Sketch comedy Kevin and Perry from "Harry Enfield and Chums". The idea of running characters was taken a stage further with shows like "The Red Green Show" and "The League of Gentlemen", where sketches centered on the various inhabitants of the fictional towns of Possum Lake and Royston Vasey, respectively. In "Little Britain", sketches focused on a cast of recurring characters, including "Vicky Pollard", "Marjorie Dawes" and "Lou and Andy". In North America, contemporary sketch comedy is largely an outgrowth of the improvisational comedy scene that flourished during the 1970s, largely growing out of "The Second City" in Chicago and Toronto. Notable
Television comedy Ugly Betty, medical comedy-dramas like M*A*S*H and Grey's Anatomy, legal comedy-dramas like Ally McBeal and Boston Legal, and - probably the first musical comedy-drama Glee. Sketch comedy programs differ from sitcoms in that they do not basically feature recurring characters (though some characters and scenarios may be repeated) and often draw upon current events and emphasize satire over character development. Sketch comedy was pioneered by Sid Caesar, whose "Your Show of Shows" debuted in 1950 and established many conventions of the genre. American sketch comedy reached a later peak in the mid-1970s with the debut han "Saturday Night Live", originally