A multi-cam sitcom is defined as a show shot on a sound-stage in front of a live studio audience, with laugh tracks either enhanced organically from the in-studio audience, pre-recorded and then implanted, or both. Some examples of successful multi-cam sitcoms are "Friends," "Seinfeld" and most sitcoms currently on CBS, otherwise known as “the most blah network.” Meanwhile, a single-cam sitcom has more of a cinematic feel to it, allowing for more genuine comedic timing and moments. It is not shot on a sound stage, exclusively, nor is it shot in front of a live studio audience. Some examples of successful single-cam sitcoms are "30 Rock," "The Office" and most sitcoms currently on FOX, otherwise known as, “I guess it’ll have to do, we don’t have cable.”
At least it's not "Two and a Half Men."
In any case, hearing other peoples’ laughter is a fake experience, something entirely false and constructed, which is what allows the single-cam to seem more real to us. TV now is meant to be an immersive experience. With binge-watching being the current craze, it has been proven that audiences want to feel as involved in a fictionalized world as possible. A laugh track takes you out of this world and puts you into a totally different one. One that you didn’t want to be in. Why else would we seek so desperately to relate to characters? Why else would we have favorite characters? Not only that, but this laugh track is incredibly manipulative. With a laugh track, a show does not have to earn a laugh, genuinely. It relies on an excited, fictionalized, studio-audience reaction to keep its home audience entertained, regardless of whether or not the joke was actually funny.
Okay, and now it is "Two and a Half Men."
Sitcoms nowadays, in order to further reflect reality, need to show characters in more than just a few locations, something that multi-cam cannot provide due to limited spaces on a sound-stage. In the world, we often leave our houses (a fact that I often forget). To imply that nearly all of a character’s, family’s or a group of friend’s life happens in two or three rooms is ridiculous, and takes us out of the realism that is now so important in our television viewing experiences.
Lowered quality is also immediately visible when viewing a multi-cam sitcom versus a single-cam sitcom. This lower quality is noteworthy when comparing it to other forms of media. It is somewhat mimetic of a soap-opera style — very distinctive, but not necessarily in a good way, or in a way that says anything positive about the piece’s quality.
Multi-cam sitcoms need to become a thing of the past in order to truly move forward with our TV viewing. So, please, just do it already.
