It's a foregone conclusion that streaming has changed up the entertainment landscape for TV and, all the while, there are some kinds of shows that don't seem to hit with audiences exactly as they did years ago. For one, there's been talk of whether the traditional sitcom is dead. Some producers are willing to leave it in the past and confined to reruns. However, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos wants to keep the genre going, and he mentioned a major comedy producer while recently making his case.
As he continues to lead his company, Ted Sarandos is banking on trends certain kinds of programming coming back in style, specifically the multi-cam sitcom. While appearing on the What A Joke Podcast With Papa And Fortune, Sarandos mentioned that the mega streamer has a new comedy in the works that's headed up by Chuck Lorre, who created The Big Bang Theory among other famous shows. With that, the exec shared early thoughts on the series:
So we're doing that right now with Leanne Morgan's got a new one coming with Chuck Lorre. . . . I just watched some of the episodes. It's really funny.
Netflix’s upcoming show is the latest in a long line of sitcoms that are named after comedians like Roseanne, Seinfeld and George Lopez. This newest show is Leanne, which is named after comedian Leanne Morgan. Her hit Netflix stand up special, I’m Every Woman, inspired the series, and will relate to similar themes such as entering the dating world again as a grandmother going through menopause, according to Tudum.
Multi-cam sitcoms aren't new to the streaming realm, as Netflix alone has produced The Ranch, Mr. Iglesias, That '90s Show and more. Chuck Lorre even produced the Kathy Bates-led Disjointed with the streamer. However, they haven't nearly as successful as the network TV comedies that dropped before the streaming revolution. While single-camera comedies are becoming common place, Ted Sarandos is standing firm in his position, and his viewpoint partially stems from some words of wisdom that were bestowed upon him:
I think about it like in that advice years ago someone said about programming: what are the things that you loved growing up that are not around anymore, and should you try them again? Because there's a reason sometimes they just fell out over one failed show or something. And for me, that is the multicam. I'm not giving up on the multicam.
Multi-cam shows have traditionally been filmed in front of a live studio audience and, for many years, there were staples of TV. Some of the best sitcoms of all time were shot this way, and a number of them were created by Chuck Lorre like Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men and Cybill. The Big Bang Theory was name-dropped by Ted Sarandos along with a couple of other comedic gems when he made the case for the format:
Yeah. I just think it's, there's something very, it's a very cool, kind of rooted storytelling that we've been doing since the beginning of time. . . . And they're some of the most valuable things in TV still. You think of The Big Bang Theory and Friends and Seinfeld. And they completely hold up.
Those three shows are among the biggest players from the golden age of the modern sitcom, from the ‘90s to the '00s, before single cam shows began to dominate TV. They truly are timeless, and Ted Sarandos could not have picked a better partner in this crusade to revitalize the multi-cam format.
It should be mentioned that Chuck Lorre has dipped his toes into the single-camera format over the years. His Big Bang Theory prequel spinoff, Young Sheldon, was shot that way and ran for seven successful seasons on CBS. Another one of his shows, The Kominsky Method, was also single-camera and aired for three seasons on Netflix. The recently canceled Bookie utilized that motif as well. Most recently, Lorre returned to his roots by employing multiple cameras and a live audience for Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, a spinoff of YS that is currently airing its first season.
Ultimately, Chuck Lorre and creative partner Steve Holland argue that a sitcom sinks or swims based on its ability to make people laugh, not it filming style. Thankfully, this is a talent Lorre seems to carry, which is why his shows have endured for multiple generations. I'm just hopeful that he and Ted Sarandos can ensure that these kinds of shows stick around. On that note, expect Leanne to land on Netflix’s release schedule sometime in 2025.
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