With Friends Like These...

So why are new hit sitcoms so few and far between? Only half-facetiously, I blame NBC's "Friends" in the latest issue of Variety's weekly edition.

Think about it: The rash of "Friends" clones in the late 1990s not only flopped, but may have soured viewers as a whole on network comedy (a few exceptions aside). The race to develop the next urban, young adults comedy may have also kept studios and networks away from coming up with better shows.

Now, as "Friends" leaves the air at the end of this season, the sitcom genre continues to sit on life support.