10 Tired Sitcom Clichés That Really Need To Die
5. Flanderisation
A term coined by TV Tropes and named after Ned Flanders, this is the process whereby a character becomes more exaggerated, and less three-dimensional, based on what the audience finds funniest. It’s basically reverse character development, and it really needs to stop.
It’s unreasonable to expect rock-solid continuity from a sitcom, but when an adult character like Joey ends up literally being incapable of telling their left from their right, it’s a sign that things have gone a bit too far. Weirdly, Friends also managed to do the complete opposite of this, with Rachel developing into a more grounded and level-headed character after starting out as a spoiled airhead.
The other problem is that Flanderisation hurts a show’s writing by making things too easy, thanks to the exaggerated character bringing in the viewers, and the writing becoming simpler and not as well thought-out to play that up. And why bother with a well-written comedy of errors when you can get the same results with a scene where someone just does something moronic?
Bonus Points If: A single trait eventually defines an entire character, making them “the dumb one”, or “the weird one”.