# American sitcom firsts, real and perceived.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 27, 2008, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744 "2008-10-27T11:39:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/1 "2008-10-27T11:39:16Z")
TV history, like all history, is full of received wisdom that isn’t always accurate. This wisdom may be explicit or implied and, if implied, it may _never_ really be stated outright, making it very difficult to rebut if it is false. I’ll begin with some of the things I happen to think I know about the subject of American sitcom firsts:
[ul]
[li]The first standalone sitcom was _I Love Lucy_, which was spun off from Gleason’s variety show on the DuMont Network. It was successful in its own time and is the primary reason Gleason and Carney are remembered today, despite their respective movie careers.[/li][li]The first dramatic sitcom was _M_A_S_H\*, which was also the first sitcom to turn off the laugh track for at least part of most episodes. (The OR scenes never had a laugh track but the rest of the episode did.)[/li][li]The first sitcom to thrive on controversy (that is, to draw ratings mainly from being argued about in the mass media) was _All in the Family_, initially due in no small part to being the first American TV show ever to feature the sound of a toilet flushing.[/li][li]The first successful primetime animated sitcom was _The Flintstones_. The second was _The Simpsons_. There hasn’t been a third.[/li][/ul]
---
### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/2 "2008-10-27T11:56:02Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> [li]The first successful primetime animated sitcom was _The Flintstones_. The second was _The Simpsons_. There hasn’t been a third.[/li]
How do you define “successful”? Although arguably not as ingrained in the national consciousness as the other two, _King of the Hill_ has been running in prime time for 13 seasons. And _Family Guy_ is in its seventh season, despite a cancellation and revival, and is contracted to run until at least 2012. Both of those seem pretty successful to me.
---
### Author:  [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/3 "2008-10-27T12:11:17Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> The first standalone sitcom was _I Love Lucy_, which was spun off from Gleason’s variety show on the DuMont Network. It was successful in its own time and is the primary reason Gleason and Carney are remembered today, despite their respective movie careers.
I think you mean _The Honeymooners_, not _I Love Lucy_.
---
### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/4 "2008-10-27T12:20:00Z")
The first sitcom to handle the subject of abortion was _Maude_ (another Norman Lear show).
The first sitcom to _feature_ an openly gay man (though it was played down after the pilot) was the Swoosie Kurtz/Tony Randall vehicle _Love, Sidney_.
The first sitcom to treat a transgender character seriously was, again, _All In The Family_.
---
### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/5 "2008-10-27T12:25:05Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#):
>
> I think you mean _The Honeymooners_, not _I Love Lucy_.
Damn. Now how many people are going to jump on that?
---
### Author:  [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/6 "2008-10-27T12:27:28Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> The first sitcom to _feature_ an openly gay man (though it was played down after the pilot) was the Swoosie Kurtz/Tony Randall vehicle _Love, Sidney_.\*.
**Soap** has this one beat by a few years with Billy Crystal’s openly gay character _Jodie Dallas_.
There may be others.
---
### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/7 "2008-10-27T12:29:56Z")
> [@minlokwat](#):
>
> **Soap** has this one beat by a few years with Billy Crystal’s openly gay character _Jodie Dallas_.
>
> There may be others.
:smack:
Of course you’re right! My experience is deficient here because we weren’t allowed to watch _Soap_…it was “dirty”. So the show doesn’t spring to mind when I’m thinking of these things.
---
### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/8 "2008-10-27T12:37:03Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> [li]The first successful primetime animated sitcom was _The Flintstones_. The second was _The Simpsons_. There hasn’t been a third.[/li][/list]
How about _The Jetsons_? _Futurama_? _Family Guy_?
---
### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/9 "2008-10-27T12:44:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> How do you define “successful”? Although arguably not as ingrained in the national consciousness as the other two, _King of the Hill_ has been running in prime time for 13 seasons. And _Family Guy_ is in its seventh season, despite a cancellation and revival, and is contracted to run until at least 2012. Both of those seem pretty successful to me.
> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> How about _The Jetsons_? _Futurama_? _Family Guy_?
I define success purely in terms of the number of episodes, and I recall discussion about how it was a big deal when _The Simpsons_ surpassed _The Flintstones_. I didn’t hear about _The Jetsons_ in those discussions and a certainly didn’t hear about _KotH_, _Family Guy_, or _Futurama_.
Remember, this thread is about real _and perceived_ firsts (and seconds, and so on).
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/10 "2008-10-27T12:49:28Z")
> [@minlokwat](#):
>
> **Soap** has this one beat by a few years with Billy Crystal’s openly gay character _Jodie Dallas_.
>
> There may be others.
Like **The Hot L Baltimore** , which had a gay couple two years before **Soap**.
Not exactly the first (there was a sitcom in the very early days that had one), but **Green Acres** was the first since then that showed a married couple sharing the same bed.
---
### Author:  [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/11 "2008-10-27T13:29:59Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> I define success purely in terms of the number of episodes, and I recall discussion about how it was a big deal when _The Simpsons_ surpassed _The Flintstones_. I didn’t hear about _The Jetsons_ in those discussions and a certainly didn’t hear about _KotH_, _Family Guy_, or _Futurama_.
I don’t know about number of episodes, but _The Flintstones_ ran for six seasons. _King of the Hill_ has been on for 13, and _South Park_ for 12.
---
### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/12 "2008-10-27T13:57:37Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> The first successful primetime animated sitcom was _The Flintstones_. The second was _The Simpsons_. There hasn’t been a third.
> [/list]
You ever hear of a little show? Called _South Park_?
