# Sitcoms with laugh tracks that are actually funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529 "2006-01-18T18:04:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529/21 "2006-01-18T23:41:23Z")
Amazed I’m the first one to post this, given that I know a bunch of people here love it… but the first season of _Sports Night_ had a laugh track and was funny (along with being so many other good things). ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529/22 "2006-01-18T23:42:34Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > I was fairly sure that some of the shows listed here actually had life studio audiences: Cheers, The Cosby Show, and Roseanne in particular. (Maybe not Roseanne, but the first two in particular usually set the action in just one or two sets, and feels kinda stage-bound.) Both _Cheers_ and _The Cosby Show_ announced that they were filmed before a live audience. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529/23 "2006-01-19T01:14:13Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Both _Cheers_ and _The Cosby Show_ announced that they were filmed before a live audience. Didn’t a lot of shows once announce that? Why was that supposed to be a plus? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529/24 "2006-01-19T02:16:59Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > Didn’t a lot of shows once announce that? Why was that supposed to be a plus? I thought the implication was that there was no laugh track, which may be what they tried to make the TV audience think, although **bouv** above stated that they sometimes still used a laugh track too. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529/25 "2006-01-19T04:13:51Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > Yes, Minister Eh? This classic show does _not_ have a laugh track, it’s clearly a studio audience. A number of jokes are not “got” by the audience at the time but the actors expect a laugh and pause accordingly. At other times they clearly have to pause unexpectedly when the audience laughs more than they expected. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529/26 "2006-01-19T06:22:23Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > The one time where a laugh track added to a show was Married With Children. > > The damn laugh track on that show was practically a character! Well said. I can’t imagine that show without the overblown laugh track – you’re right, it was practically a character unto itself. > [@Revtim](#): > > I thought the implication was that there was no laugh track, which may be what they tried to make the TV audience think, although bouv above stated that they sometimes still used a laugh track too. I’m pretty sure there were a few times in both shows (often the closing gag while the credits rolled) when the camera pulled back to reveal something funny, and there was laughter – clear indication of at least some laugh track meddling, since a live audience would of course have seen the joke before the camera even pulled back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-with-laugh-tracks-that-are-actually-funny/340529.md?page=1)