Sitcoms, even the most popular of them, have a certain shelf life.
After a while, the premise either gets stale or is nearing its end date rapidly.
When this occurs, the creative team has a number of options.
Custom Image by Annamaria Ward
First, they can simply go out on top, likeSeinfeld.
In theory, it should work fine.
Who doesn’t love a kid?
Image via ABC
Yet it doesn’t.
It’s more irritating than not, and, fun fact:it isn’t cute.
While not the first, Oliver is the quintessential example of the trope that bears his name.
Image via ABC
It was 1974, andThe Brady Bunchratings were in decline.
The six Brady children were all older, no longer the cute rapscallions of the earlier episodes.
Even Cindy Brady (Susan Olsen) had started to age past the pigtails.
As hilariously described inKate Ward’s “13 ‘Who’s the New Kid?!’
Cousin Oliver Syndrome Transcends Live-Action
Two comedies took Cousin Oliver Syndrome outside the box.
(Walked off a cliff, that is.)
It didn’t work, but at the very least they tried something different.
Any attempts to color the act as anything more than desperation is farcical, at best.
