Why sitcoms stopped using laugh tracks

Where did laugh tracks come from? And why'd we stop using them...
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[@dylanjardon]

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[@nimrodfekete9714]

ok

[@reggie9k]

@@nimrodfekete9714 made one of the comme ts of all time

[@reddinulus]

I like rainbows

[@JoeyBenosa]

Bore

[@sikeyesik]

We did this experiment already, at first it was weird but got used to it... during thr pandemic when all of the shows were doing it without an audience

[@Emanoro]

Friends without the laugh tracks is boring ngl, and the clip shown made him sound like a terrible person 💀

[@dylanjardon]

yessir

[@gamingfusion5666]

Friends WITH the laugh track is still boring

[@ohdoggo3359]

Friends seems boring

[@wakoblank]

As somebody who was watched friends multiple times and loves sitcoms, just about every sitcom character is a terrible person.

[@robertjordinelli3041]

I agree. Ross was creepy and disturbing, narcissistic and possessive, jealous, vain and smug.

[@tjeffersonb]

There’s a compilation that points out how psycho Ross is without the laugh tracks 💀

[@utaukappasensei2]

Don't be shy bestie drop the link if you can find it please LMAO

[@tjeffersonb]

@@utaukappasensei2 kzbin.info/www/bejne/anmZhqtpoZxoiMU there’s some other videos of you just look up “Ross Geller Psychopath”

[@burgerboy_20]

@@utaukappasensei2 I didn't find a compilation but if you look up "ross without laugh track psychopath" you will find plenty of videos

[@thedusty194]

Good thing it doesn't have a freaking laugh track.

[@SunKing909]

Actually friends is shot live with people in a set. The laugh track is from the audience.

[@drishtantsen3724]

Laughtracks essentially became a Pavlovian cue for the audience to laugh, irrespective of how tasteless the jokes were.

[@freddykrueger8076]

Ironically I was Anti-Pavloved,… or would it still count as Pavlovian Conditioning? Pretty much whenever I hear a laugh track, I instantly sour and immediately feel the joke is shit, even if it’s the 1-in-10,000 chance it actually is funny.

[@Emmpss]

@@freddykrueger8076 still Pavlovian conditioning. You hear the laugh track Your brain recognizes it and responds by cringing as the appropriate response. Still Pavlovian.

[@freddykrueger8076]

@@Emmpss Cool

[@ekklesiast]

laugh track IS the audience laughing. modern sitcoms are filmed with live audience.

[@mrapple2544]

​@@ekklesiastProps to the audience for laughing everyone the same duration and volume every single show.

[@LaziestPotato]

"Does anybody want to joke when no one's laughing in the background?" -Bo Burnham

[@EssentialNPC]

SO THIIIIIS IS HOW IT ENDS

[@SpiderKidAnimations]

I PROMISE TO NEVER GO OUTSIDE AGAIN

[@En1ow]

@@SpiderKidAnimations AM I GOING CRAZY? WOULD I EVEN KNOW?

[@lily-kat-kitten2926]

AM I RIGHT BACK WHERE I STARTED FOURTEEN YEARS AGO?

[@ShadowSentry211]

​@@lily-kat-kitten2926 WANNA GUESS THE ENDING, IF IT EVER DOES

[@justjackorwhatever]

Friends character: hi Audience: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@DHS222]

And that's why I don't like shows with laugh tracks

[@DenseMelon]

​@@DHS222 fr

[@dracorian4011]

​@@DHS222 same here

[@merjayjathnielpilarca1773]

I used to watch Friends, and I can confirm that the laughs are pretty overused, but it's still entertaining nonetheless. Someone might reply that "Friends is a bad show", "Friends is boring" etc. but people have different opinions, and not all people can agree on something. Edit: I might have been a hypocrite on this one. I did quit watching Friends because I found other things entertaining. Sorry guys. Also, try watching it. Maybe you will like it, maybe you won't. Just try to watch a few episodes because some shows get better each episode.

