Sitcoms have long been popular with various audiences because they are easy to watch, the jokes are told in a fashion nearly everyone can enjoy, and the physicalcomedyis usually hilarious. With shows likeFriends,How I Met Your Mother, andThe Big Bang Theoryhaving a hold on fans' hearts for quite some time, writers felt like there needed to be a shift in how situationalcomedies dealt with charactersand their very relatable situations; thus, mockumentary sitcoms emerged.
Mockumentary sitcoms take a social situationor group of people, fictionalize it/them, and then use the documentary style of cutting and editing to put together a show that feels real.The Office, one of the most popular mockumentary sitcoms in America, blatantly has its characters acknowledge the camera crew documenting everything that goes on at their place of work. In contrast, other mockumentary sitcoms likeModern FamilyandParks and Recreationchose not to address the use of a camera crew. Regardless of which approach a mockumentary sitcom takes, hilarious and heartfelt moments are always captured. Check out why mockumentary sitcoms dominated in the2010s.
How Is a Mockumentary Sitcom Different From a Sitcom?
The Office (U.S.)
To break down the actual words, a sitcom is an abbreviation of “situational comedy,” meaning characters usually find themselves in humorous situations. Sitcoms, unlike traditional TV series, focus on a fixed set of fictional characters who spend most of their time in fixed locations — like the cast ofFriendsspending most of their time in Monica’s apartment or the coffee shop. This genre of comedy is packed full of punchlines and physical comedy, even when dealing with more heartfelt or series content. In addition, in some instances, a studio audience is behind the cameras, ready to clap and cheer for the actors on the set, ora laugh track is pairedwith the storyline.
A mockumentary sitcom is a mock documentary that focuses on situational comedy with fictional characters. “Mock,” in this instance, means a fake or false documentary; it does not mean that the sitcom is making fun of the documentary style of filming. A mockumentary sitcom typically utilizes most of the above aspects of a traditional sitcom, but the camera style is a bit different, along with how the final product is edited. Also, no live studio audience or laugh track is paired with the storyline, which has been utilized less and less as time passes.
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A single camera is often usedin mockumentary sitcoms, and rather than having a fixed location, it is held and meant to be a tad shaky while filming to get the authenticity that someone is up close and personal with the characters. InThe Office, the camera crew is sometimes seen to further reiterate that they are simply people doing a job rather than allow the audience to completely forget them. Characters within a mockumentary sitcom also get to step aside for their own interviews, where they speak directly to the camera.The fourth wall can be brokenfor a character to fill the audience in on important information or to comically give the individual a break from everything else going on in their situation.
Mockumentary Sitcoms Satirize Reality TV
With the eruption ofreality TV in the 2000s, audiences felt like they were diving into people’s real lives.The Simple Lifetook audiences on an exclusive ride into the friendship between Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.The Girls Next Doorfeatured Hugh Hefner, his main girlfriends, and the daily lives of a Playboy Bunny. Who could ever forget that, in 2007, the Karadashian-Jenner clan hit the screen withKeeping Up With the Kardashians? In short, this idea of peaking into a person’s real life was all over the screen, but audiences had to ask themselves how much of what was filmed and edited was actually genuine.Mockumentary sitcoms took this real-life excitement and turned it on its head.
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Instead of featuring real people, mockumentary sitcoms deal with fictional characters in a real-life fashion. They do not glamorize a lifestyle that feels way too wild for the average person, but rather, these humorous shows focus on the regular and tedious aspects of people’s lives and exploit the relatable humor within mundane activities. Simply look at howThe Officemakes a paper company seem like the hot place to be or howParks and Recreationmanages to make local politics seem like a decent gig because of all the great people behind the decisions. Mockumentary sitcoms poke fun at the very definition of “reality TV” because it shows what reality is (or could be) with a comedic lens attached.
There Is Realism and Intimacy Within the Style
Because of the natural lighting and shaky camera style,mockumentary sitcoms have a very homey feel to them. They remind viewers of people running around with a hand-held video camera, trying to capture all that is going on either in the workplace or within their own families. Due to this, the audience feels a bit more intimate with the characters on the screen, as if we are getting a first-hand account of what real people do in their everyday lives. Instead of feeling like a typical distant observer watching a sitcom likeSeinfeldorFull House, the documentary style makes viewers feel a part of the character’s world.
The interviews conducted throughout this filming style and the many hilarious fourth-wall breaks also allow each character to get a little more personal with the audience. We learn more about how they think about a situation or someone in particular. When a character breaks the invisible wall and gives the camera a certain look, it feels like they and the viewers are in on a little secret about someone or something happening in the room. The whole experience ofwatching a mockumentary sitcom feels more realistic and relatablethantraditional reality TVand more involved than a regular documentary or sitcom.
In more recent years, a few writers and directors have attempted to bring this type of show back. The beloved parody cop mockumentaryReno 911!received a revival season in 2020 and is still going strong.High School Musical: The Musical: The Seriesjumped on board and has gotten a younger audience to appreciate the mockumentary style. Now, plenty of fans are talking about how theEverybody Hates Chrisstar, Tyler James Williams, has returned with all the jokes and sarcasm in themockumentary sitcomAbbott Elementary. Perhaps we will see more shows take on the challenge and get up close and personal with their characters.
