Why NBC’s Second Sitcom Universe Failed To Match Cheers’ Success

The 1990s saw television networks eager to replicate the success NBC had with its popular sitcom lineup in the 1980s, hoping to create a similar interconnected universe of shows. However, their second try at building this kind of shared sitcom world didn’t quite work out as planned. Creating successful, connected sitcom blocks, as NBC and others had done, always required a lot of effort.

Sitcoms became incredibly popular in the 1970s and 80s. Television networks started creating interconnected shows – shared universes – to turn occasional viewers into dedicated fans, hoping to keep them watching for a couple of hours each week. By combining classic sitcom formats with this shared universe approach, even shows that weren’t initially strong could benefit from the popularity of the connected series.

NBC was already famous for its successful comedy shows, and in the past, they cleverly created a shared universe where three different sitcoms existed alongside each other, yet still thrived independently for many years. Hoping to repeat this success in the 1990s, the network attempted a similar strategy, but it didn’t work out.

NBC’s Original Sitcom Universe Involved Cheers & Its Successful Spinoffs

Cheers, Wings, & Frasier Were All Hits

NBC started to believe it could succeed with more comedies thanks to the popularity of Cheers and its successful spin-offs. Cheers, which first aired in 1982, created a believable world that allowed for new stories, most famously with Frasier. Kelsey Grammer’s character, Frasier Crane, was introduced in the show’s third season and quickly became a key part of the Cheers universe, remaining there until the very end.

As the TV show Cheers neared its conclusion, the writers created Wings, a series set in the same world. While characters from Cheers, like Frasier, occasionally appeared on Wings, it quickly became its own show. Eventually, Frasier became so popular it got its own spin-off series after Cheers ended. These shows proved that consistent characters and storylines could be very successful when built on a solid base.

Friends, Mad About You, & Seinfeld Tried To Replicate The Same Results

The Trio Of Sitcoms Weren’t As Closely Connected

After the success of Cheers, NBC realized that viewers enjoyed shows set in the same comedic world. This encouraged them to try creating larger, interconnected universes across multiple sitcoms. Seinfeld, which premiered in 1989, initially existed on its own, but after Mad About You became popular in 1992, the two shows started referencing each other and featuring crossover appearances within their shared New York City setting.

Premiering in 1994, Friends joined Seinfeld and Mad About You as part of a developing shared television universe. Adding a third show set in New York City allowed NBC to easily connect Friends to the other two, and the network frequently promoted all three shows together at events.

The Web Of Connections In NBC’s Later Sitcoms Was Too Complex To Sustain Itself

The Creative Teams Didn’t Operate Together Seamlessly

While Friends, Seinfeld, and Mad About You occasionally hinted at existing in the same universe, the idea didn’t resonate with audiences as well as it did with Cheers. The shows did try to connect through crossover appearances and subtle links – for example, Phoebe Buffay’s twin sister Ursula appeared on Mad About You – but these connections felt forced and didn’t quite work.

Trying to create one continuous story across multiple sitcoms proved too difficult. Each show was developed separately, and writers focused on their own storylines rather than keeping everything consistent, which confused viewers. Unlike NBC’s first attempt at a shared universe, this complex approach didn’t work, and shows like Mad About You, Seinfeld, and Friends didn’t benefit from it.

2025-11-29 20:58