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In Tough Times, TV Goes Blue-Collar

By Leela de Kretser, Newser User

Posted Oct 12, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

(Newser) – As the financial crisis deepens, expect TV to trade upper-crust environs for jokes about crustiness, reports the New York Post. Entertainment execs are pushing the development of blue-collar comedies that allow for a little old-fashioned escapism. "I don't think audiences want to see a show about the fall of Lehman Brothers," says an NBC honcho.

NBC's Ben Silverman cites Knight Rider as an example of forget-it-all fare: "Every week, the good guy and the car win." CBS embraces working-class heroes with Two-Dollar Beer, a Roseanne-esque comedy, and The Millionaires' Club, about blue-collar investors. But don't expect the well-heeled protagonists of Dirty Sexy Money to go broke. "They're so fabulously wealthy that this is sort of like a hangnail to them," says an ABC exec.

[Images (3)]

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Blue in the Face (©me vs gutenberg)

As the economy tanks, Americans take refuge in sitcoms like the iconic "Roseanne" rather than fantasy dramas that celebrate wealth and privilege. (trancemissiongay)

Funnyman Mike Binder will star in a new CBS comedy, "Two-Dollar Beer."

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In a recession, viewers want to tune out with comedies such as Roseanne. (Lo1980)

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