Two Shows Hope to Change Sitcom Stigma

With today's network humor landscape looking lackluster, marketing energy is being focused on two new shows - NBC's My Name Is Earl and UPN's Everybody Hates Chris - as cures for the ailing sitcom, Broadcasting & Cable writes. Younger audiences particularly feel the sitcom has gone stale and stupid. Both new shows are intent on changing that perception. My Name Is Earl is about a smalltime crook who wins a lottery and resolves to make amends for past wrongdoings, and Everybody Hates Chris is Chris Rock's look back at a difficult childhood.