• Local sitcoms typically portray the lives of ordinary Singaporeans. To authentically reflect Singapore’s unique linguistic landscape, the characters in local sitcoms may speak in a mixture of Mandarin, Chinese dialects, English and Malay. From 1997, however, Channel 8 began to reduce the use of dialects in its Mandarin sitcoms, in an effort to discourage the use of “Singaporean Mandarin”.
• Each episode of a local sitcom tells a standalone story with a short, concise plot. New characters are added as the series unfolds, injecting it with surprise and drama.
• Local sitcoms have evolved over the years. Before the 1990s, shows such as One House, Two Wives and Three Storeys gave voice to the concerns of ordinary Singaporeans and explored thought-provoking topics. From the 1990s onwards, local sitcoms (such as Don’t Worry, Be Happy) became more commercialised and focused mainly on entertaining audiences.

To achieve the best results, local sitcoms tend to impose greater demands on the use of language than drama serials. (Lianhe Zaobao, 9/1/1998)

情境喜剧 (Mainland China), 处境剧 (Hong Kong)

In 2020, Singapore’s first English-language local sitcom Under One Roof and the classic Mandarin local sitcom Don’t Worry, Be Happy were shown on Netflix.