What is observational comedy?

Observational comedy is a form of humor that focuses on the commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is characterized by comedians making observations about familiar subjects that are not often discussed, often beginning with phrases like 'Have you ever noticed...?' or 'Did you ever notice...?' which have become clichés in comedy. According to British comedians Richard Herring and Jo Caulfield, the effectiveness of observational comedy relies on the observations being 'universally familiar' yet not consciously noted by the audience, straddling the fine line between being too obvious and too obscure^[1]. The genre has been popularized by comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, who is noted as a standard of excellence in this style of comedy^[1].