LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- As the traditional buying period for comedy development for the coming 2005-06 U.S. TV season winds down, each network is experimenting.
"There's a real willingness to experiment," said Jamie Erlicht, senior vice president of development and network programming at Sony Pictures Television. "Each network is a little bit different, but all of them are trying to shake up the half-hour form."
While traditional multicamera, family-oriented sitcoms are still the norm, NBC is considering one set in a retirement community and another in a trailer park, said the Hollywood Reporter Monday.
Stand-up comics are seeing some of their spots taken by pop stars such as the rock band Barenaked Ladies, which has a show on Fox and Melissa Etheridge has a show on ABC. Mockumentaries like BBC's "The Office" are being attempted.
NBC has a show about a woman who loses 300 pounds -- after dumping her 300-pound husband.