[@AscendedPOT]

Big bang theory is the exact same way

[@brobrofog]

"this guy named Bing Crosby" and with that Bing Crosby lost his last drop of fame

[@Cheeesyplays]

What do you mean? Bing Crosby is still a well-known musician

[@zielonythewolf5069]

I like Bing Crosby's stuff

[@seaspireroboticsaiinitiati2357]

What do you mean he lost his fame, everyone knows white Christmas + the fallout players listen to music like that all the time

[@yesatitsfinest]

The Crosby family was so fucked up lol. Putting aside the fact that he beat his kids (normal for the time so, whatever), His 4th son killed himself after learning that he had used up all his inheritance, his 2nd son killed himself after a divorce, his first son died of lung cancer, and his 3rd son was a drunk (and frequently drove drunk)who had 4 different marriages before dying of a heart attack.

[@Tristan_SingsJazz]

I love bing crosbys music

[@aimann_krm]

Watch the office and you'll find the silent of awkwardness is actually funny

[@thijs6758]

Yes, finally someone who appreciates The Office

[@chef3333]

The office isn’t funny.

[@aimann_krm]

@@chef3333 ok

[@Classic_Tomfoolery]

​@@chef3333 and friends is? No

[@chef3333]

@@Classic_Tomfoolery friends isn’t funny

[@RM-mw2xr]

"This guy Bing Crosby" like that's some obscure person 💀

[@Electrobuzz17]

Who is he? Famous comedian?

[@pornochio6800]

​@@Electrobuzz17 we was a singer so he was famous back in the day

[@MaxBunny7902]

He kind of is. I only found out he existed because they mentioned him in a 1944 Looney Tunes short, "The Old Grey Hare."

[@Toastoffire100]

I just realized that laugh tracks are a genius way to pad out runtime. That one line if dialogue in Friends was like 2 seconds longer than it needed to be. If every joke has a few extra seconds added to it, you could easily eke out an extra minute or 2 of runtime, which is huge for tv shows.

[@tomcaniff6437]

Actually it's even more effective in the long run than what your implying The time spent on dialogue is basically doubled. So by the end of the show they've got multiple minutes of free space they didn't have to use

[@hi-kt3qr]

Idk laugh tracks make me go insane because it’s the same laugh being played over and over again

[@tomcaniff6437]

@@hi-kt3qr same, I just don't watch shows with laugh tracks, they feel too fake to enjoy sincerely

[@cp-sh9nj]

Yup filler filler. Tried watching Gabriel Iglesias mr cooper or whatever and i was shocked it had a laugh track. Maybe just to help people that speak languages other than English is the only justification I could give. But holy shit man can’t believe it’s still out there!

[@thedusty194]

They're just waiting for the audience to finish laughing so that they can continue with their lines. Have you never been to the theatre?

[@final_uwu4068]

Actually, Friends was one of the only comedies that had a live audience for most of the scenes

[@thedusty194]

THANK YOU!

[@miamontii6448]

So did Golden Girls

[@ElijahMohrfeld]

@@43efds785ffhbfs To some it was fun y

[@Yetaxa]

Actually, the vast majority of shows had a live audience. From I Love Lucy to The Big Bang Theory, actual 'canned' laughter was very rare.

[@snazzle9764]

Most shows did.

[@scottpitts8017]

I tried attacking 2 women did not work “ awkward silence”

[@Schros_kitty]

Tbh I feel like that made the joke more funny. That being said, I love The Office, so ‘awkward silence’ alone or the video of the piece of bread falling over make me laugh. But slap a laugh track on it and I’ll hate it.

[@thedusty194]

​@@Schros_kitty Good thing Friends doesn't have a laugh track.

[@ufcfan890]

it reminds me of a law and order episode

[@scaredmouse6643]

I laughed my ass off when they said "awkward silence"

[@ionkneva]

I imagine this would become a horror TV show

[@maggiemorouni8798]

I read an article that said most companies were using the same laugh tracks for several decades so technically we all grew up hearing the laughter of people long dead while our favorite shows. And that $hit stayed with me.

