Modified On May 19, 2007
Tommy James sends along a link to a Hollywood Reporter article that reports on the annual stupidity at the network upfronts, focusing on the sitcom genre.
The suits gather to pitch their new slates and ruminate on larger issues such as licensing fees and vertical integration and… oh– whether or not the sitcom is dead! Of course the sitcom is dead– network execs are paying too much attention to licensing fees and vertical integration!
Our favorite quote:
“We’d be foolish not to take a hard look at the comedy business and reassess our strategy in it,” 20th TV president Dana Walden said.
James reminds us of a quote he saw in another recent article that said that one decade ago, NBC had 18 sitcoms on its schedule. Today, among all the networks, there are not 18 sitcoms total!
More idiocy:
“Comedy is clearly in a challenged stage,” Warner Bros. TV president Peter Roth said. “Half-hours seem to be more irrelevant and predictable than ever before.”
Some studio executives say the experience won’t deter them from continuing to pursue single-camera projects. Some are looking for more cost-effective alternatives.
“I hope to switch if possible to a multi-/single-camera hybrid shot on a stage with no live audience that will still give it a film look, so it will make it economically efficient without hurting the creative aspect of it,” ABC Studios president Mark Pedowitz said. “If the economics can be worked so that we can maintain the creative vision, it will be the rebirth of the comedic genre.”