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A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people (tweens, teenagers and, to a lesser extent, young adults).[citation needed] In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 10 and 18 years of age and routinely feature characters involved in humorous situations (either realistic or fantasy in style, depending on the program's plotline), and often focus on the characters' family and social lives. The primary plot of each episode often involves the protagonist(s) the program centers on, while secondary plotlines often focus on the character(s') parents, siblings (those not among the leads, if any) or friends, although the secondary characters may sometimes also or instead be involved in the episode's main plot.
The most common episodic plot lines used in teen sitcoms involve the protagonist(s) dealing with family and friends, ending up in a complicated situation (such as the protagonist's parents not allowing them to try out for a school sports team because of their gender) that the characters must solve by episode's end, getting into moral conflicts with their parents, friends, relatives, or siblings, and coming-of-age situations (such as a first date or learning how to drive); however, more dramatic and shocking plot elements or ones which center on undesirable (such as bullying, anxiety, peer pressure, police brutality, excessive force, underage alcoholism, and possibly even substance abuse) may be featured as well, in what are sometimes called "very special episodes".
Although adolescents are the main audience focus for these programs, these programs are also popular with young adults as well as preteens. Older adults may enjoy them for nostalgic purposes. Like teen dramas, this genre was also generally non-existent during the first 30 years of television.