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/13 "2008-10-27T14:41:00Z")
The first sitcom to actually have a laugh track was **The Hank McCune Show** in 1950.
**I Love Lucy** is usually credited as the first sitcom recorded on film instead of broadcast live.
**Julia** was the first comedy with a black woman as the lead in a non-stereotypical role. ( **Beulah** was much earlier, but she was a maid).
---
### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/14 "2008-10-27T14:48:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#):
>
> **I Love Lucy** is usually credited as the first sitcom recorded on film instead of broadcast live.
Wasn’t that the reason that the show was able to be endlessly syndicated? And I thought I remember reading that Desi Arnaz invented the three-camera setup for the show.
---
### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/15 "2008-10-27T15:05:19Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> You ever hear of a little show? Called _South Park_?
Most people haven’t, no, judging by ratings.
---
### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/16 "2008-10-27T15:06:25Z")
> [@Derleth](#):
>
> I define success purely in terms of the number of episodes, and I recall discussion about how it was a big deal when _The Simpsons_ surpassed _The Flintstones_. I didn’t hear about _The Jetsons_ in those discussions and a certainly didn’t hear about _KotH_, _Family Guy_, or _Futurama_.
>
> Remember, this thread is about real _and perceived_ firsts (and seconds, and so on).
Then _your_ perceptions are wrong, it’s that simple. Because I guarantee that any discussion of famous primetime cartoon sitcoms would include South Park, Family Guy (and likely) King of the Hill.
If you’re talking about perceptions, many people nowadays have no idea The Flintstones was a primetime show. They think it was always a Saturday morning/after school kind of thing.
---
### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/17 "2008-10-27T15:23:25Z")
People get so much wrong about _The Honeymooners_ that it deserves a thread of its own.
The short version is that _The Honeymooners_ as a TV show didn’t debut until as late as 1955. Calling it first is like calling Lincoln the first president.
Gleason had starred in the first television version of \*The Life of Riley \*as early as 1949. Even that’s not the first sitcom, although 1949 is the first season to have successful long-running sitcoms debut, like _The Goldbergs_ (five seasons) and \*Mama \*(seven seasons). The successful version of _The Life of Riley_, the one with William Bendix, debuted in 1953 so it’s also earlier than _The Honeymooners_.
_The Honeymooners_ began as a skit of the DuMont show \*The Cavalcade of Stars \*in 1951. But that’s not where it got famous. That didn’t happen until the next year when Gleason went to CBS for his own _Jackie Gleason Show_.
The spin-off - that might be a true first - lasted just a season. If The _Honeymooners_ was successful, then so was _The Jetsons_.
There were lots of military sitcoms before _M_A_S_H\*. Were any of them “dramatic sitcoms”? Depends on your definition. _McHale’s Navy_ was normally farcical, but had serious military scenes. \*“Mister Roberts” \*complete with quotes was a one-season (1965-66) adaptation of the more successful novel, play, and movie. I’ve never seen it but from descriptions it seems to be a transition to the 70s-style more serious sitcom.
Some other true firsts.
The first sitcom to have a child as the featured star was _Leave it to Beaver_ in 1957. The first to have a “teenager” as star was _The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis_ in 1959. The first to dispense with adults altogether as continuing cast members was _The Monkees_ in 1966.
The first to star black performers is… a tie. Both _Amos ‘n’ Andy_ and _Beulah_, with Ethel Waters as a maid, debuted in 1950. She was replaced by Hattie McDaniel and then by Louise Beavers over its two season run. 1950. Why 1950? Why wasn’t there another until \*Julia \*in 1968? A mystery. But I guarantee you that if you’re looking for a sitcom that thrived on controversy _Amos ‘n’ Andy_ beat _All in the Family_ by a mile.
The first starring a women in a serious job was the completely forgotten _Boss Lady_. In 1951 Lynn Bari played the owner and operator of the Hillendale Homes Construction Company. It lasted three seasons and was never heard from again.
Perceptions? Isn’t that like defending ignorance? :dubious:
---
### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/18 "2008-10-27T15:35:25Z")
The first sitcom spinoffs were _Pete and Gladys_ from _December Bride_ and _The Andy Griffith Show_ from the _Danny Thomas Show_. Both premiered in 1960.
[QUOTE=RealityChuck]
Not exactly the first (there was a sitcom in the very early days that had one), but Green Acres was the first since then that showed a married couple sharing the same bed.
[/QUOTE]
Don’t make any bets on this one, someone will probably show come up with a clip of something. In addition to the 1948-era _Mary Kay and Johnny_ (the first sitcom; also the first one to move from one network to another) Harriet Nelson has always insisted (although I’ve never seen a clip) that she and Ozzie slept in the same bed in _The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet._ There was also an episode of _The Dick Van Dyke Show_ where Rob and Laura were shown in the same bed. Buddy and Sally were also sharing the bed, but bar bets are won and lost on such nitpicks.
---
### Author:  [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/19 "2008-10-27T15:35:32Z")
Annie X-Mas:
> [@](#):
>
> How about The Jetsons?
This will surprise you as much as it surprised me when I learned it: The Jetsons only ran one season (1962-1963) on prime time. They are well-remembered because those 24 prime time episodes were then re-run over and over for years as kiddie-time cartoons. New episodes of the Jetsons weren’t made until a brief revival in the 1980’s, and those weren’t in prime time. But the Jetsons are definitely not what you’d consider a successful prime-time animated show.
---
### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744/20 "2008-10-27T16:23:40Z")
The first sitcom to have the child star’s name (as opposed to the character’s name) in the title was _The Patty Duke Show_
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-sitcom-firsts-real-and-perceived/469744.md?page=2)