At the Emmy Awards, one of eight shows will win outstanding comedy series: “Hacks,” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” “Widow’s Bay,” “Shrinking,” “Nobody Wants This,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “The Bear” and “Abbott Elementary.” If there’s any justice, “Abbott Elementary” will win—not because it’s the best, but because it’s the only undiluted comedy. Its characters are funny due to their faults, and episodes end with happy resolutions, in classic fashion. The other nominees rarely provoke laughter; when they do, it’s often despite character flaws, and they lack endings, designed instead to keep viewers clicking to the next episode.

This reflects streaming’s demand for propulsive, binge-worthy content, not traditional comedy. “Abbott Elementary” is the only nominee made for broadcast TV; the rest are streamer-produced dramedies or mysterdies. “Widow’s Bay” and “Only Murders in the Building” open with unsettling deaths. “The Bear” is a straight-up drama half an hour long. Future academics may mark 2023—when “The Bear” won—as the year the sitcom entered hospice care. Streamers want viewers never to leave; their comedies must hypnotize like true-crime thrillers.

A body washes up. A pregnancy test is positive. An alcoholic drinks.

Oh my God—what’s next? Probably not laughter. As a comedy writer, I find this climate daunting. After pitching a workplace comedy to a streamer, they passed, citing it as “not propulsive enough.” “Propulsive” is now a buzzword.

On “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” money troubles are the least of Margo’s struggles: unexpected pregnancy, violent mother, addicted father, custody battle, and her sex work revealed. Are you laughing yet? The creator is David E. Kelley. “Nobody Wants This” detaches lovers with mohel’s precision. “Hacks” turns into a toxic fight.

Unlike Oscar and Felix, whose fights ended at commercial breaks, today’s conflicts carry on endlessly.