Why a Sitcom Set In Montana Would Be The Most Popular Show Ever
I know many Montanans aren't exactly eager to have another show set in Montana, this woman's rant about fans of Yellowstone moving here really made that clear to me, and last night's cringey Jeopardy question definitely added fuel to the fire. Montanans are even fighting back now, our TikTokers are trying to scare potential new residents away with our cold weather. So I get that this idea might be a hard sell, but I love sitcoms and I love Montana, and the urge to combine the two is impossible to ignore.
Sitcoms haven't been most-watched shows lately, but I think that's because the writers have taken the wrong approach. Here's why I think a sitcom set in Montana would be the most popular show ever:
Relatable
Life in Montana has many unique qualities, but I'd argue that in general most Americans could relate better to Montanans than they could with people from New York City or Los Angeles. I think culturally the differences between people in big cities and the rest of us are bigger now than the were in the 90's, so a show set in a Montana city could have a broader appeal than a sitcom set in a metropolis.
Characters
Montanans are interesting people. You'd have the hippie from Missoula, a preppy dork from Bozeman and least one character would have to be from Butte— tell me that wouldn't be the the best character since Cosmo Kramer.
Adventures
The landscape and the weather in this state could make for some interesting episodes. Maybe in one episode they're snowboarding and in another they get lost camping. Oh, and we could have plenty of blizzard episodes, which might scare off some Californians.