Why NBC's Second Sitcom Universe Failed To Match Cheers' ...

How NBC’s Second Attempt At A Cheers-Style Sitcom Universe Fell Apart

Rhea Perlman, Nicholas Colasanto and Ted Danson laughing in Cheers

By Cher Thompson Published 10 minutes ago

Cher Thompson is a Senior Staff Writer at Screen Rant, where she covers everything from explosive reality TV moments to cast interviews about the twists and turns of scripted dramas. With a background in creative writing, marketing, and teaching, Cher knows how to spot both the storytelling genius and the guilty pleasures in pop culture. Her work blends wit with insight, making readers feel like they’re chatting with a friend who just happens to know way too much about TV.

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With the 1990s being a newly ambitious moment for the sitcom world, networks were looking for shows that could deliver a sense of synergy that NBC achieved in the 80s with a group of series, but their second attempt at building a sitcom universe wasn't the success they'd hoped for. While NBC and other networks had seen success with world building in their sitcom blocks, it took work.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, sitcoms were booming in a way they hadn't before. Networks worked to build shared universes that could convert causal viewers into weekly loyalists, grabbing their attention for at least two hours on a weeknight as they watched the latest episodes of their favorite shows. Merging traditional sitcom elements with a shared universe opened shows that may be weaker, giving them external strength.

NBC, known for their strong comedy lineups already, managed to build a sitcom universe that brought three distinct shows into the world and kept them tied together while allowing them to stand on their own for years. In hopes to bring this convention to life a second time in the 90s, the network tried using a similar playbook, but found themselves at a loss.

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

Cheers, Wings, & Frasier Were All Hits

Ted Danson and Kelsey Grammer in Cheers, talking to each other

NBC’s confidence in sitcom expansion came largely from the success of Cheers and its well-received spinoffs. Cheers, which premiered in 1982, had established a world that could support new narrative directions, most notably with Frasier. After introducing Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) to the show in its third season, he became a major part of the sitcom's universe, sticking around for the rest of its run.

As Cheers was winding down, the creative team working on the series developed Wings, a show within the same interconnected universe. With appearances from characters like Frasier, Wings stood on its own, and eventually Frasier moved to his own self-titled spinoff after Cheers' end. These interconnected series demonstrated how character-based continuity could thrive when built on strong foundations.

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

The Trio Of Sitcoms Weren't As Closely Connected

Ursula Waiting on Chandler and Joey in Friends

When NBC saw the Cheers' universe succeed, they took as proof that shared sitcom worlds could work for viewers, encouraging the network to attempt larger, more loosely woven comedic universes. Seinfeld, which began in 1989, stood on its own for its first few seasons, but when 1992's Mad About You became a quick hit, the two shows began sharing references and cameos in their own fictional New York City.

Friends, which debuted in 1994, came into the mix after a few years of the original shared universe being developed. Bringing a third New York based show into the universe made it easy for NBC to slot Friends into the shared world of Seinfeld and Mad About You, and the trio of shows were often treated as a packaged deal when it came to network conventions.

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

The Creative Teams Didn't Operate Together Seamlessly

Jaime Buchman, Fran, and Phoebe at Central Perk

Although Friends, Seinfeld, and Mad About You played along with the idea of a shared universe, it didn't hit with viewers in the same way that Cheers' shared universe had. With the shows bringing characters in from time to time and drawing loose connections, like Phoebe Buffay's (Lisa Kudrow) twin sister Ursula being a guest on Mad About You, it was obvious the cross-show logic wasn't easy.

Unfortunately, maintaining a fully unified sitcom universe required consistency the shows weren’t built to support. The series' operated independently, and writers prioritized their own continuity over shared timelines which made it difficult for fans to follow along. Collapsing under its complexity, NBC's second shared sitcom universe wasn't as successful as its first, leaving Mad About You, Seinfeld, and Friends at a loss.

Cheers
Friends
Seinfeld

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