In the world of comedy, there’s a crisis emerging, and it has nothing to do with who gets the last laugh. It’s the lack of laughs altogether. While the comedy landscape evolves, some feel that humor seems clouded by a dismal fog. And no, it’s not because the jokes have gotten stale—it’s the never-ending loop of cancel culture and the oppressive grip of extreme wokeness.

Gone are the days when comedy sported humor referees from both sides of the political field. Remember the golden era, where sketches cleverly poked fun at everyone without fear or favor? Those days of light-hearted jabs and equal opportunity giggles have all but vanished, buried under a heap of seriousness. In today’s world, self-deprecation seems to have gone out of style, replaced by a litany of grievances just waiting to be aired. Wokeness, with its unsmiling seriousness and penchant for finding everything offensive, has left Hollywood scratching its head.

In a desperate attempt to resuscitate laughter, TV’s grand ol’ gem, Saturday Night Live, seems hell-bent on resurrecting old tactics with less-than-fresh spark. However, despite ongoing attempts, some feel that the humor struggles to soar as high as it once did.

Even as humor may fumble through archives, trying to unearth something hilarious from the fossilized depths of comedy history, it might be time to remember—sometimes the truth is stranger, or in this case, funnier than fiction. In the meantime, the rest of us can sit back and enjoy the circus, knowing full well that sometimes it’s the absence of intended humor that provides the biggest laughs of all.