Why Do Sitcoms Tell Us When To Laugh?

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The Laugh Track has become synonymous with sitcoms since the early days of television. The Laugh Track was used to give at home audiences the feeling of a live studio performance, but over the years it became a crutch to let the audience know when to laugh. Though most modern sitcoms have stopped using the laugh track, looking back it's a wonder why it stuck around as long as it did.
#sitcom #laughtrack #nerdstalgic
SOURCES
nymag.com/arts/tv/features/la...
www.videomaker.com/how-to/dir...
collider.com/tv-laugh-tracks-...
www.britannica.com/story/why-...
www.cell.com/current-biology/...
www.semanticscholar.org/paper...
slate.com/culture/2018/04/cha....

[@Nerdstalgic]

Use code NERDSTALGIC50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3LoT5hq!

[@littledudefromacrossthestr5755]

No

[@grfrjiglstan]

I remember seeing a disclaimer on one show that read something like “The Suite Life On Deck was filmed in front of a live studio audience, but uses a laugh track when necessary.” “Necessary,” in this case, apparently meaning “when the audience doesn’t find it funny.”

[@KenLieck]

What show was that? (Just kidding!)

[@brandonscott5544]

EXCELLENT WORK.

[@kingchucklesii2197]

🤣 like Jeb's "please clap"

[@brandonp7503]

Kidcoms are the worst about abusing the laugh tracks. They'll seriously play a laugh track after an expositional line without a joke in it.

[@trinaq]

Most laugh track sitcoms consist of the actors staring awkwardly at their coworkers, and waiting for them to say their next line in between the studio audiences' laughter. I'm glad that laugh tracks are mostly dying out nowadays, and don't need to place emphasis on a funny moment.

[@tommystrickland6268]

This is why old lady house in always sunny is like a perfect episode of tv reflecting on how the television industry itself works

[@ikmor]

It doesn't at all "seem like audiences are naturally drawn to shows with laugh tracks". It shows how nostalgia is a big factor in series being watched again.

[@KenLieck]

I think he meant LCD audiences. But they're the most nostalgic, too, if I "member" correctly...

[@russmawson6744]

Exactly

[@KalCounty]

Yeah, if I watch old episodes of Seinfeld I'm not doing it to hear the laugh track.

[@solarkid]

@@KalCounty It's because you have no concept of humor so the laugh tracks are what teach you

[@maryc1447]

Couldn't agree with you more! I find laff tracks to be exceedingly annoying. I don't need someone telling me when to laugh, as I am perfectly capable of determining what does and does not seem funny to me.

[@dcengland]

I feel like you need to do a follow up video and discuss MASH. In the US MASH used laugh tracks and is a comedy but in other area like the UK, the track is removed and it’s a much more serious show. Also Scrubs did a special episode with laugh tracks and it kind of shows how abrasive they can be.

[@phil2of3]

Removing the laugh track for MASH makes it so much better

[@Devil-Made]

MASH was always before my time, but I usually don’t let that stop me when deciding to watch something. Given that MASH is held in such high regard, I once tried to watch it. I just could not get through a single episode. The laugh track was to blame. I wanted to get invested in this war story but simply couldn’t, because every fake chuckle was a reminder that it didn’t even take itself seriously, so why should I? Laugh tracks aren’t always bad, imo. But MASH was a show that should never have had it added.

[@Queenfan-kh1bz]

A lot of classic British Sitcoms were recorded in front of a live studio audience but those comedies were actually funny and had good writing and characters

[@noahhunter06]

black adder and the IT crowd are great, but canned laughter is ways a turn off

[@GuinDog4]

Bri’ish init

[@BjornWithASlash]

False. The British have never done anything right.

[@Queenfan-kh1bz]

@@BjornWithASlash and Americans have 🤣 the Russia of the west

[@BjornWithASlash]

@@Queenfan-kh1bz I’m not saying America is good. Man British people can’t even read a sentence right apparently

[@lucbauer]

That's why The Office is genius for making you laugh from embarrassment instead of laughing tracks

[@HYFRLamar]

bro woke up and decided to spit facts

[@moroseloki1912]

I guess that's why I disliked it when I was younger 🤔

[@djpegao]

*Stares into camera*

[@robertmatthews9650]

Reminds of watching Succession.

