Again AE started fresh & inventive but its early success changed producers'/writers' gears to longevity & plodding storylines like the excruciating Janine/Gregory will they/won't they- duh, obv they will, just somewhere in a future season cliffhanger followed by a break-up/setback, you know, whatever ratings demand, until eventual get together in the last seasons.
Right now this trope is following the Superstore, Friends, The Office, Becker, etc. Pattern where first Gregory & now Janine liking one another whilst their would-be romantic partner is magically unavailable. But now Janine finds out thanks to the teacher-no-one-likes playing AE's version of Friends' Chandler Bing by spilling the beans to Janine like Chandler did to Rachel 29 yrs ago!
Suffice it to say if you've seen ANY SITCOM, especially ANY WORKPLACE SITCOM in the last 40 yrs you'll find it easy to notice the writers playing sitcom trope mad-libs now to drag things out for as long as ratings hold out. If you've seen Cheers, Friends, The Office, Becker, Superstore, etc. Then you'll not be surprised as these storylines, ESPECIALLY the Gregory/Janine romance take RIDICULOUSLY long to play out.
Story is now a distant third in priority to 1) getting enough episodes for syndication & 2) getting to season 6 for salary renegotiations.
Waste of potential IMO, just another network sitcom now.
Right now this trope is following the Superstore, Friends, The Office, Becker, etc. Pattern where first Gregory & now Janine liking one another whilst their would-be romantic partner is magically unavailable. But now Janine finds out thanks to the teacher-no-one-likes playing AE's version of Friends' Chandler Bing by spilling the beans to Janine like Chandler did to Rachel 29 yrs ago!
Suffice it to say if you've seen ANY SITCOM, especially ANY WORKPLACE SITCOM in the last 40 yrs you'll find it easy to notice the writers playing sitcom trope mad-libs now to drag things out for as long as ratings hold out. If you've seen Cheers, Friends, The Office, Becker, Superstore, etc. Then you'll not be surprised as these storylines, ESPECIALLY the Gregory/Janine romance take RIDICULOUSLY long to play out.
Story is now a distant third in priority to 1) getting enough episodes for syndication & 2) getting to season 6 for salary renegotiations.
Waste of potential IMO, just another network sitcom now.