[@yeremiaputra7213]

Shower thought

[@tonypeppermint5329]

God damn.

[@tonypeppermint5329]

Shit, we could see the same thing with the internet.

[@ifyourereadingthisnevergiveup]

@@tonypeppermint5329 The scariest part is that We don't have to wait...

[@moji3812]

🫣didn't know that

[@ekklesiast]

laugh track gives viewers the sense of being in the audience

[@4smalllittleguys110]

i respect hbo for this decision honestly. laugh tracks have their place but it is truly aggravating having them in every other sitcom.

[@explodoboyv2]

Personally, I find that laugh tracks completely *remove* any humor in a scene, even if I was laughing at it a moment before. The less canned laughter, the better.

[@ScholarTheTerminator94]

NO

[@jairoavila6092]

I actually started laughing from how crazy what he said was

[@jashankkshirsagar5199]

I can't help but notice this coming right after the "Twenty Thousand Hertz" podcast created an episode about the laugh track... Coincidence much?

[@kermitthefriggie1802]

No the fbi’s in your walls

[@freshtony8466]

And?

[@ohiyoresident]

It’s probably funnier without the laugh tracks, just silence after a joke and two people staring at each other

[@honaldjason]

Yeah no that’s awkward

[@alicevdet3294]

Having your laugh in the laugh track must feel so powerful

[@misschanandlerbong94]

A very small percent of episodes on friends actually used laugh tracks, but on a few of them where they didn’t have a live studio audience present, they used laugh tracks recorded from previous episodes of the show, and this must have been one of them. Or maybe there was an audience, the person who edited this just took the laughter out.

[@joevictor53]

Yeah too many people talk about "laugh tracks" without knowing what they're talking about. They ignore that a lot of these older shows were performed like plays with an audience in front of them. You wouldn't moan about everyone around you laughing at a comedy play

[@sirfizz6518]

Married With Children had the live audience cracking up so wildly that the cast (especially Ed) had to regularly wait to deliver their next lines because otherwise they wouldn't be heard over the laughter.

[@rebecca8525]

This is actually very common for live performances. I did theater in high school and I remember the director telling us to pause when the audience laughed, and not to say the next line until the laughter stopped.

[@reptilian3160]

"Can them cackles for later" lol

[@yuricock]

the laugh tracks basically tell me when its ok to laugh bc i dont want to assume a character getting into a fatal accident is funny 😭

[@harizfahimi8821]

That's why I love the old comedy show like Friends, Mr Bean, Mind Your Language because of the laugh track. 😁

[@TerrosimOnNiceLattes]

Ngl mrbean is still funny without the laugh track

[@its_saber1525]

I hate laugh tracks

[@garrysmith1029]

​@@its_saber1525me too even as a kid I hated them

[@thedudethatmakesmidbeats]

Henry Belcaster 2: Electric Boogaloo

[@Merlincat007]

Right!? He's obviously using the same editors, but even beyond that, he does the voices and presentation the exact same too.

[@lorelailuthorkar-el137]

​@Merlincat007 they're friends, they both own the animation company that the animators work for. Henry made a video about it, I'm just not sure if dylan also did😅

[@glitchyghosting5798]

People seem to forget that the show was made with a laugh track in mind. If there wasn't, there wouldn't be these awkward pauses. So of course if you take something away from the show it won't work as well.

[@joevictor53]

Not exactly that but it's made with a studio audience in front of them. They pause so they're not shouting over the audience. People like this edit those laughs out but purposely leave in the pauses to make it work for them. Those pauses wouldn't have been there if the show didn't have an audience so leaving them in is dumb

[@Yetaxa]

@@joevictor53 and the fact that you can clearly hear in this video that the laugh has been artificially removed rather than some 'raw' track before laughs were added.

[@rebecca8525]

Not to mention, the line was taken out of context.

[@pastelrainbows_]

The Waffle house has found its new host.

[@quack567]

The milk store has found it's new dad

[@SpiceIsNice]

Friends is like a watching a show about people who you never would want to be friends with. It's a snore fest 😴.