[@hilurgazzali9222]

I find the office and modern family so awkward and uninteresting because of how far they have to go to elicit a laugh from me. Slapstick should be simple.

[@therealCrazyJake]

Fun Fact: M*A*S*H wasn’t supposed to have a laugh track, because it’s creator didn’t want it to be a sitcom, but rather a TV drama, but the studio insisted, against his wishes, to add one in. On the DVD boxset, you can choose to watch the show without the laugh track, as it was intended.

[@Papinak2]

I didn't even know M*A*S*S had a laugh track, because the version dubbed in Czech didn't have one. I wonder if that was due to technical limitations or if it was intentional

[@MC---]

Ross without laugh track equals nerdy Dennis Reynolds. That first clip made me laugh and the pause without laughter actually made it funnier.

[@patricksleep9787]

That’s why I’ve grown to love cartoons more, and dislike live-action sitcoms half of the time, in animation most of the time it always works with humor because its creative potential could create such a unique narrative on its jokes I mean think about it, how many classic icon characters we’ve gotten because of these. Also in Latin America, there is this sitcom show called El Chavo del 8, an orphan boy who lives in a neighborhood, the show does have a laughing soundtrack but it knows when to hit the humor most of the time, instead of overusing it every single sentence that most of these United States Sitcoms puke out in each minute.

[@samuelperezgarcia]

And yet when Chespirito decided to eliminate the laugh track out of respect for the audience, as he claimed, the show's joke pauses felt very cringy.

[@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63]

As long as there aren't laugh tracks then I'm fine with sitcoms. Brooklyn 99 was great and never needed to tell me when something funny or endearing happened.

[@KenLieck]

@@samuelperezgarcia If the actors are used to leaving those pauses and don't learn to stop doing so, it's going to be that way! As far as cartoons, I said in another comment that as a kid I was always baffled by the use of the laugh track on TV cartoons, thinking "I know that grown-ups do not think this is funny!" Apparently the Flintstones started this because they were a rip off of the Honeymooners, and then other TV cartoons added a laugh track just to ape the Flintstones -- even though it made no sense whatsoever on most of them!

[@patricksleep9787]

@@samuelperezgarcia he did that once the good characters were no longer in the show

[@pabloandresterceroscamacho266]

Amamos al Chavo

[@TobiasCramon12]

Taking away the laugh track from a sitcomm and saying it sounds weird is a terrible argument. I mean ofc it does the show was made for a laugh track so taking out a core factor of the show and then removing it is like adding a laugh track to a single cam show and saying it would sound weird aswell Why, BECAUSE IT WASENT MADE FOR THAT

[@EdmundSnow98]

Someone added a laugh track to the office and it was a bit weird. Still funny but it felt like they were telling me when to laugh instead of being genuine. I don't hate all laugh track comedies but many of them overuse it as a crutch for poor comedic writing instead of trying to make an audience actually laugh (whether live or at home)

[@leecroft7311]

I would love to see laugh tracks added to shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. We have shorts and videos showing various scenes with it added, would love to rewatch them with it added to the entire shows, it would no doubt completely change the vibe of them.

[@grfrjiglstan]

Nickelodeon’s is by far the worst. They’ve been using the exact same laughter, boos, gasps, etc. for over a decade, and it got old before Drake & Josh even ended.

[@davidwallgren7575]

Not to mention the acting is terrible, the shows are filled with idiots and jerks, and the laughter happens like every time someone says a sentence.

[@erakfishfishfish]

The most awkward laugh track has to be season 1 of Sports Night. Aaron Sorkin didn’t want one, but the network forced him to shoehorn one in. It’s played at half volume and you can tell the show used it as sparingly as possible. It really killed the flow of Sorkin’s dialogue and, by the second season, it was gone. I also can’t help but think of the “I Love Mallory” scene from Natural Born Killers that’s presented as a classic sitcom. Rodney Dangerfield plays Mallory’s abusive father and a laugh track plays after every horrible thing she says to her. It’s quite the disturbing effect.

[@kameronjones7139]

Natural born killers was so awkward

[@erakfishfishfish]

@@kameronjones7139 Oliver Stone was takimg psychadelics while filming, so that explains a lot

LOVE Spots Night, too bad people simple didn´t watch it. Maybe it would work better now, in streaming.

