On the most recent season of Difficult People — which creator Julie Klausner proudly describes as a “hard comedy, with a capital ‘C'” — Billy (Billy Eichner) complains, “When did comedies become 30-minute dramas?” Last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Tom Hanks, spoofed this very concept with a digital short poking fun at the recent trend of streaming series like Transparent and Casual that are effectively dramas — but end up nominated for awards as comedies simply because of their half-hour running time.
Of course, CBS is unlikely to add anything resembling the dour Broken — “about a family of adjunct professors who are all diagnosed with depression on the same day” — to its lineup anytime soon. But considering its own president once called CBS “the geezer network,” maybe this is exactly what it needs to give it a ratings boost. Eh, better just go with another season of The Big Bang Theory.