OPINION - Jerry Seinfeld is wrong: We don't need new sitcoms to be 'P.C.', we just need them to be funny

I recently had a long argument with a dear friend about a sitcom. It began after a night out, when we wanted to watch some easy TV. She suggested The Big Bang Theory.

I said no. To me this show, which may seem fairly harmless, is blatantly sexist. The premise of the show largely being that a hot, not-so-smart blonde is the next door neighbour to socially awkward male scientists.

We argued for three hours because she insisted that jokes being politically correct doesn’t matter to her as long as the show is entertaining.

We don’t live in the same world as we did in the 2000s. Yet, regardless of this new age of different sensibilities, sitcoms remain a revered genre in entertainment media.

In his latest interview with The New Yorker, Jerry Seinfeld has proclaimed that the beloved ‘Seinfeld’ could never be aired today because of “P.C. crap” and the “extreme left”. I have seen this sentiment displayed by people across all social media several times. And now the world-renowned comedian has declared it so it has to be true, right?

Wrong. First of all, I despise the derogatory use of the term PC. It’s patronising and diminishes the issues that deserve to be taken seriously.

Secondly, this assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. Sitcoms made pre-2010 are still the ones pulling the highest viewing figures.

Seinfeld is held in high regard by many young viewers (Seinfeld)

Whatever my thoughts on it, The Big Bang Theory has emerged as the most streamed TV show in the UK last year. From conversations, people my age often cite shows like Friends, Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men, Scrubs and The Office among their favourites.

Although I disagree with the star, I am a huge fan of Seinfeld and have had it on a consistent loop for the past three years. Why, as someone against out-of-touch TV, am I still watching the show?

I am a part of Gen Z and it’s abundantly clear that Gen Z has always been unpredictable. From being huge advocates of environmental reform to reviving the real fur jacket, it’s almost impossible to tell what our next move will be. There is only one thing I can say about us with most certainty and it’s that we hate being generalised.

Which is exactly what new showrunners do in their disingenuous attempts to appeal to us as viewers. This is something that goes beyond sitcoms but I just have to wonder if we are ever in the room with the people making final creative decisions?

In order to seem progressive, many new productions have characters painted as social justice warriors when they make dramatic declarations of their struggles. A clip from Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia went viral when the show’s first season was released in 2021. This was a clip of an argument between Ginny and her boyfriend Hunter in which they try to prove who is more “oppressed”. The people of the internet seemed to collectively agree that it was the most unauthentic and lazy way of showcasing a very important discussion.

The first and most basic rule of storytelling is to show and not tell. Simply placing a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist won’t automatically accrue Gen Z loyalty. Forced progressiveness actually causes viewers to tune out, as seen in the latest The Adventures of Scooby-Doo character spin-off show Velma, which got a startling 1.6 on IMDB.

Granted, jokes about ethnic specificities or gender stereotypes aren’t the nicest but it’s all about delivery. The Office, a widely loved show, has many punchlines that could easily be considered offensive. The reason it works well is because we’re laughing at the boss Michael Scott’s obnoxious disregard for social cues rather than with him.

The show still perseveres because the writers mastered how to showcase nuanced build-ups and culminate them into disastrous end scenes. This is always done so meticulously that you never see it coming. The audience’s familiarity with character quirks and the stand-out acting from the main cast (everyone except Seinfeld himself were phenomenal performers) is what makes this show a timeless watch.

Veep starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Elaine in Seinfeld, hardly tried to be P.C. In fact, the writers made use of the shock value of dialogues that would make viewers gasp and burst out laughing at the same time. Which is why it went on to be one of the most successful shows at the time of its airing.

Comedies are hard to get right but, if done tastefully, the most competent form of entertainment. If something is genuinely funny and the narrative actually has substance, why wouldn’t even the most leftist person watch it?

Take Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Abbott Elementary as examples: they give us likeable, relatable characters that all have depth while also including traditional comedic elements.

So why can’t we get more shows like that? There’s obviously a demand for it. Until we get some more good ones, I (and many others in my age group) will just keep watching the classics on repeat.

But I will never – and I can’t stress this enough – ever watch The Big Bang Theory.

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