[@Ndres1692]

To be fair the original Friends Joke is out of context. Is a punchline to 23min of set up. Maybe the laugh track was not an evil plot manipulate, but a way for it not be so awkward to be laughing alone at a a TV show and dealing with the pauses the show needs before inserting the next line.

[@danielkeith2071]

I made a short video for my church recently in the style of Americas Got Talent, which does rely on its crowd for laughter, and I honestly didn’t realize how satisfying it was to add laugh tracks to certain moments 😂 it was definitely easy to get carried away, but I really understand the difference it makes from the editors perspective when you have empty space v laugh tracks

[@damiang1442]

This is probably why stan-up is my favourite comedy genre. By definition it's always recorded in front of an audiance so you feel a sense of community when you watch it.

[@ranoutofgoodusernames8394]

I did genuinely chuckle a bit at the first clip. I do find some uses of laugh tracks annoying but it doesn't really bother me as much as other people. I'm more indifferent to the situation. Pretty funny to see the number of people who hate laugh tracks with passion in the comments though.

[@Keyh]

[@memorylanegaming7050]

Reminds me of WWE. During the pandemic when they were performing in front of an empty set, they started using canned boos and cheers. Even after they came back to performing in front of live audiences, they were still using it. I haven't noticed it recently, but I having been paying much attention either. Everyone hated it when WWE was trying to tell us how we should react, once they live audiences returned.

[@jlb4685]

Un-ironically still thought that opening clip was funny. You only think it sounds weird without a laugh track because you’re not used to it not being there. If The Office or Scrubs had laugh tracks people would say those shows sound weird without them too. You could almost argue the laugh track in The Office is replaced by whenever a character looks at the camera.

[@DragoEpyon]

What makes that scene awkward is that the actors pause for the laugh track to be played. Without, it leads to them just awkwardly frozen in place. But I agree, I got a chuckle out of it myself.

[@iamacsel87]

@@DragoEpyon exactly and for a channel based on cinematography analysis, this felt like a pushed opinion. I agree with the overuse of the laugh track I also agree that Friends certainly has scenes that are clearly not as funny as the laughing track gives the impression, but this was not one of them; at worst, it's just subjective humor.

[@raphaelzakhm7310]

Loved the history in the video, incredible!

[@AdamPFarnsworth]

I refuse to watch modern comedies with laugh tracks

[@asmr_rico]

Can t agree Anymore

[@Theraot]

The laugh track is tell us: - No, that was not offensive. See, you can laugh. - Sorry we could not make it funnier. We will laugh for you.

[@ArthurB26]

This comment was recorded in front of live studio audience

[@LoserUser72]

This is a really bad take. Studio audience laughter doesn't magically condone the behaviour of the characters. A lot of times, the audience is laughing because of the _absurdity_ of the character's bad or offensive behaviour.

[@Theraot]

@@LoserUser72 I said track, no audience. Also, I said it tells you that, not that what it tells is true. You are smart, you get it.

[@LoserUser72]

@@Theraot Okay, you said laugh track. Even so, a laugh track doesn't tell you that something isn't offensive.

[@DhooomKetu]

Really nice explainer on laugh tracks... enjoyed it

[@superdave3093]

Laugh tracks are manipulative. I feel if they’re used sparingly they may add to a joke or a moment but if it’s the whole crux it just makes the show as a whole awful. Big Bang Theory in the later seasons is a perfect example of this. In the early seasons like seasons 1-4 you can still tell an audience is there and it was more authentic as a whole. In the later seasons I didn’t end up actually laughing even though the “audience”(laugh track) did. ☀️

[@thedreadtones]

Reminds me of an episode of Lexx when they’re on an automated TV planet and you get to star in your own show. Laugh tracks are used throughout the episode but you never see an audience. You find out at the end the “stars” who get poor ratings get their heads chopped off and join the “studio audience”. Severed heads laughing for all eternity.

[@turkish2515]

I hate the laugh track. As soon as I hear it, I'm done. I just can't do it anymore.

[@asmr_rico]

Can t agree Anymore

[@54raynor]

Why were laugh tracks a thing? Because the forerunners to TV shows were stage productions. And stage productions had breaks for laughs and applause. The more important question: why do you think a laugh track means you automatically have to laugh?

[@northridgewood5918]

Very well made documentary. We applaud you (using prerecorded applause, naturally 😏).