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

The purpose of the writing behind the show Friends was not really to make the audience sympathise with the main characters but instead to just sort of empathise with them and relate to many of their life situations. Like while the main character lives may have their ups and downs they live in nice spacious apartments in a geat part of Manhattan and most of them have good jobs, so they probably have better lives then most of the viewers watching. However their foibles and screw-ups are very relatable to many people watching, which is where most of the humour comes from. People can say "haha, I've made a mistake like that once before". (The rest of the humour is the characters getting into absurd comical situations.)

[@SpiceIsNice]

@@SurprisinglyDeep that makes sense mostly that type of comedy or relatable stuff never really applys yo me since I've always lived a very diffrent life then most so for me personally it never hits but I can see how the avarege vewier may enjoy it.

[@rebecca8525]

I would definitely want to be friends with them. I’d want Chandler to tell me jokes, Phoebe to give me a massage, Monica to make me dinner, Rachel to go shopping with me, Joey to give me a ticket to his latest play, and Ross to give me a ticket to the science museum.

[@SpiceIsNice]

@rebecca8525 OK they give you stuff but that's not what friendship is about considering you can do most of that yourself.

[@brothercuber3288]

Mommy can we watch Henry Belcaster? No honey we have Henry Belcaster at home Henry Belcaster at home.

[@joeyp1212]

I've seen so many people make exact copies of his vids. They even talk exactly like him its so weird

[@psilocybicacid7667]

Hbo deserves an award for getting rid of the laugh tracks

[@nicki4817]

Why is nobody talking about his Voice acting skills they're criminaly good

[@thedusty194]

Yeah, but his information is faulted.

[@AT-yn9dm]

Of course if you replace laughs with silence, it's going to sound awkward. What you should do is cut out the long pauses where the laugh track was supposed to be, then it would be less awkward.

[@pattydecaffy5839]

The Waffle House has found it’s new host

[@quack567]

The milk store has found it's new dad

[@quack567]

The milk store has found it's new dad

[@JesseJokesStoryTime]

Laugh tracks are basically peer pressure

[@antpezzjr]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@funis185]

The waffle house has found it new host

[@tatertot..]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@reesespieces9518]

I like how they took away laugh tracks or else when something wasn’t even funny, or I was trying to listen I would just hear, “HAHAHAHAHA” over and over.. like dude. SHUT UP

[@Aresenal1739]

This is why I love brooklyn 99. No laugh track just humour

[@S0fizzy]

I hate laugh tracks they're annoying and the jokes already suck but without them it's just uncomfortable 💀

[@_stupidbro]

The phrase "some guy Bing Crosby" killed me 💀

[@benagon]

The generational divide in 2022 is getting wider for me, when Bing Crosby is just a guy with a radio show

[@theunluckyidiot]

fr man he was a superstar and now barely anyone knows him

[@Aceshot86]

One of my favorite singers of the Era.

[@theunluckyidiot]

@@Aceshot86 and he was a really nice guy too!

[@eggboy26]

i understood that as bill cosby

[@Aceshot86]

@@theunluckyidiot It was a different time my man.

[@PeeldBanan]

Bro I don’t know about you but laugh box sounds like something the joker would use

[@mr.potatoun2534]

All sitcoms with a laugh track: *awkward without laugh track* Everyone: *no response* Big Bang Theory with a laugh track: *awkward without laugh track* Everyone: *hey that’s illegal*

[@doomakarn]

"I tried attacking two women; did not work." >horrified, confused & concerned stare

[@MOVEDCHANNEL69420]

the waffle house has found its new host

[@quack567]

The milk store has found it's new dad

[@Universal_Bacon]

Meat canyon uploaded a creepy video involving the laugh tracks and big bang theory it was spooky

[@kendsaykendsay4180]

The waffle house has found its new host.

