re: I'm sure this has been cover a lot but 90's sitcoms...

quote:

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Reality TV killed it.

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Partially. The casts of these ensemble comedies began to be increasingly demanding (and I'm not denigrating - people should argue for and attempt to get what they're worth) of high salaries - notably the Friends' cast.

Reality programming wasn't anything new, but with the massive success of, especially Survivor, they started to look like attractive "hybrids" of game shows, adventure series and vaguely "voyeuristic" comedy/dramas, from a cost of production, return on investment calculus.

The writer's strike was a shock to the suits - their "unscripted" shows (at least they were not scripted by members of the writer's guild) kept operating and had decent profit margins. That accelerated the transition and really sparked the (particularly the downmarket) cable networks to all start or expand their own reality programming.

And that's how something called "Honey Boo Boo" ended up on TLC.

But, everything comes in waves. I think the Reality television wave has, at leasted peaked in saturation. Cable dramas have really improved during this same approximately 15 year period. The "scripted" comedy has seen a slight resurgence after the successes of Modern Family, 2 and a half men, BBT, and others (Silicon Valley is my current favorite - I'm worried that they won't be able to top the first season, and they lost an actor which is always problematic.)