After close calls with extinction in the late 1950s and late 1960s, sitcoms came roaring back each time. In 1984, once again, many people declared the death of the sitcom. And once again, the genre did a 180 and thrived.

The problem had been brewing since the late 1970s. Successful new sitcoms between 1977 and 1984 either had relatively short runs, burned out very quickly, never became big hits, or were still to become hits. Soap, WKRP in Cincinnati, Taxi, Mork & Mindy, and Archie Bunker’s Place were each cancelled after four seasons. Too Close for Comfort was dropped by ABC after just three years. Taxi got a one-season reprieve on NBC, while Too Close for Comfort popped up again in first-run syndication, but neither was ever a hit again.

Still other shows drew big ratings early on but flamed out quickly, often as the result of a time slot move. The Ropers, Angie, Detective School, Filthy Rich, House Calls, Flo, Private Benjamin, The Two of Us, Gloria, and AfterMASH all fell into that category.

Other series had long runs but were never among the ratings leaders. Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, Benson, and Gimme a Break! ran for 30 seasons collectively, with exactly one top 20 finish between them—Diff’rent Strokes during the 1980-81 season.

While a few future hits were introduced during the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons, Newhart, Cheers, Family Ties, and Night Court weren’t in the top 20 for the 1983-84 season. In fact, the only top 20 sitcoms that year were Kate & Allie, which had a late- season debut, AfterMASH, which went into a ratings freefall in the second half of the season and would be cancelled before the end of 1984, and The Jeffersons in its 10^th season.

The last few seasons had also marked the end of long-running shows Barney Miller, M*A*S*H, Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Three’s Company and One Day at a Time. Nighttime serials and action shows now dominated the Nielsen ratings.

The turnaround began in the fall of 1984, with The Cosby Show nearly single-handedly saving sitcoms. The newcomer finished 3^rd for the 1984-85 season and lifted Family Ties, Cheers, and Night Court into the top 20, where Newhart and Kate & Allie also landed. One season later, The Golden Girls debuted in the top 10, joining The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, and second-year sitcom Who’s the Boss?. Six more sitcoms were in the 11^th through 20^th spots. A year later, sitcoms held the top three spots and 10 out of the top 14. The successful run would continue unabated into the 21^st century.