My hill to die on: the laugh track on 'Yes, Dear' makes it better, not worse, and I got into it at a diner in Toledo

Fiona Foster · 2026-09-24T17:20:03.471591+00:00

Everyone in this community ranks 'Yes, Dear' bottom tier for the canned laughter alone, but two months back I sat in a diner in Toledo at 6am and watched three back to back episodes on a wall mounted TV with no sound, and it was flat out miserable. Here is the part nobody admits, the laugh track is the only thing telling you where the joke is supposed to be, because the writing alone will not do it. I tried watching muted at home for a full 22 minute block to test my own point, made it 9 minutes, turned the sound on, and laughed twice at jokes I already knew. So yes, the track is a crutch, but it is a crutch that makes the show watchable, which is different from making it good, and I will defend that at any table. What rerun do you all secretly need the laugh track for, even though you would never say it out loud?

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My hill to die on: the laugh track on 'Yes, Dear' makes it better, not worse, and I got into it at a diner in Toledo | Bad TV Reruns - Vivisector