Even while drama series such as Lost and Desperate Housewives have proven to be the breakout hits of the year, last season didn't provide any bona fide sitcom hits. But according to DH creator Marc Cherry, one hit is all it will take to revitalise the genre.

"I do think that sitcoms can reinvent themselves. All it takes is one, really," Cherry said last night during a panel discussion at the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills, according to a report on Broadcasting & Cable. "One just bursting through like a comet and then someone will have a night, and they’ll start being able to program it."

Cherry himself has extensive sitcom experience. Not only is Desperate Housewives seen by most awards groups as a comedy show, Cherry previously wrote for such half-hour comedies as The Golden Girls and The Five Mrs. Buchanans. Coming from that world, he could understand the pain of sitcom writers forced to tell their story in just 21 minutes. "I think with less time to tell stories you don’t feel you have time to do a bunch of varied things in the course of your episode, and that’s having an effect," Cherry said. "I have a little bit of resentment against the people who used to give us notes and network executives were like, 'it's slow there, it’s slow there.' I literally felt from people who were the authority figures, they were giving bad notes and bad information."

The panel discussion was attended by people such as Everybody Loves Raymond showrunner Phil Rosenthal and HBO chairman Chris Albrecht. Not present was ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson, who Cherry praised for reserving a large ad budget for shows such as Desperate Housewives, Lost and Wife Swap. "McPherson got behind all of those shows in a major way and said, 'these are the ones I believe in.' And lucky for him I think he was right. If you unveil a fall schedule and you are giving equal dollars to everyone, that’s a recipe for disaster."

A bit later, Albrecht teased Cherry about having his show on ABC, saying that Desperate Housewives might be even better on HBO, which has less creative restrictions. According to Broadcasting & Cable, an amazed Cherry shot back, "You passed on it twice!"

For more from Cherry, including his thoughts on how sitcoms mostly just need fresh ideas, head over to Broadcasting & Cable (subscription or trial subscription required).

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