Originally Posted by Janszoon

I can see what you're saying but I also think you're focusing on the 80s and early 90s which, honestly, is probably the worst era in American TV. During the 70s I think it was fairly common to find American sitcoms that dealt with the grittier sides of the culture, Good Times, M*A*S*H and Taxi come to mind as examples. Heck even in the wasteland of 80s and early 90s American shows you can still find shows like Roseanne and Married With Children which, while certainly not the greatest shows by any means, did have a heavy focus on the working class.