhood. Created by Nahnatchka Khan, Fresh Off the Boat stars Randall Park, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, and Ian Chen.

Running on the Fox network, The Cool Kids seems to be picking up where The Golden Girls left off. Set in the Shady Meadows Retirement Community in Arizona, four neighbors and dining partners (played by David Alan Grier, Martin Mull, Leslie Jordan, and Vicki Lawrence) prove that age is irrelevant where living happily is concerned. Although the show brims with shenanigans that are akin to a sitcom about high schoolers, it serves to point out that we are never too old for fun, sex, love, and adventure. The show also delves into the daunting prospect of our own mortality, as the characters realize that they have only so much time left to live life. Charlie Day and Paul Fruchborn created the show.