More amazing than the fact that these blankets show up on TV so often is the fact that it's not intentional.

The first thing I noticed about your question is that all but one of the shows you list came from sitcom guru Chuck Lorre. However, it seems that he had nothing to do with it.

Rather, they're selected independently by numerous different set dressers because of what they symbolize.

"Apparently it is the paragon of Americana," "Roseanne" production designer Garvin Eddy said in an interview with Slate magazine. He also supported your interest in the blankets. "In all of the thousands of TV show sets that I have designed over 42 years in Hollywood, no other piece of set dressing has gotten as much attention."

Set decorator Ann Shea said that she had never seen a single episode of "Roseanne" when she made the same blanket choice for "Big Bang Theory" character Amy's room. She said she chose an identical afghan blanket -- known affectionately as the granny-square -- because they have "great texture, color and lots of character."

As for who supplies them, Eddy said that the "Roseanne" set blanket came from a specific crafter in Los Angeles who makes them to sell in antique stores.

As for a trend towards hominess, that might be a byproduct of the larger trend towards what's being called the Middle American sitcom. The common element among all these shows -- apart from the blankets -- is that they all seem to take place about a million miles away from New York or L.A., which used to be the default settings for TV shows.

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