You might think so, taking a first look at Derry Girls, Lisa McGee’s clever, warmhearted show that sets 90s teen nostalgia against a backdrop of Troubles-era Derry. As companies use their bespoke streaming services to battle for our attention, might a by-product be a new, more relevant sitcom era? Indeed, over the last year, the network has had both critical and commercial success with comedy, but especially sitcoms. With shows like Stath Lets Flats, then, Channel 4, who are longtime proponents of the sitcom, seem to be determined to demonstrate that the half-hour comedy can still be a success. Though some very good sitcoms, like PJDN and This Country, have squeezed through the cracks since 2010, ever since the end of The Inbetweeners there’s not really been a show that has permeated culture in the same way – or indeed in the way that great sitcoms from Only Fools and Horses to The Office have in the past. This is potentially because viewing habits have changed, but it’s also because sitcoms just haven’t felt very cool: there’s been much more on the Miranda end of the spectrum than say, the People Just Do Nothing end. For the last decade or so – as reality formats have grown in number, and prestige dramas have ruled screens – British sitcoms haven’t really impacted culture the way they used to (the same is true in the US, save for anomalies like Veep and Broad City). With an ensemble cast and a half-hour slot on a major TV channel, Stath Lets Flats is a reminder that the sitcom is still capable of great (not to mention critically acclaimed) things.
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