ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a close textual analysis of the two Spanish series, argues that in their very different ways they problematize the relation between fiction and reality that has until recently been held to be self-evident in the case of TV comedy. While Spanish sitcoms have received almost no academic attention, the US version of the genre is well studied. In February/March 2006 Television Business International ran one of its periodic 'territory guides' to Spain. Ironically, the survey itself provides valuable evidence that point towards a more subtle understanding of communication as ritual: the sharing of communal narratives, dialogues, and even brands that are embedded in the collective everyday life of a nation. The reflexivity has provoked viewers to border crossings of their own, attempting to negotiate the technical barrier between real and fictional life worlds. In TV terms, neighbouring nations may have less in common than distant continents.
