The success of Outnumbered has taken us all by surprise. Anna’s reviews and previews (here and here) have provoked huge feedback from you, not least from an American reader, who, contrary to the huge majority of you, thinks that the show has no plot and no funny lines in it.
So this got me thinking. Andrew, who says he works in TV development at NBC in the US, says plot is integral to a sitcom (see his and other comments here), and couldn’t get his head around the fact that this show has no real plot. This actually seemed to delight many of you – the series just showed family life as it is, and revelled in the mundane, every-day nature of family life, with its own, unscripted magical moments and stresses. So do sitcoms need a plot to be successful? Have your say…
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I’ve not seen Outnumbered yet (shame on me) but if it’s plotless it sounds like it follows in the hallowed footsteps of such gems as The Royle Family. I’m not surprised Americans don’t get it (sorry for the blatant broad-brush stereotyping there).
Hi. Mark here, editor of sitcom.co.uk – Outnumbered did actually have a pilot – it was filmed in September.
Almost all sitcoms have pilots but, like in the case of Outnumbered, the viewing public rarely get to see them.
Pilots are required as it is a big risk to fork out many hundreds of thousands of pounds on a full series without checking the cast dynamics work first.
Man I totally mis-read that and now look an idiot – plot not pilot. lol.
i really want outnumbered to come out on dvd