[@quack567]

The milk store has found it's new dad

[@voestalpine27]

The sperm has found its egg

[@bosh.5050]

The Waffle House Has Found Its New Host

[@Baby_Jeebus]

Fun fact: bing crosby was the one who sung: it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, White Christmas and many more Christmas classics,

[@chimpgaming8290]

We know

[@KeeboReebo]

He also punched his children in the face if they didn’t eat their green beans

[@user-lolhlol]

The Waffle House Has Found Its New Host

[@joshhasdied2115]

The Waffle House Has Found Its New Host

[@HillelGuy]

The waffle House has found its new host!

[@ChokInnuts-sk3th]

No one likes people like you

[@quack567]

The milk store has found it's new dad

[@mstanek2595]

The Waffle House Has Found Its New Host

[@Cosmic2017]

POV your listening to dead people laugh💀

[@XYZ-tx9id]

There are no good sitcoms anyway😅😅

[@sambryllesevilla3183]

the waffle house has found it’s new host

[@ninocro31]

The Waffle House Has Found Its New Host

[@Gravstrum]

The waffle house has found its new host

[@Ketchup252]

The waffle house has found its new host

[@prismo8303]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@azlyzasaidin915]

The waffle house has found it's new host

[@bulletium5163]

I absolutely hate laugh tracks and don’t watch any show that spams them after every sentence

[@nabeilalmontaser7244]

The Waffle House has found it’s new host.

[@pitku5210]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@ducky4ever75]

The biggest flex ever is being on of the laughs from a laugh track

[@AgentTheVandal]

I thought friends was filmed live, no?

[@SZN04]

It was, they even showed that they had like, 5 different cameras and a live audience.

[@The_Waffle_Houses_new_host1]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@zagreous3034]

Friends is overrated ngl

[@foxy9386]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@sock8278]

friends without the laugh track is so much funnier. I don't need to be told when I'm supposed to laugh

[@thedusty194]

It doesn't have a laugh track.

[@ElijahMohrfeld]

It doesn’t have a laugh track

[@krzychnorris4757]

The Waffle House has found it's new host

[@Teneth1]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@Im_Karson]

The Waffle House has found it’s new host

[@graysonlegend1039]

The waffle House has found it's new host

[@stephencrane9707]

The waffle house has found its new host.

[@Turquo]

The Waffle House has found it’s new host

[@lebeR-u4]

The waffle house has found a new host

[@hassanelwezza]

After the era of laugh tracks, we got some great shows that used the awkward silence to their advantage. Like the office, b99 and many more

[@gavindavis565]

The Waffle House found it's new Host

[@AppleSauc3Good]

Bro made what basically could've been an enigma machine for laugh tracks...

[@anonymouscausewhynot]

The Waffle House has found its new host.

[@pitku5210]

The Waffle House has found its new host

[@quack567]

The milk store has found it's new dad

[@quack567]

@@pitku5210 the milk store has found it's new dad

[@Michaelengelmann]

Never say “this guy” when you’re talking about Bing Crosby

[@Tristan_SingsJazz]

More like the legendary

[@Forgotten6924]

“This guy Bing Crosby”

[@Tristan_SingsJazz]

That's some disrespect 🤣

[@notshubh4m]

Why Is He Exactly Like That Guy From Shorts! Even The Animations Are They Related Or He Just Shaved

[@tr0llinat0r59]

So in other words, everyone on the laugh tracks we hear are dead.

[@countrycoffeecup7772]

HBO made the right decision. Laugh tracks just make the joke less funny. Also, why did animated sitcoms never have laugh tracks?

[@mckay7965]

Fun fact, since most laugh tracks were recorded in the 1950's, you are hearing dead people laugh.

[@diamondzhou4502]

Or people that are extremely old by now.

[@MaxFlixel]

ok

[@SnitchyBeQuark1280]

ok

[@dylanjardon]

ok

[@khalifaalmarzooqi5583]

Ok

[@RealFaodail]

Ok

[@SammyXammy]

Ok

[@qu_gnsnifflesss]

Many laugh tracks comes from the past, so the people laughing that you hear are probably dead

[@Dalucsta]

the waffle house has found it’s new host

[@CorvoMrk]

You must be a clown but im not laughin

[@Dalucsta]

that was 8 months ago? @@CorvoMrk

[@christopherlanger3159]

When you listen to a laugh track, you're listening to dead people

[@stespfr]

When you listen to Michael Jackson, you're also listening to a dead person.

