As pilot production nears for fall 2007, reviving

As pilot production nears for fall 2007, reviving comedy remains a top priority for broadcasters. And with the critical success of sitcoms such as NBC’s The Office and 30 Rock, the networks see a glimmer of hope. Now if they can just get the ratings back up to Friends levels.

To do that, programmers are pushing at the boundaries of the format. At least a half-dozen comedy projects are so-called hybrids, either mixing scripted with non-scripted elements, or single-cam with multi-cam elements.