A sitcom is a Televised series with dominant Humoristique, characterized at the beginning by a unity of place (recurring decoration) allowing limited means of turning (low number of decorations, little or not of outsides), and whose episode S last less than one half an hour.

The word is a contraction of English SITuation COMedy (situation comedy) and was francized with female by proximity with the name comedy .

With the passing of years, the sitcom became a televisual kind with whole share, developing its own codes, revealing with the public new talents (Michael J. Fox, Alyssa Milano, Jennifer Aniston…) and exploring different styles to renew itself constantly. For example, " beaufs" married protagonists of , two children do not have great a deal to see with the model family of the Cosby Show .

The episodes of the American sitcoms modern generally last 21 to 22 minutes, without publicity. This format makes it possible the chain to insert from 8 to 9 minutes of publicity on a 30 minute old crenel, in three cuts. those of the other countries which have less publicities (it has only one cut in France there, on the private channels only) can usually go up to 30.

Many a sitcoms is characterized by laughter in background music. They are truths laughter if the series is turned in public (the Cosby Show ) or of laughter recorded beforehand (in this case, one speaks familiarly about " laughter in boîte") if there is no public ( Our beautiful family ). A series partially turned in public as Friends uses alternatively laughter " réels" and of the recorded laughter. Others sitcoms do not use a laughter in background music ( Malcolm , for example).

Among the most known sitcoms appear Friends , Mariés, two children , Will & Grace or The Cosby Show , Madam is served , That '70s Show as How I Puts Your Mother .

In the Nineties, the group AB Production was pioneer of the kind in France, with series like Salut Muscular the or Helene and the boys , and number of sitcoms created for TF1 were exported in the world Francophone. Later, Canal+ launched out on the crenel with sitcoms directly inspired of productions In addition to-Antlantique like H or Blague to Share .

The Spanish comic series Aquí No Hay quien viva is close to the sitcom. It is characterized by a number of decorations restricted, a type of humor and a subject (the daily newspaper of a community of neighbors) typical of the sitcoms, but the duration of its episodes, on average higher than one hour, prevents it from being attached to the kind.