MIKE ON TV: ‘History of the Sitcom’ Producers on Carl Reiner’s Last Interview, Tackling ‘The Cosby Show’ and What Makes a Comedy

The producers behind CNN’s new eight-part docuseries “History of the Sitcom” knew that trying to tell the complete 70-year history of the TV genre would be an impossible task. So they divided some of the biggest comedies of all time into specific categories — and set out to illustrate how the evolution of the sitcom mirrored real-life advancements in society.

“It was pretty apparent that given the number of sitcoms that have been out there in history that you couldn't do some sort of comprehensive, start-to-finish history, as though you were in a college course studying it from beginning to end,” says executive producer Bill Carter. “There had to be a way to categorize them and follow them according to some grouping. We have eight episodes; we could have done at least 80.”

“History of the Sitcom,” which airs on Sunday nights, is the follow-up to CNN’s recent “The Story of Late Night.” Both come from Cream Productions, through the CNN Original Series banner. But whereas “Story of Late Night” had an obvious chronological lineage to tell the story (Steve Allen to Jack Paar to Johnny Carson, and so on), Carter and showrunner/executive producer John Ealer say it took some time to figure out the best way to tell the “History of the Sitcom.”

“In some ways, you need a bigger story than just the sitcom in order to link them up together and that has to be the story of America,” Ealer says. “That was kind of our approach, whether it be the American family, how friendships in America have evolved, how work in America has evolved, how race and gender have evolved and how escapism has evolved. That's how we came up with these themes.”

(Thanks to Charles Pannunzio for the pic!) The producers conducted a total of 184 interviews for “History of the Sitcom,” including stars, producers, executives and journalists (including me, yes you've already seen me pop up a few times!). And they did it all in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among those interviewed: Norman Lear, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Alexander, Kelsey Grammer, Kim Fields, Tim Allen, Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, George Lopez, Mel Brooks, Isabella Gomez, Ted Danson, Joey Soloway, Jimmie Walker, Judd Apatow, Dan Levy, Zooey Deschanel, Chuck Lorre, Mara Brock Akil, Helen Hunt and more.

Read more about it here and catch up via on demand! Just don't tell me if I sound like an idiot on the show. I think I already know the answer.