Sitcoms are back

Well, they never actually went away (witness the inexplicable popularity of "Two and a Half Men"), but the coming TV season will see a resurgence of new comedies. All told, 15 sitcoms are planned, the WSJ reports, up from 13 a year ago and only eight in 2008. They're being announced during this week's upfront presentations to advertisers.

Comedies can be tricky. Advertisers are leery of content that is too crass or sexual. And many comedies also take time to find the right tone, making them vulnerable to cancellation. "Comedy is fragile. The most successful comedies in the history of television usually have started out around the bottom," said Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting, in a conference call Monday.

But networks have incentive to try. Sitcoms keep more of their audience in reruns, making them easier to plug into a schedule. They also earn big dollars in syndication: Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., which makes "Two and a Half Men" for CBS, has brought in roughly $1 billion in syndication revenue on the show, according to Screen Digest. Comedies also can often appeal to younger viewers, making them even more important, as a new generation spends more time online.