# One hour shows with laugh tracks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [April 26, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576 "2026-04-26T21:37:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/1 "2026-04-26T21:37:25Z")
Are there any besides _Love Boat_ and _Eight is Enough_? (Sketch comedy and variety shows do _ **NOT** _ count.) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/2 "2026-04-26T22:52:59Z")
_Love American Style_ unless you want to shoehorn a collection of shorts with sketch shows. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/3 "2026-04-26T23:10:19Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > unless you want to shoehorn a collection of shorts with sketch shows I do. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/4 "2026-04-26T23:56:57Z")
Supertrain ([How NBC’s Supertrain Went Off the Rails - The Retroist](https://www.retroist.com/p/how-nbcs-supertrain-went-off-the-rails)): > As I mentioned earlier, Variety savaged the show in their February 1979 review stating that “Without better scripts, the train’s trek may well end in 13 weeks. More emphasis on characters, less on the train, is in order.” > > This turned out to prophetic because, in just under 3 months, _Supertrain_ would gone. > > They did try and retool the show along the way. Bringing in new talent and even trying to change the tone of later episodes by **adding a laugh track**. These changes just made the show seem even more disjointed and did nothing to get ratings back on track. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/5 "2026-04-27T01:20:52Z")
I did a search of this board and found that I posted this back in 2002. > In the 54 **[as of 2002]** years since the networks started prime time programming, I found a total of 16 hour-long series that were described as situation comedies. As for how successful they were, you can judge for yourself. > > Aloha Paradise (ABC, 1981) Love Boat on a tropical resort. > > Breaking Away (ABC, 1981) Adapted from the movie. > > Enos (CBS, 1980-1981) Spinoff from the Dukes of Hazzard. > > Going My Way (ABC, 1962-1963) Adapted from the Bing Crosby movie. > > Good and Evil (ABC, 1991) Two sisters, one good, the other evil. > > Harts of the West (CBS, 1994) Beau Bridges leaves the big city to become a cowboy. > > Husbands Wives and Lovers (CBS, 1978) The lives of five suburban couples. > > It’s a Man’s World (NBC, 1962-1963) Four guys on a houseboat > > The Last Precinct (ABC, 1986) Adam West commands the worst police officers in Los Angeles. > > Lobo/Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (NBC, 1979-1981) Slow-witted, bumbling country sheriff. > > Love American Style (ABC, 1969-1974) and Love Boat (ABC, 1977-1986) We can debate whether these two shows fit the classic definition of situation comedies (and I agree with Walloon that LAS doesn’t), but they are the two most successful series in the entire genre. > > Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (CBS, 1957-1967) Not really a series, it was a collection of specials that were brought together starting in 1962, and run as a summer replacement for several years. > > Stir Crazy (CBS, 1985-1986) Adapted from the movie. > > That’s Life (ABC 1968-1969) Young couple meets, falls in love and marries, also sings and dances. Maybe not really a sitcom, more like a collection of skteches with a common theme. > > When the Whistle Blows (ABC, 1980) A bunch of guys do construction work and hang out at a bar. That doesn’t directly answer whether any of those shows had laugh tracks other than those already cited. _The Luci-Desi Comedy Hour_ did have a laugh track, but it wasn’t exactly a series. I have no memories of any of the other shows. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/6 "2026-04-27T01:46:03Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > When the Whistle Blows (ABC, 1980) A bunch of guys do construction work and hang out at a bar. Are you 'aving a laugh? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/7 "2026-04-28T05:31:29Z")
I remember watching Enos as a kid who loved watching Dukes of Hazzard. No laugh track, unless you count the banjo stingers that accompany the endless Country Bumpkin in the Big City jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-hour-shows-with-laugh-tracks/1029576/8 "2026-04-28T11:31:34Z")
A recent candidate: Kevin Can F\*\*k Himself.