[@KyleDavis328]

One of the things that I think people forget, is that the laughs have to be accounted for as almost an extra character in the show. When the audience (or canned laugh) is reacting it's the 4th wall delivering its lines in the show the same as how the actors do. That's why pulling the laugh track out of Friends seems wrong, because it'd be like pulling one of the cast members out of a scene. It's also why adding canned laughs to the Office doesn't work because it'd be like adding a random extra into the scene reacting to things without changing the pacing of anyone else's performance. I'm not going to say one is objectively better than the other, but it's definitely disingenuous to say that "Friends or Seinfeld or How I Met Your Mother or the Big Bang Theory or whatever other multicam shows _aren't_ funny because when you take out the laugh track it's just awkward."

[@mitch_sorenstein]

I think Ross attacks women is even funnier without the laugh track, pauses and all.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

They want us to laugh when they say so because they know they're not funny. Comedy in other places don't need that.

[@LoserUser72]

5:41 "Laugh tracks [...] keep us from getting truly lost in what we're watching." This is a really bad argument. Personally, when I'm watching a multi-camera sitcom, I understand that I am essentially watching a stage play. The audience laughter doesn't ruin the 'immersion' because the 'immersion' isn't there in the first place, at least not in the same way as a movie or a single-camera show. Getting upset at the presence of an audience in a multi-camera show is like viewing a painting and getting upset that the artist didn't write a novel instead. The laughter is an inherent part of the art form.

[@cloudkitt]

BBT isn't unfunny becuase it has a laugh track/studio audience, it's just not funny. I'll agree with a pure laugh track being annoying, but I don't see the problem with a live audience. The actors feed off of it and it can enhance their deliveries and performance. And the unique identifiable laughs to an especially funny moment (e.g. George producing the golf ball at the end of the Marine Biologists) are part of what makes that scene so funny. People are free to prefer whatever they prefer of course, but I wonder if the people who are super elitist about laugh tracks hate being at or watching a standup comedian. I'll happily enjoy comedies/sitcoms of both persuasions.

[@docjoe86]

That’s how I feel about laugh tracks and studio audiences. And the people who hate them are so passionate about it. I’ve heard people call them “single camera snobs.”

[@RubyRose2077]

i have to just drop in 1 minute in and say it's one thing if the laughter is REAL like at a comedy show. its another thing when a sound bite is played over and over and over and OVER AND OVER the same soundbite with the same cadence of laughter OVER AND OVER AND OVER EVERY 5 FUCKING SECONDS. it's like im going insane and nothing is real! long story short i do not watch tv anymore i can't stand it.

[@DhooomKetu]

Curb your enthusiasm truly excels without laugh tracks.... really feels like a documentary of Larry David...funny and top tier

[@jacksonmcquade7888]

Always Sunny did a great episode on this

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

Old Lady home right?

[@jacksonmcquade7888]

@@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245 Basically yeah 😂

[@breeinatree4811]

I usually laugh at things before the laugh track starts. When the joke about the chicken and the Mobius strip played I started chuckling at hearing the words Mobius strip. While watching a movie in the theater, I often laugh a few seconds ahead of everyone else.

[@TimmyTomsen]

I feel like after a certain point you don't even hear the laugh track anymore. I remember binge watching HIMYM for the first time a few years ago, and a while after I was done I genuinely couldn't tell you if that show had a laugh track or not

[@ravenwilder4099]

Laugh tracks are a lot like musical tracks: they set mood for the scene, but if they're done well, most of the time you're not gonna be consciously thinking about 'em.

[@macethorns1168]

Always Sunny "Old Lady House" nails this whole thing perfectly.

[@eclecticdt]

I’m not sure the basic idea he starts from is correct. Much of old time radio comedy WAS performed in front of a live studio audience. In a lot of ways those early days of radio entertainment took their cues from live entertainment of the era - vaudeville, the theatre - so it was natural to perform in front of an audience. Some very early TV shows were also filmed in front of a live studio audience. The introduction of canned responses and laugher certainly helped “standardize” audience reactions, but it’s probably more of a familiarity (ie, that generation was used to live audience reaction) more than anything. Of course comedy shows had audience laughter!

[@eclecticdt]

Also, it’s Red “skell-ton” not skeleton :)

[@anubusx]

That is why i really like Malcolm In The Middle.

[@filmreviewer117]

Same. As someone from the UK it's the only USA comedy show I really connected with during the 2000s.

