[laumars]

In fairness, often “laugh tracks” are actually live studio audiences (eg Big Bang Theory) and much like how live concert recordings (where you can hear the crowd) are sometimes great when it’s a good concert, hearing the studio audience can improve you’re experience of a genuinely funny TV show. The problem is when it’s artificially added or you hear it on a show you don’t find funny; then it goes from being a subtle improvement to a massively jarring distraction.

However given how jarring it is when you don’t find something funny compared with how little it adds to the overall comedy, I can totally understand why people often hate hearing laughter in shows.

[_asummers]

My understanding of the live studio audiences is that they prompt the laughter. Is that correct? If so, the audience laughing at the jokes is just an illusion, even if genuine.

[laumars]

Depends on the show. Some do but some don't. However even ones without a laughter prompt will usually have a compere / warm up acts who will whip the audience up so they're already laughing at jokes before the main show begins recording.