The Good Place is revolutionizing the single-camera sitcom

Esquire

“Within circles of people who talked a lot about TV, it used to be common sense that single-cam shows were the future," says Eric Thurm, "that obviously audiences couldn’t stomach the slower, consciously low-tech feel of multi-camera shows. But the straightforward, single-cam sitcom has largely given way critically to dramedies that don’t really fit into the sitcom form at all. The Big Bang Theory, the most popular sitcom on TV at the moment, is a multi-cam show. It’s pointless to compare which format is “better;” like any two distinct, but related genres, they have different structures that give rise to distinct strengths and weaknesses. But it is fair to say that The Good Place fully utilizes the single-cam format in a way few sitcoms have done to date.”

ALSO:

• Examining how clothes are used as torture on The Good Place
• Jameela Jamil on Tahani: “I’ve grown to love her over season two. I couldn’t stand her in season one”
• The Good Place’s costume designer explains the fashion rules: “We never wear red or pinks”
• Ted Danson talks about “the humanizing of our favorite demon”