Encyclopedia of Humor Studies

Brett Mills

doi:10.4135/9781483346182

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Sitcoms

By: Brett Mills
In:Encyclopedia of Humor Studies
Chapter DOI:https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346182
Subject:Sociology of Culture, General Media, Communication & Cultural Studies
Keywords:comedy; radio; sitcoms

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Sitcoms, or situational comedies, are one of the dominant forms of television and radio comedy in the world, with a history aligned with that of global broadcasting and a wealth of programming from multiple nations. This entry outlines the key characteristics of the majority of sitcoms, and examines how the humor within sitcoms commonly functions.

Defining Sitcoms

The most fruitful way to think of sitcoms is as a television and radio genre. Genres are forms of culture that have characteristics in common but can never be concretely defined to the point that what belongs in such a category is beyond discussion; therefore, deciding what is and is not a sitcom is always up for debate. That said, there are characteristics that can be seen to recur often ...

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  Mills, B. (2014). Sitcoms. In Encyclopedia of Humor Studies (Vol. 2, pp. 696-698). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346182
  
  Mills, Brett. "Sitcoms." In Encyclopedia of Humor Studies, edited by Mills, Brett, 696-98. Thousand Oaks,: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346182.
  
  Mills, B. 2014. Sitcoms. In: Encyclopedia of Humor Studies. Brett Mills Editor, Thousand Oaks,: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 696-698 Available at: <https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346182> [Accessed 8 Dec 2023].
  
  Mills, Brett. "Sitcoms." Encyclopedia of Humor Studies. Edited by Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks,: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014, pp. 696-98. Sage Knowledge, doi: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346182.
  
  Mills, Brett. Sitcoms. In Encyclopedia of Humor Studies. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks,: SAGE Publications, Inc.; 2014: 696-698. doi:10.4135/9781483346182
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