[@Woozlewuzzleable]

I want hear what sounds the audience would make if they saw Amos and Andy today.

[@SurrealKangaroo12]

I never understood the hate for laugh tracks.

[@asmr_rico]

I really hate it when sitcoms add laugh tracks. It's as if the director thinks the audience is a bunch of idiots who don't know how to laugh on their own. The forced laughter is really uncomfortable.

[@experi-mentalproductions5358]

@@asmr_rico The thing is, most of the time it's not "added" it's an actual audience of actual people laughing in real time...

[@Rafamrkz]

To be fair, even with the laugh track, Ross is still cringe and creepy

[@T0mmy9898]

F*R*I*E*N*D*S and Ross

[@thaatsriight]

💯

[@NateS917]

Well friends in general is cringe

[@TonkaJay]

To be fair, it was filmed in front of a live audience. A lot. So...be fair.

[@LeonardoKlotz]

With the rise of streaming series Sitcoms became a thing of the past

[@docjoe86]

As a big fan of sitcoms, that is something I worry about. The closest think a lot of streaming services have are single camera dramadies. Those can be good too, but they aren’t always what I’m looking for.

[@dr.badguyreviews6785]

One thing to say about the laugh box, was it was EXPENSIVE, there was only one, and it was tied into rights with the owner. So, several places started making their own (often inferior and limited) laugh box, the most infamous one belonging to Hanna Barbera as a way to save money. If you watch old Scooby-Doo, you'll realise a lot of laugh tracks are repeated ad nauseum, adding to the sheer mind-melting exhaustion with it.

[@Numba003]

Laugh tracks get on my nerves a little bit these days, so I'm not too sad to see them declining in popularity. Thank you for this interesting episode! I enjoy these tv and film history videos. God be with you out there everybody. ✝️ :)

[@docjoe86]

I know I’m a rarity but I usually prefer multicamera sitcoms with a real studio audience. A lot of it is nostalgia for me-I grew up watching multicamera sitcoms mostly from the 80s and 90s-but I like it when the performers feed off the energy of the audience. Single camera sitcoms allow for a more varied style of humor, but they have three tendencies that bother me: The actors often deliver the lines too quietly, they have wild camera movements, and the timing can get messed up. I like single camera sitcoms that avoid these pitfalls, but I hope multi-camera sitcoms with studio audiences never go away completely.

[@murderman8578]

Why I love Everybody hates chris

[@ttm9227]

Honestly this is why I’ve never liked sitcoms like friends, the office, etc and im glad someone made a video on this. Its always just felt demeaning to me. I’m not dumb, if your joke is funny I’ll laugh.

[@docjoe86]

The office very famously does not have a laugh track or studio audience.

[@ttm9227]

@@docjoe86 that might be true, but they still do pause and make a big deal out of almost every joke.still Feels like a “hey, that was a joke, laugh here” moment

[@docjoe86]

@@ttm9227 That’s true. It might have even worked better WITH a laugh track.

[@docjoe86]

@@ttm9227 I’ll add that one reason they do those breaks, either with a laugh track or a break in the dialogue to account for laughter is so that the people watching don’t miss anything because they are laughing. When there is no break, you sometimes miss some of the jokes.

[@CaptainHooker69]

I own the entire MASH collection on DVD. There is an option on each episode to remove the laugh track. It's an entirely different show without the laughter and makes each character seem really insane because no one in the show is laughing with them. The jokes don't land at all and at times the main characters come off like vicious bullies. Just like what this video did with Ross in the opening.

[@leecroft7311]

They should do this with Friends retail boxset. That scene with Ross at the beginning of this video just shows how different that show would be without a laughter track, would love to rewatch the entire series and see what how it works. Imagine if they added laugh tracks to shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.

[@MasterFrag91]

The weird thing about MASH is that they shot it in such a way to minimize the laugh track usage, because the laugh track was forced on them by the studio higher ups, their compromise was no laugh tracks while in the OR. This is also why, as time went on, the reliance on laugh tracks in the show lessened more and more each subsequent season, as they got more creative control. The laugh trackless version is, personally, the far superior version of the show, sure, some jokes don't land as well, and character flaws are laid much more bare, but I think it works better like that, because when a laugh track isn't forced down your throat, the good gags and jokes hit so much harder, and more dramatic moments that ended up being played for laughs in the airing version actually hit harder as well.

