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Sitcoms have been a cornerstone of television throughout the medium's history, and there are countless reasons for their popularity. By putting relatable characters in hilarious situations, sitcoms provide an escape from the dramas in life, typically in short half-hour bursts.

While the desire for high-quality sitcoms has remained strong, streaming platforms have flooded the market, producing new original series regularly. It's virtually impossible to catch up with every new TV series, and this competition can make it hard for sitcoms to compete for audience attention. While there have been many excellent sitcoms, too many get canceled way too soon.

Updated by Arthur Goyaz on July 24, 2024: Shows like Friends and Seinfeld will always be remembered as iconic products of their time, but their popularity overshadowed other prominent shows. Some of the best sitcoms out there failed to find their target audience because of tough competition. This list was updated to include fresh sitcom recommendations.

The Beverly Hills Temple of the Arts at the Saban Theatre, the largest arts and entertainment synagogue in the U.S., is offering complimentary seating to striking members of the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA and their immediate families for its High Holy Day Services on Rosh Hashanah (September 15 and 16) and Yom Kippur (September 24 and 25). Tickets for non-Temple members for both services normally cost $500 each.

“As an arts and entertainment industry synagogue, we feel it is our moral duty to support writers and actors in our community and pray for a quick resolution to their current strikes,” said Rabbi David Baron.

Guests for Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day of the year, will include Cristiano J. Zeledón, a former U.S. Marine who will recount how he was wounded during a Russian missile strike in Ukraine while providing volunteer humanitarian aid there; Aron Bell, 96, who will share his story of how he and his late brothers,...

Exclusive: Lucy J. Mukerjee has joined Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith’s media company Firelight Media, geared toward nonfiction cinema by and about communities of color, as the new director of its flagship Documentary Lab.

An 18-month fellowship that provides emerging filmmakers of color with customized mentorship from prominent leaders in the documentary world, as well as funding, professional development workshops and networking opportunities, the Documentary Lab has thus far helped to advance the careers of over 100 filmmakers, including Dawn Porter, Yoruba Richen and Peter Nicks.

Mukerjee succeeds Sabaah Folayan, who for the past year has served as the Lab’s Interim Director. She comes to Firelight Media with over 20 years of experience producing films, programming festivals, and overseeing artist development programs. Her previous roles include Senior Programmer at Tribeca Festival, Director of Programming at Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Outfest Fusion Qtbipoc Festival and NewFest New York’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival,...

If the cast and crew of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” take home a Golden Globe on Sunday, it will obviously be great for Amazon Studios, the performers and creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. But at this moment in time, it’s also great for those of the Jewish faith. And perhaps even necessary.

Anti-Semitism is, once again, rearing its ugly head around the world: A gunman killed 11 people and injured seven others during a Shabbat service last October at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The Cleveland Clinic fired a resident after she made anti-Semitic comments on social media and threatened to give Jewish people “the wrong meds.” And according to the New York Times, even the Women’s March movement has become embroiled over accusations of anti-Semitism by some of its organizers.

Hollywood figures have not been immune. Hate-filled graffiti (“Kill All Jews”) forced Ilana Glazer, one of the stars of Comedy Central’s “Broad City,...

In reviewing romantic comedies, one of the best descriptions of a movie is to call it as “cute.” It basically means that the movie is definitely not great, but one is trying really, really hard not to classify it as abysmal.

And with many people, the word “cute” is probably the best description for “Dorfman in Love.”

“Dorfman in Love” follows a young woman named Deb Dorfman (played by Sara Rue), who has a crush on a handsome international news reporter Jay (played by Johann Urb). Jay gets an assignment to cover events in Afghanistan and Deb volunteers to babysit his cat and house sit his loft in Downtown Los Angeles.

As a girl from San Fernando Valley, she must adjust to the hustling fast lifestyle of Downtown Los Angeles with bars, night clubs and life in studio apartments. She eventually befriends a neighbor named Cookie (played by Haaz Slieman), who loves the promiscuous lifestyle.

Title: Dorfman in Love Director: Bradley Leong Starring: Sara Rue, Elliott Gould, Jonathan Chase, Johann Urb, Haaz Sleiman, Keri Lynn Pratt, Sophie Monk, Hayley Marie Norman, Kelen Coleman, Scott Wilson Saddled with a terrible, clunky title and a programmatic narrative that represents a fairly unpersuasive blend of the familiar and contrived, Los Angeles-set indie romantic comedy “Dorfman in Love” connects most fitfully as a vehicle for the charms of star Sara Rue. Penned by Wendy Kout and directed by Bradley Leong, the big-hearted movie is a sort of “Bridget Jones’s Diary” by way of “(500) Days of Summer,” though without the apexes of cleverness and flair found in those films. It’s charming enough [ Read More ]

The post Dorfman in Love Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Dorfman

Directed by Bradley Leong

Written by Wendy Kout

USA, 2011

After her mother dies, Deb Dorfman (Sara Rue), a timid accountant, has to live with her perpetually grumpy father (Elliot Gould) in the San Fernando Valley. A hopeless romantic, Deb is irreparably enraptured with Jay (Johann Urb), her brother’s war-zone reporter friend.

When Jay needs someone to cat-sit while he’s doing a piece in Afghanistan, Deb jumps at the chance, moving into his flat in downtown Los Angeles where the city, and some of its inhabitants, become a catalyst for her metamorphosis.

Justin and Taegan discuss.

Taegan: Dorfman is really lighthearted, well intentioned and inoffensive. It has a lot of Jewish jokes, which is sometimes excluding. At the screening, people were laughing at jokes and words that completely went over my head. I can see why it’s featured at Tjff.

Justin: I felt pretty lukewarm about it.

Hollywoodnews.com: Join us at the 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival. The festival will kick off with the world premiere of ‘Dorfman’at the ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood.

‘Dorfman’ will premiere on Friday, October 21st at 7:00 p.m.

About ‘Dorfman’: In the vein of Bridget Jones’s Diary, this is an antic, romantic comedy about twenty-seven-year-old Deb Dorfman, a lovable doormat, who is uprooted from the beige comfort of the suburban San Fernando Valley and caught up in the kaleidoscopic whirlwind of a newly revitalized downtown La. In the course of one week, while hoping to win the heart of her unrequited love interest, Deb changes in ways she never thought possible. In discovering the renaissance downtown, Deb ignites a renaissance of her own and profoundly transforms both herself and those around her.

To purchase tickets go here.

To read more about this film and others at the 15th...