How 14 Sitcoms Addressed (Or Ignored) Major World Events
Sitcoms were just going about their business, pumping out episodes, then it happened. A major event rocked the world, and became the one and only talking point for the foreseeable future. What do they do? Do they put the blinders on and stay the course, or do they scrap upcoming storylines to give their take on the madness? Those tough decisions needed to be made quickly, and as you’ll see, some tackled the issues head-on, and some said, “Naw, we’re just here for that sweet escapism you all need right now.”
Whether we the audience needed to dive right in or needed a little reprieve, TV provided it all! We could get the zeitgeist’s take for as long as we wanted, then dip over to the fluffy stuff for a palate cleanser. For the deep dives and the fluff, here’s how 14 sitcoms went about tackling (or fully ignoring) major world events.
Did ’Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.’ not mention Vietnam for the perks?
CBS Television Distribution
South Park
Comedy Central
’Friends’ lived in a New York City where 9/11 never happened.
Warner Bros. Television
’The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ mentions “The Pill.”
CBS
’The Conners’ prove you can be fun and socially responsible.
ABC
Producers felt the “working poor” characters on ’Shameless’ had to address COVID.
Warner Bros. Television Distribution,
CBS Television Distribution
The entire ’Rescue Me’ series is set in post 9/11 New York City.
Sony Pictures Television,
20th Television
Chuck Lorre didn’t want his CBS hit ’Mom’ to mention COVID.
Warner Bros. Television
Julia
20th Television
’Major Dad’ dropped everything to address the Gulf War.
Universal Television
’The Brady Bunch’ chose to stay apolitical in the 11th hour.
Paramount Television
Better get the tissues for ’Becker’s 9/11 acknowledgment.
CBS Television Distribution
Abishola was the one nurse on the planet who wasn’t affected by COVID.
Warner Bros. Television
’South Park’ showed the ups and downs of the pandemic.
Comedy Central
