A Brief History of Chinese Situation Comedies

This chapter examines the development of Chinese situation comedies, beginning with Stories from an Editorial Office (Bianjibu de gushi, 1992) in the early 1990s. It then discusses how the US sitcom format was utilized and modified in the mid-1990s in shows produced and directed by Ying Da, who was an influential figure in the development of the sitcom genre in China. The chapter examines two sitcoms produced by Ying Da: I Love my Family (Wo ai wo jia, 1993) and Chinese Restaurant (Zhongguo canguan, 1998).

This chapter examines the development of Chinese situation comedies, beginning with Stories from an Editorial Office (Bianjibu de gushi, 1992) in the early 1990s. It then discusses how the US sitcom format was utilized and modified in the mid-1990s in shows produced and directed by Ying Da, who was an influential figure in the development of the sitcom genre in China. The chapter examines two sitcoms produced by Ying Da: I Love my Family (Wo ai wo jia, 1993) and Chinese Restaurant (Zhongguo canguan, 1998).