TV comedies face hurdles as Hollywood cuts back

LOS ANGELES, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Looking for laughs? New gut-busting comedies are getting harder to find on today's television.

After an explosion of shows in the "Peak TV" era, Hollywood studios are reducing the number of series they release. Comedy has taken a bigger hit than drama, industry data show, and producers say a range of challenges has hindered bringing new comedies to the screen.

"In comedy, the bar has never been higher to get things made," Mike Farah, former CEO of Funny Or Die and now an independent producer, said at a recent Producers Guild of America conference.

Last year's TV offerings thinned when Hollywood writers and actors went on strike. After production ramped back up, the number of drama series premieres in 2024 rose 25% from a year earlier while comedy premieres fell by 7%, according to data from research firm Luminate. Those numbers may change by the end of the year.

Comedies have been a mainstay of TV since its inception. "The Honeymooners" and "I Love Lucy" entertained audiences in the 1950s. Viewers in the 1980s and '90s were glued to shows such as "Seinfeld," "Friends" and "Cheers."

Earlier this year, "Seinfeld" creator Jerry Seinfeld lamented the state of television comedy.

"It used to be, you would get home at the end of the day and most people would say, 'Oh Cheers is on. MASH is on. Mary Tyler Moore is on. All in the Family is on,'" Seinfeld told the New Yorker magazine. "You just expected, 'there'll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.' Well, guess what? Where is it?"

Seinfeld attributed the change to "the extreme left and PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people."

Dramas to speak to Global audience

Hollywood writers, producers, agents, and analysts pointed to other factors. Many cited the rise of social media app TikTok, where people can watch short videos for free to get their comedy fix.

Moreover, today's streaming services cater to global audiences, and it is harder to turn a comedy into a worldwide hit.

"There’s a wider preference for dramas amongst cross-market audiences on the international level, as comedy tends to be more culturally specific to each region," said Mark Hoebich, executive vice president and head of film and TV at Luminate.

As Hollywood endures cutbacks in search of profits, comedy is seen as riskier than other genres, writers and producers said.

"It's really easy to pitch a plot to somebody. It's really easy to say 'and then there's a murder,'" said Guy Branum, a writer on Emmy-winning comedy "Hacks." "But pitching the things that make comedy - tone and voice and character - it's hard. You have to trust the people to know what they're doing."

And as cable television has lost viewers, media companies have cut investments in channels such as Comedy Central, a vital testing ground for new comedy.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach poses with the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series for "The Bear" REUTERS

Plus, the types of comedy on TV have changed. The FX series "The Bear" runs for 30 minutes - the traditional run time for a comedy - and has won Emmys in comedy categories. Many see the show, about family dysfunction and the stresses of operating a restaurant, as more of a drama.

"I think comedy is going through a little bit of an identity crisis," said producer Warren Littlefield, who developed classic sitcoms such as "Cheers," "Seinfeld" and "The Golden Girls" while he worked as an executive at NBC.

"'The Bear' comes along, and the audience, critics, everyone celebrates it," Littlefield said. "Is it a pure comedy? I don't know if it's a pure comedy, but it's damn good television, and I think that's what that form, a half-hour form, is searching for."

Netflix expands comedic line-up

Despite the industry-wide contraction, there are several comedy offerings on the TV schedule for this fall and next year.

"Abbott Elementary," an Emmy nominee for best comedy, returns to ABC DIS.N in October. NBC CMCSA.O is touting "St. Denis Medical," coming in November. CBS PARA.O is promoting four comedies with the slogan "You're Laughing at CBS." Fox FOXA.O already has renewed its new animated comedy, "Universal Basic Guys," for a second season.

Netflix, meanwhile, is bringing new shows from comedy luminaries such as "A Man on the Inside" starring Ted Danson, "No Good Deed" with Lisa Kudrow and "The Four Seasons" featuring Tina Fey and Steve Carell. The streaming platform also offers a wide range of stand-up comedy specials.

Jean Smart, Outstanding Lead Actress in Comedy Series, for "Hacks" REUTERS

Jean Smart, who just won her third Emmy for playing an ambitious stand-up comic on "Hacks," said she believed audiences today were seeking darker comedies rather than more light-hearted ones, a change since she starred on "Designing Women" three decades ago.

"I do think people are craving comedy now more than ever," Smart said. "I think people are feeling disheartened by the world a little bit, and who doesn't want to laugh? It feels good."

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Rollo Ross in Los Angeles; Editing by Mary Milliken and David Gregorio)