Article: Laughing Matters.(Home Box Office Inc., Starz L.L.C. and Turner Broadcasting System Inc.)

By R. Thomas Umstead

With a Dearth of Comedy on Broadcast, Cable Tickles Viewers With New Sitcoms

After years of focusing on original dramas, cable networks are launching a slate of several half-hour, live-action, adult-targeted sitcoms - a genre the broadcast networks had curtailed in recent seasons.

Nearly a dozen networks have launched or are planning to introduce original comedy series over the next year, while comedy staples such as HBO's Entourage , Showtime's Weeds , and FX's It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia continue to draw big ratings numbers for their respective networks.

Unlike the broadly targeted, feel-good, ...

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