10 Insane Rules TV Shows Weren’t Allowed To Break

The '90s saw a number of sitcom tropes rise to notoriety, as well as arguable overuse. Some of these tropes were established in previous decades, but shows such as Full House, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Friends made them very prominent.

An avid sitcom fan in that era would be hard pressed to find a sitcom that did not feature a nuclear family or a group of friends in their 20s/30s, a very special episode (often a massive tonal leap from the rest of the show), and overachieving family members.

Granted, they were not network-enforced for the most part, but encouraged as their popularity made them easy sells in households in the US and worldwide. Despite their appeal, their ubiquity made their use tiresome and indicated a lack of creativity in their production.

It was probably for the best when their use declined at the turn of the millennium in favour of more eclectic sitcom archetypes.