British stand-up comedian and actor Lee Mack fears the death of the traditional TV sitcom is upon us.The star of BBC comedy Not Going Out – which celebrates its 100th episode this Christmas and becomes the second longest-running homegrown sitcom (only Last of the Summer Wine ran longer) – told The Times he feared the demise of the genre:“We have no young comics coming through who really see, let alone want to write, studio sitcoms. And if we’re not careful it’s going to die.”The article included the statistic that in 1984 there were 60 newly commissioned studio sitcoms in the UK. By 2004 it was seven. This year the number is zero.Mack added that he sees the challenge as a class issue, with middle-class commissioners and journalists failing to understand what he calls “the working-class art” of the popular genre. He added: “It is a unique thing because it comes from that farce/music hall tradition.”“But since Not Going Out started in 2006, broadsheet snobs have been asking, ‘How can this show be on television in this modern age?’ That’s not the question. The question is, what is it about this show that is winding you up? Audiences love this sort of comedy.”Besides his stand-up and sitcom success, Mack is also a team captain in the comedy panel show Would I Lie to You? and host of ITV’s gameshow The 1% Club.
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