What’s So Funny ‘bout Heartbreak and Illness?

The TV networks appear to have stumbled across a means by which aging sitcoms can at least temporarily expand their audience--with the operative phrase being “Let’s get serious.”

While prime-time comedies have a lengthy history of delving into social issues, a fairly recent trend has seen shows like “Home Improvement,” “Mad About You,” “Roseanne” and “Grace Under Fire” explore darker matters or personal tragedies ranging from family illness to marital strife.

“Home Improvement” weighed in during April with an episode that featured the Taylor family’s middle son, played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, fearing he might have cancer. Last week’s “Roseanne” had co-star John Goodman’s Dan Conner suffering a heart attack, with the aftermath played out this week and into next week’s season finale, touting a fight between the title character and her husband that “threatens their marriage.”

The most striking case may be NBC’s “Mad About You,” which--after earning a reputation for stretching the boundaries of what’s acceptable at 8 p.m. because its married principals are so hot for each other--has brought them to the brink of separation in a multiple-episode story arc that concludes with a one-hour installment this Sunday.

Some industry observers say such plots risk being seen as a blatant grab for viewers while breaking an unspoken covenant with the audience regarding a program--especially those associated with lighter comedy. As one producer of another sitcom put it regarding “Mad About You’s” “Break Up or Make Up” story line, as the network is promoting it, “America watches that show because it’s a marriage that works.”

Producers, however, say confronting such topics becomes necessary to keep shows creatively fresh as they move into their later seasons, at the same time dismissing the notion that such plots represent efforts to manipulate the audience and thus boost ratings.

“This was in no way a calculated move. I’ve never been someone whose big concern was ratings,” said “Mad About You” executive producer Larry Charles.

“It just seemed like this was the direction this show needed to take. It seems unnatural to keep this couple in that happy-go-lucky mode. That formula had run out of steam.”

Charles noted that the current story line actually began six or seven episodes ago and is “not a contrivance to attract attention” but rather “a natural evolution to explore new territory” after more than 90 episodes.

“I really didn’t think there was a risk,” added Paul Reiser, a producer on “Mad About You” in addition to co-starring with Helen Hunt. “The only risk is if you’re doing a bad show, if you’re not being inventive, you’re not pushing forward.”

Reiser said he’s long since given up trying to anticipate what will improve ratings and always wanted to put the Buchmans through such a trial. “If this is a real couple, well, real couples have to go through a period of funk,” he said.

“This is not a device. This is something that was always part of the plan,” based on the assumption that the series would run at least five seasons. “If you do it in year one, there’s no credibility set up.”

Carmen Finestra, one of “Home Improvement’s” trio of creators/executive producers, echoed those sentiments.

“I don’t think there was a callous attempt to go, ‘How do we get those great big numbers that we used to have?’ ” he said, referring to the program’s ratings decline this season. “In every show the writers explore so many ideas that a serious idea is eventually one that they’re going to land on.”

Still, Finestra said: “It doesn’t mean we’re going to sit down and [ask] what can be that big, serious episode every year. . . . I would feel bad if we were doing something to manipulate the audience into watching.”

Nevertheless, from a sheer commercial perspective, such stories have generally worked. “Home Improvement” delivered its highest rating in the two years since the show moved to Tuesday opposite NBC’s “Frasier” with its illness story, while “Roseanne” surged to its highest rating this season on May 7, when one of the Conner daughters got married and Dan experienced his heart attack.

Viewing levels for “Mad About You” have also risen to numbers the show has seldom achieved since moving to Sunday, though part of that can be attributed to an assist from Michael Jordan and the NBA playoffs feeding more viewers into the show with afternoon telecasts that run into the evening on the East Coast.

Airing such episodes during May benefits the networks because it’s a sweeps period--one of the months used by their affiliates to determine local advertising rates.

The timing can also be attractive to series stars and producers based on its proximity to the nomination deadline for the prime-time Emmy Awards. Comedy performers frequently draw attention for serious roles and often feel a desire to stretch within their characters.

Both Reiser and Hunt wanted their show to take a turn in this direction. “They’re both great actors and they were concerned about hitting the same notes,” Charles said. “They wanted to play some new music.”

The networks have also found such fare to be highly promotable, which may explain why ABC billed last week’s “Grace Under Fire” in a fashion similar to that earlier “Home Improvement,” even though the program amounted to a relatively standard episode where one of the lead character’s children develops an ulcer.

Producers of “Mad About You” and “Home Improvement” welcome such promotional help, though one of “Roseanne’s” executive producers, Eric Gilliland, said that show has tried to veer away from “very special episodes” and is at times embarrassed by that sort of promotion.

“We roll our eyes,” Gilliland said. “We see promos like, ‘Roseanne like you’ve never seen her before.’ We go, ‘Oh please.’ ” Gilliland cited an episode where Darlene (played by Sara Gilbert) announced that she’s pregnant, which he called one of the season’s funniest but “was promoted like ‘The Young and the Restless.’ ” Dan’s heart attack, which happened during the closing credits, was also supposed to be a surprise.

Producers recognize that comedies can only push so far in terms of content, especially those that have developed certain expectations from their audience. “If we had shots of either of us in bed with another person, it might be hard to come back,” Reiser said.

Finestra pointed out that “Home Improvement” balanced its illness episode with considerable comedy. “What was helpful in the cancer show was that there also was a decent amount of humor, given the subject matter,” he said.

For its part, “Roseanne” has always moved back and forth between comedy and more serious topics. “We have the cast that can do it,” Gilliland said. “You don’t necessarily have to say, ‘This is a dramatic episode.’ ”

Despite the insistence that forays by lighter comedies into such territory aren’t ratings-driven, Finestra did acknowledge that changing the pace offers a way for a veteran show to garner attention from newspapers and publications like TV Guide that otherwise wouldn’t take note.

That especially applies on a show like “Home Improvement,” which even with its Nielsen popularity has never been perceived as a critical darling. “I don’t think you’re going to see [newspapers] say, ‘Tonight, their funniest gag ever,’ ” Finestra said.