One Is Prime Time's Funniest Number

Once hailed as the cure-all to network comedy’s decline, the single-camera sitcom failed to live up to its promise the past several seasons. But the success of NBC’s My Name Is Earl and UPN’s Everybody Hates Chris is reviving faith in the innovative format.

“Because [single-camera comedies] hadn’t worked before, it was a road the networks were cautiously going down,” said David Stapf, president of Paramount Network Television, which produces UPN’s Chris. With strong week-to-week ratings for both Chris and Earl, said Stapf, “that caution may be lifted a little bit now.”

Neither show has drawn eyeballs on par with more traditional comedies like Friends or Seinfeld.