[@CaptainHooker69]

@@MasterFrag91 well said!

[@hadinasrallah8928]

"why the clip was unfunny" i laughed...

[@DOC_951]

Imo the laugh track is basically like when you say “lol” after you text. Not because you’re laughing, and not because you expect them to laugh. It’s more just to say “haha this was just a joke and we’re having fun and not being offensive or serious.”

[@klisher]

When MASH was originally on BBC in the UK it didnt have a laughter track on it. it was only when i saw it again on Paramount comedy with the laughter track added back in (guessing it was the orignal US version) and it felt really strange to watch it with the laughs on it.

[@Kaice88]

nice video. I pretty much block out laugh tracks. They dont bother me and initially I didnt understand why they bothered others because I just dont "hear" them when IM watching something. Its like background noise to me which isnt a bother thankfully. I do like some laugh tracks when done well but live audience shows always seem better.

[@IMagnus123123123]

talk about why cartoons don't have laugh tracks.

[@user-pd1xt6yy9y]

That's why when I watch a sitcom episode, I don't laugh at all, sometimes I laugh one or two times at the whole episode.

[@atticusp6592]

That intro is infinitely funnier without the laugh track.

[@sallievandyke9136]

Red Skeleton???? He must be too young to remember the show.

[@clayongunzelle9555]

I can't watch anything with a laugh track anymore, not when you have shows like Brooklyn nine nine, new girl and everybody hates Chris... Feels forced now

[@andybearchan]

I might be wrong, but I swear that I recognized the same laugh from the monkeys (my favorite show that I watched from Tv recorded VHS over and over) and my moms favorite show Happy days

[@The_Keh27]

Once in a while there will still be a show filmed in front of a live audience, like The Conners. they probably use a bit of "sweetening" as well

[@Dan-cm9ow]

Comedy is often supposed to be a communal experience. Next time you're at a live standup or improv show think about how awkward the show would be if you were the only audience member in attendance. I understand being turned off by reaction tracks on screen, but they are the only way to recreate that communal experience. While shows like Big Bang Theory used it as a bandaid for bad characters and sloppy writing, I don't think that it is a valid blanket criticism of laugh tracks to remove them and say "see? It's not funny anymore." The Office is a great example of using the tension of not having a laugh track to its advantage. Instead of blankly staring waiting for the removed laugh track to finish, the characters react quickly even if its facial expressions to the silence. Your identification is with the actual characters rather than with the laughing audience receiving the comedy. Consequently there are episodes of that even dedicated fans can't watch without a visceral reaction to the cringe. There is no laugh track pulling you away from feeling Michaels embarrassment during Scott's Tots, you're suffering with him.

[@abdelali9279]

0:10 lol I thought it was going to end with "because, this, is Friends" that would've been fun honestly

[@abdelali9279]

If people are drawn to old shows with laugh tracks is because of nostalgia and basically, because there is no other option, it's like saying people are drawn to old black and white movies is because people despise colour, its more like, that is how that movie was made, and that happens with old shows, but given the opportunity to take out the laugh track, some people may find the lack of cue to laugh a sign, that maybe they were not laughing at the jokes but just laughing with dead people recorded decades ago. I mean, it would also show how the pacing is hurt by those pauses and maybe you want something to cut through all that and make a better payoff in the end than this short bursts, I remember watching Spider-Man No Way Home again and realized that the movie was made with these "applause pauses" when the heroes appeared on screen, it felt really jarring watching by myself, it really made no sense in a proper movie, so are laugh tracks, so I hope those overused whimps and moans of the damned are finally put to rest.

[@ThatFanBoyGuy]

If I also heard correctly, part of reasoning behind the laugh is that the joke would the first time, but sometimes the shot would require a second take, and with every successive take, the laugh would get weaker because the joke would lose impact. Laugh tracks merely captured the audience's original reaction, even if it took 2, 3, or 4 takes. And I'm not a big fan of "just take out the laugh track, and you'll realize that it's not funny!" The comedians on stage take into consideration the laugh track in their pacing. Take out the laugh track, and the pacing is off. It's the lack of pacing that removes the humor, not the removal of the laugh track.

[@ideyaa3640]

That's why I could never watch a sitcom. I trust my friends when they tell me a show is very good, but I just can't stand the fake laughs and being told when to laugh

[@patricksleep9787]

Same, I enjoy comedy more on cartoons simply because of its potential creativity that it has.