[@fujitsu-no]

I actually didn't mind the laughtrack in Friends. It was super annoying in the Big Bang Theory where the laughtrack was played on every unfunny joke or action.

[@TrentonDoesStuff.]

honestly the example became funnier without the laugh track

[@Litch016]

I’m sorry but I still laughed at the awkward silence

[@Grazetheplantboi]

Just the amount of laughs as the amount of my subscribers in the current situation (not begging for subs just waiting for my future self to see this)

[@C4R1N4]

Imagine the Sopranos with a fucking laugh track

[@dugonman8360]

The slow dissapearance of the laugh track, as well as single cam sitcoms like arrested developement, my name is earl and its always sunny, most likely was influenced by the simpsons than curb your enthusiasm. Due to being a cartoon, using a laugh track would have made the show feel extremely artificial. This allowed to have far more thought out rapidfire and well constructed humor that had been rare on tv. Malcolm in the middle, one of the first live action shows to not have one, cited the simpsons as one of its biggest influences in that responce. Afterwards, the 2000s were filled with single cam sitcoms without a laugh track. Yes. The simpsons were that influencial.

[@Kira-pv4xq]

I hate laugh tracks, especially when the jokes actually good. If the jokes actually good, the laugh track ruins it and makes it feel forced. I’m kind of glad it was removed, you don’t need to use laugh tracks in the first place if you have good jokes.

[@Bombfish1256]

Imagine just pushing one button "How do you call a cute door? aDOORable" "ha"

[@rpggamer323]

I couldn't watch the FRIENDS because of the laugh tracks is there a full version of the series without them?

[@yogibear2k220]

But friends isn't even funny with a laugh track. I hate laugh tracks. Why should we be forced to laugh at things that aren't funny just because a fake audiences is? I avoid anything with a laugh track. Even a live audience pretending to find things funny is just as bad. We all know they are getting paid to laugh.

[@hyakin7818]

Idk i think comedy shows without a laugh track are much funnier like the laugh track is almost like explaining a joke and without it it's like boom joke out of nowhere and unexpectancy Is a comedic affect that can push a joke even further

[@s1nth_]

Oh yeah, I forgot Friends is supposed to be funny

[@omnissiahGaspar]

I feel like it's kinda pointless to make fun of shows because of how weird they look without a laugh track, it's like removing the audience laughing in a standup comedy clip

[@Locateson]

It was mindblowing that M*A*S*H had a laugh track. That show was filmed on a lot, some of it in the wilderness and a lot in the studio. When I first saw the duplicate of an original airing, I was flabbergasted. The show is so much better without the laugh track.

[@GHMYahooka]

im so sick of people complaining about laugh tracks, a lot of sitcoms were filmed live and actually had audiences. Its what I grew up with and it was just fine. It wasn't until recently people started complaining about them to be all edgy and against the grain and now of course people hop on the bandwagon because most people are sheep. its like how occams razor is a bs non operating term and get people tout it out constantly to seem smart despite several articles being written about people constantly using it in the wrong way or setting and how it doesnt even make any sense anyway. Think for yourself.

[@TheDunestrider]

You didn't explain WHY canned laughter isn't used anymore.

[@logeshmadhav8930]

Friends is probably the most overrated show ever, I rarely find it funny even with the laugh track.

[@watercolourmark]

Someone removed the laugh track from my life.

[@BumperAxis]

DID THIS GUY JUST SAY " This guy Bing Crosby" this is a disgrace

[@Thrawnmulus]

Friends didn't use a laugh track though? If you did like any research you would know there was a live audience for every episode.

[@mildymorbid]

The most common laugh track was recorded from the pilot episode of Dick Van Dyke.