You barely notice it when you’re watching your favourite US sitcoms, but canned laughter is an integral aspect of the genre.
So much so that it’s just plain weird watching some shows without it. Whereas the likes of Community and Arrested Development rely on their superb writing to illicit guffaws, most mainstream shows are punctuated by recorded LOLs.
But how do they fare when the laughing track is removed? Let’s have a look…
The Big Bang Theory
It’s one of the biggest shows on television, with the best paid cast, but without the pre-recorded belly laughs, most of the jokes fall short. In fact, it’s neither funny nor clever…
Friends
Ross, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Rachel and Chandler are far more watchable. The delivery and reactions are more natural, and the clip still makes for amusing viewing…
Everybody Loves Raymond
This is just depressing. It’s like you’re watching a really awkward domestic row involving an unhappy couple and a grumpy in-law. Not funny, just utterly miserable…
Frasier
There’s some weird sound effects that the maker of this laughless video has added, but that aside, Frasier holds up. The combination of high-brow dialogue and slapstick visuals still works…
Seinfeld
Not a specific scene per se, but this collection of small clips still proves that Seinfeld is just as good without the fake hysterics. Like Friends, the comedic acting is top notch…
2 Broke Girls
Out of the all the shows in this list, 2 Broke Girls without a laughter track is easily the most similar to the original, mainly because it’s absolutely sh*te either way…
