Even though sitcom has been a consistent staple of broadcasting the world over, rigorous academic work on it as a genre remains limited. This book explores the sitcom in terms of production, audiences, and texts, drawing on a range of examples and case studies in order to examine the genre's characteristics, social position, and pleasures. It takes a global view of sitcom, examining international examples as well as those produced by the more dominant British and American broadcasting industries, in order to explore the relationships between sitcom, nation, and identity. Key Features*includes extensive interviews with members of the British television comedy industry*offers detailed textual analyses of a range of programmes, drawing on Humour Theory to explore the ways in which jokes and comic moments work*investigates audience responses to sitcom, with reference to offence, pleasures, and social change*attempts to outline the future for sitcom, considering new media developments and the changing relationships between broadcasters and audiences.