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TBS Debuting Two Original Sitcoms

Despite the fact that no basic cable network has had a tremendous success with an original, 30-minute sitcom, a handful of networks are in the process of trying to create one.

In recent years, media observers have declared that the sitcom is dead, but that hasn’t stopped cable nets from trying to develop them, writes Mediaweek. In Nov., for example, TBS plans to debut two scripted comedies. My Boys, a 13-episode series, follows a 20-something female sportswriter and her circle of male friends. It will debut Nov. 28 at 10 p.m. following Sex and the City.

The second show, 10 Items or Less, is a five-episode “improv hybrid” about a quirky grocery store manager. It debuts Nov. 27 at 11 p.m., following The Family Guy.

My Boys is costing Turner about $1 million per episode, and Steve Koonin, executive vp/COO, TBS/TNT is quoted as saying, “This is a big, ambitious endeavor. The chance of failure is high but the opportunity to learn from this is even higher.”

FX’s comedy, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, managed to grow its audience by 30 percent last year, but didn’t deliver as well as dramas Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me, according to the article. The show may not return, but if it does, it will not be paired with another comedy.

Comedy Central doesn’t have any particular sitcoms for 2007, but an upcoming program starring Sarah Silverman shares some of the sitcom genre’s DNA, according to Lauren Corrao, exec. vp, original programming/development.

Meanwhile, media buyers are still looking for a comedy with mass appeal, according to the article.