[@treyg8148]

Mash is one sitcom/drama I never thought a laugh track was appropriate

[@MasterCraftX8]

I watch Nerdstalgic even though I just watched a video on the same topics a week ago

[@hilurgazzali9222]

Laughtracks make you feel less lonely and makes sense because laughter is contagious. No wonder comedy shows actually felt funnier than what we see now, even though they’re about the same level of funny. Ok I just made it to the end of the video and I’m drunk with the knowledge that I am an S tier genius who can understand what researchers needed years of research to figure out

[@trevornedea914]

If you need it. It ain't funny. Period

[@jubetsus4816]

I have noticed that I don’t really pay attention to the laugh tracks anymore or at least I don’t think about it but still I don’t deny that it wouldn’t affect me in some way.

[@TurfShifter]

The trouble is once your brain notices the laughter track you can never not notice it. In the UK the worst was Black Adder Goes Fourh; the laughter track is one of the worst I've ever heard and ruins it. But i never used to notice it and then one day I did......

[@EdinMike]

The funniest part of Big Bang Theory was the fact that it wasn’t funny…

[@pt5728]

Yet it got 12 seasons

[@TonkaJay]

Friends was filmed in front of a live audience.

[@UzY3L]

I think the main thing about the show is missed: it actually, genuinely being funny and therefore, making me laugh naturally without being nudged by the laugh-track.

[@ajram777]

I like being told when someting is funny

[@JosephGallagher]

What movie snippet is that at 4:32?

[@nuberiffic]

"Red Skeleton"

[@BurtSampson]

people laugh when other people laugh because we are primarily herd animals(albeit broken into two groups, the sheep, and the shepherds). And anyone that isn't doing what the herd does is at risk of being singled out, and being singled out is extremely dangerous for a herd animal. It's also why the internet is so heavily astroturfed. It's to create a false consensus, which then will get all the other sheep to go along with it so they don't get singled out from the herd. This stuff only works on followers though( the sheep), the leaders (the shepherds) control the sheep through manipulation such as we see in older sitcoms with laugh tracks.

[@murderman8578]

Everybody hates chris still holds up without needing the laugh track

[@Shiki0414]

0:10 I'm not wondering why it's unfunny, it's Friends💀

[@universpro7741]

3:08 that's the guy from tokyo drift

[@suchangburagohain]

All my favorite shows don't have laugh tracks. Community, Brooklyn99, The Office etc.

[@murderman8578]

Watch Icarly without a laugh track and everything just feels awkward as hell

[@TheStarGhost]

Wait, I feel like I missed something. The last time a laugh track was used was 3 years ago for the Big Bang Theory, but they “likely won’t be going anywhere anytime soon?”

[@landonmiles97]

Did he say “Red Skeleton”? 😂

[@AFishNamedBob]

Red "skeleton". hahahahaha

[@kayspillman4499]

Why do KZbin Channels keep telling me to Subscribe?!?!?! Sick of that. If I like your content, I will follow. Geez.

[@Thatssostephie]

Wait so does Henry danger use laugh tracks or is it a real audience

[@jehrnandez21]

I did find the first clip funny even without the laugh track becaue I knew that he just made a poor choice of words. I still don't understand why people hate laugh tracks, if a joke or comment is clever or funny I'll laugh regardless of the laugh track.

[@docjoe86]

Some people really seem to think it’s the show ordering you to laugh or something and they seem to take it personally.

[@asmr_rico]

I really hate it when sitcoms add laugh tracks. It's as if the director thinks the audience is a bunch of idiots who don't know how to laugh on their own. The forced laughter is really uncomfortable.

[@latenightlogic]

The Micallef Program uses a laugh track. It’s an added bonus. Don’t just go writing them off before you know the context for it.

[@gmg9010]

I just can’t stand most sitcoms and not just because of the laugh track mostly because of how boring they are.

[@thatguywithoutahead]

Guess that's why I always liked Scrubs and malcolm in the middle more than their competitors

[@SpaceCowFour]

Red SKEL-TON, not SKELE-TON

[@mugi-wharingan8150]

I wana know what happened to the dude who actually started this channel??

[@MatthewJBD]

Thankfully there aren't too many British television programs with fake laughter tracks.