Evergreen content does not rely on current events; thus, an evergreen story can be prepared, then mothballed until it is needed to fill time on a slower news day or on a holiday when fewer journalists are on duty.
Seinfeld, for example, has been one of the most successful sitcoms in off-network syndication for over two decades,[4] as its observational comedy did not rely on pop culture references that could become dated.
Garry Marshall often set his shows in the near-past, such examples including Happy Days and its spinoff Laverne & Shirley, on the suggestion of one of his producers, Thomas L. Miller, who noted that shows that are somewhat old or retro to begin with and become popular hits do not lose their popularity or freshness as years pass.
[6] In contrast, Murphy Brown, a show of similar longevity and popularity from the same era as Seinfeld, was a syndication failure in part because of its frequent reliance upon current events of the 1990s.
[7] A show's evergreen status can also be grounds for cancellation once it has built up a backlog of episodes which can be continually re-run.