People tend to pass comedies off as a minor distraction without much thought put into them, but in actuality, it is the exact opposite. Comedy is an art form that can be immensely rewarding or tremendously terrible, depending on how it is portrayed. This is especially true with one of the more divisive forms of comedy: the sitcom (particularly the ones with the unnecessary laugh track).

Over the years it seems like more and more shows have been trying to steer away from this laugh track format because of how forced the humor is. The format tends to depend on the laughter in the background in order to show when the audience is supposed to be laughing instead of depending on actual jokes. This is how a lot of awful sitcoms try to force humor, but many people forget that sitcoms like these can be done correctly and can occasionally be done brilliantly.

There have been plenty of sitcoms that have stood the test of time. Shows like “Friends,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “The Big Bang Theory” have remained relevant due to the lovable characters and the effort that is put into making the humor work. These shows put their characters into wacky scenarios that help exemplify their character traits, traits that are relatable and make the viewer want to be in the universe with them. This is what makes for compelling television, not forced laughter stemming from a joke that is not very funny to begin with.

Even the occasional family friendly show can manage to hit the funny bone with their cheesy sitcoms. Millennials remember shows like “Drake and Josh” or “iCarly” not only for their nostalgia value, but also for their colorful cast of characters. Shows like these work because of their demographic-relevant situations and over-exaggerated humor. Kids deal with school and extracurricular activity drama, and the fact that the writers understand this provides plenty of comedic opportunities beyond the artificialness of the laugh track.

Even with sitcoms evolving, there is still room for the laugh track. It may be annoying for some people, but the laugh track and the format that traditionally follows it has created memorable hilarity in both childhoods and adulthoods all around the world. TV show creators need to realize that the laugh track should not be used as a way to generate fake laughs. It should be used for what it was originally intended for: to make people laugh.