Despite its global reach, long-standing popularity, and immense profitability, the sitcom has been repeatedly neglected in theoretical work on television and media. This book brings the analysis of sitcom up to date with a wealth of contemporary examples, a range of new approaches to the genre, and an examination of the roles sitcom and comedy play within society. 

With specific case studies of Will and Grace, The Office, and The Cosby Show, as well as analysis of a broad range of contemporary and historical examples throughout, this book will be of interest to students of sitcom and comedy, as well as to those of television and popular culture. A chapter on genre examines the history and development of sitcom and the institutional structures that produce it. There is also analysis of the differences among sitcoms produced in a range of countries, and discussion of what happens when a program gets sold and remade abroad. A chapter on representation explores debates about the ways in which sitcom chooses who to make jokes about and why, and whether this matters. And a chapter on performance argues that this is a vital, and under-explored, aspect of sitcom's funniness.