My life is effectively a sitcom, though with significantly more unresolved character departures and fewer satisfying season finales.

Modern viewers often look back at classic sitcoms only to discover that the laugh track was arguably working harder than the punchlines during some truly dated episodes.

Watching a behind-the-scenes documentary on legendary sitcoms often reveals that the on-screen chemistry was occasionally held together by little more than tape, talent, and professional resentment.

There is a strange, voyeuristic comfort in watching a sitcom where, unlike in actual production studios, the darker scandals are always swept under the rug before the credits roll.