The original post: /r/television by /u/JoshLovesTV on 2025-06-22 21:57:32.
Sitcoms inherently need more episodes a season. 20-24 episodes are perfect for sitcoms. None of it would be “filler” bc each episode is standalone anyways, not counting small serialization or multi-part specials.
In sitcoms, we need more time with the characters bc sitcoms are literally meant to be a day in the life of them. When you do short seasons, you really just limit the possibilities you can do. You can’t go deeper into characters or get to know them on a deeper level.
I can see people wanting 10-episode seasons for dramas or highly serialized shows, but there’s no justification for having 8-10-episode seasons of sitcoms. Stuff like that 90s show, the iCarly reboot, Adults, etc., all having low episode counts really hurt them. Sitcoms used to have 24 episodes to experiment and find what works and what doesn’t. Now they have to be much more careful, and if they have a couple of bad episodes, it becomes a quarter of the season instead of just a couple of duds.
Sitcoms are the genre that needs at least 20 episodes every season, no matter what. Any episodic genre needs to have 20+ episodes to fully develop the characters and world around them.