Why are a lot of teen sitcoms about being famous?

T

T Long

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It seems to be a new trend. Believe me I like and watch shows like these on a regular basis, excluding most of the Disneys. But, is this the fame sitcom generation?

Hannah Montana about a girl being famous secretly.

iCarly about Carly Shay and her friends running a successful funny web show.

Sonny with a Chance about Sonny Monroe becoming a star on So Random.

Victorious about Tori Vega going to school at Hollywoods Arts,a school for the celebrities of tommorow.

Big Time Rush about a group of 4 male teenage friends becoming a famous band.

True Jackson VP, True becomes the new Vice President of Mad Style cause of her fashion skills.

I'm in the Band is about Iron Weasly a famous band.

Suite Life on Deck about two twins living a ''Suite Life'' on a cruise ship, like a famous person.

Jonas three famous brothers in a band.

Disney has an upcoming show about two girls becoming famous dancers.

Like I said before I have nothing against the fame idea. I encourage it but, would you call this the fame age?
 
why? simple because they make money... the first few made money and others were too eager to jump on the bandwagon. Doesn't matter if the shows are nothing compared to animated shows and are completely forgettable, as long as they make money here and now producers will continue to make them. Though i would add that atleast the shows that feature becoming a singer do have the added benefit of having some half decent music
 
It's just the big thing this decade. I'm not sure which show started it, but it does seem like you need some king of actress who can put out some singles to make a live-action show these days, even if the show isn't about singing (like iCarly)
 
Since this topic focuses on live-action series instead of animated series, I'm going to go ahead and move this to the Entertainment section.

As for the question at hand, I'm not sure if I would call this the fame age myself. Yes, there are a lot of teen sitcoms involving kids being famous, but I'm pretty sure there were some shows like on both Nick and Disney well before Hannah Montana came around. Though, the only one I can remember off the top of my head is The Famous Jett Jackson on Disney. It's probably used a bit more due to the success of shows like Hannah Montana and maybe kids like seeing other kids being in the spotlight.

I'm also not sure if I would say Victorious, Suite Life on Deck and True Jackson deal with the characters becoming famous or their characters are famous. Sure, the characters in Victorious go to this Performing Art school, but that doesn't mean that they're well known people in the media world or even will be after they graduate. Outside of Paris, who is rich beyond all reason, and one character who was a former rap artist whose name escapes me at the moment, none of the other main cast members on The Suite Life on Deck are famous. Just because they're on a cruise ship doesn't mean that they're treated like they're famous. Zak and Cody have to work there for money and they're there to go to school, not to simple enjoy the sites as people with fame and wealth would. I don't think that True Jackson is really that famous either, despite being a young vice president at a fashion company, because she doesn't really get special treatment, a lot of fans and it doesn't really come up that often from her peers at her school, at least in the episodes I've seen of the show. But I guess one could make a better argument that she is famous more than the casts of Victorious and The Suite Life on Deck.
 
That still doesn't sound like she's famous to me or even a work in progress. It sounds more like she has talent. However, having talent and going to a performing arts school doesn't necessarily mean that a person will get famous before or after they graduate. I definitely wouldn't put Tori Vega on the same list of famous teen sitcom characters like Hanna Montana or even the cast of iCarly. Unlike them, Tori Vega isn't a well known figure to the general public in her series. She's just the main character.
 
I'd remove "Suite Life" (being on a ship doesn't make you famous) and throw in Cory in the House.

The current theory is that kids want sitcoms with lots and lots of wish-fulfillment, particularly the kind that can happen in real life. No approach has a 100% chance of success, though. Disney was certain "Princess Protection Program" or "Starstruck" would be their easiest hits ever. Now all the pre-merchandise gathers dust.
 
I hear where your coming from. She not famous more over trying to become famous. Of course the only reason she got into Hollywoods is because of her sister.

I guess True isn't as well known sinnce she only recently became VP. It actually reminds me of how Raven worked for Donna Kaboona. She's getting there though.
 
[strike]Because teen sitcoms have no thought anymore.[/strike]

[strike]Because they're easier and cheaper to write.[/strike]

[strike]Because they want merchandise to sell.[/strike]

To prove the fact that in the near future, they'll actually get this treatment?
 
We live in a different age than we used to. An age of exposure. An age where everyone's life is "out there". There are blogs where "normal" people write about whatever they want and thousands of people can read and comment on it. There's Facebook where people can be "friends" with people they've never met before. There's even Twitter, where people will tell you what they're doing at any random time of the day. This is what resonates with young people today. They have a different view of things like fame, attention and privacy. To them, fame is desirable, attention is a given at least on internet levels and privacy is more an option than a right.

So, situation comedies about people becoming famous and recognized for their talents in the greater world kind of fits in to a "plugged in" world.

It may seem strange, but it's how the world is being shaped.
 
The typical "slice of life" formula has been employed so many times by so many American kidcoms in the past few years/decades that nowadays it's not enough to just be a show about kids, their friends and their families anymore. Nowadays, you need some sort of eye-grabbing gimmick to get kids' attention.
 
It's not just teen sitcoms. Aspirational TV's pretty famous in general. You have stuff like Dallas, Desperate Housewives, The Hills, Sex and the City, Friends, The OC, etc. that have unreal and grander portrayals of life than one could hope to dream. Stuff like Hannah Montana just happens to be a younger variant.
 
While I don't necessarily agree that some of the shows listed are really about being famous, I don't think that there's a whole lot of mystery as far as why make character(s) famous. What "tween" doesn't at least partly aspire to be famous? When I was 11-12, I wanted to be "like Mike." Then, when I was 13-14 I wanted to be a rock star.
 
That actually makes a lot of sense. I'm always hearing tweens talk about how the want to be Voice Actors, rappers, rockers, singers and actors.
 
That's the point of these shows in my opinion. Disney keeps saying they produce these shows because kids keep saying "I want to be a TV star" and these shows are about following your dream.

I'd like a show about getting your dream, and having it ripped away from you when production has to close down because of the Economy, but that's just me.

However you can only do so many shows about becoming famous before they start repeating themselves. Hopefully there are some shows that will end up like iCarly, Victorious on DC.
 
Good Luck Charlie (even though it's still just like every other show on Disney since it's also an It's a Laugh Production) is probably the most "realistic"/grounded in reality live-action show that's currently on either Disney or Nick. Personally, I think that the reason mainly, why Disney and Nick have to churn out "wishful fulfillment" type of shows because they're much more easier to market and reproduce.
 
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