Streaming, but make it scroll? The rise of the social media sitcom.

Somewhere between the TikTok skit economy and the prestige TV industrial complex, a new hybrid has emerged: the social media sitcom.

Brands are writing pilots, and you’re the laugh track. Think snack-sized, scripted worlds designed to live and die on your For You page.

It’s like Friends, but sponsored lol.

Brooklyn Coffee Shop roasts café customers. Bistro Huddy has an entire restaurant lore starring exactly one man in every role. Bratz is two seasons deep into Alwayz Bratz. Jewellery brand Alexis Bitta is four seasons into The Bittarverse. And Tower 28, never one to blush, hired an actual HBO comedy writer to make The Blush Lives of Sensitive Girls.

Even Bilt, Pretzelized, and Oatly are among those experimenting with the format as we speak.

It’s kind of funny to me that, at a time when the internet feels more fragmented than ever (good luck getting two people to agree on a favourite app, let alone a show), brands are suddenly playing network execs, trying to resurrect appointment viewing.

Except your “Thursday night line-up” is now whatever the algorithm blesses between cat memes and a skincare haul.

So, why now?

Partly because chaos-posting peaked when Duolingo’s owl was twerking on the timeline. That shtick has a shelf life. But the sitcom approach is continuity-driven. Characters, storylines, running jokes: stuff you actually want to stick around for.

People don’t want another viral stunt. They want someone (or something) to root for, even if it’s a plastic doll or a fictional waiter who’s really good at wigs.

Should every brand grab a writers’ room and start storyboarding Season 1?

Absolutely fkn not.

A sitcom isn’t a magic funnel. It only works if you’ve got a distinct world, a tone, and characters that people want to hang out with.

Bratz dolls are practically built for melodrama. Blush was risky, but Tower 28 leaned into absurdity and pulled it off. But if your “characters” are just spokespeople with a ring light… maybe stick to Instagram Stories, babes…

If you’re hellbent on trying it out then here’s the golden rule: (yes I made it up, no it doesn’t matter, duh.)

Entertainment first, marketing second.

No one’s tuning into Season 3 of Moisturiser: The Flaky Skin Sitcom. But if your brand has the stamina to commit past three episodes, a POV sharp enough to write actual punchlines, and the humility to not sell every five seconds… you might just win your own mini-fanbase.

Otherwise? Just enjoy being part of the laugh track like the rest of us x

-Sophie Randell, Writer