A trend amongst sitcoms, particularly family sitcoms, is to have an overweight male as the lead role. Ever since the Honeymooners, an overweight male has served as the main character and the main way for the sitcom to get laughs.
Also interesting is that in these sitcoms, the leading lady that plays alongside the overweight male is almost always in line with the ideals of body image in American society.
Below are some examples of shows from the past and present where an overweight male is crucial in getting the laughs in a televised sitcom.
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners first premiered in 1955 and while the show only ran for 39 half-hour episodes, it is largely considered one of the best sitcoms of all time. Taking place in a Brooklyn apartment building, the show focuses on the lives of four people. One of which is Jackie Gleason's character, Ralph Kramden, an overweight bus driver who was essential to the shows comedic success.
Roseanne
Roseanne first premiered in 1988 and ended in 1997. The sitcom was widely acclaimed and revolved
around the lives of the Conners, an American working class family struggling to get by. Dan Conner,
played by John Goodman, is the father figure on the program and often times the butt of the jokes
or instigator of jokes. His large size often contributes to the comedy of the program.
King of Queens
King of Queens is a sitcom that ran from 1998 until 2007 on CBS. The story revolves around Doug
and Carrie Heffernan, who live in a house with Carrie's eccentric father. Doug Heffernan is played by
Kevin James and is an overweight delivery driver. His wife Carrie is skinny and would fit into the Ameican
ideals of body image.
Family Guy
Family Guy is an animated family based sitcom that first aired on the Fox Network in 2000. The story
centers on the Griffin family, Peter and his wife Louis are the main roles. Peter Griffin is an overweight,
dopey character who is at the center of the comedy in the show.
No comments:
Post a Comment