| The Brady Bunch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Sherwood Schwartz |
| Showrunner | Sherwood Schwartz |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer |
|
| Opening theme |
|
| Composer | Frank De Vol |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 117(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sherwood Schwartz |
| Producers |
|
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 25–26 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC[1] |
| Release | September 26, 1969 (1969-09-26) – March 8, 1974 (1974-03-08) |
| Related | |
The Brady Bunch is an Americansitcom created bySherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, onABC. The series revolves around a largeblended family of six children, with three boys and three girls. After its cancellation in 1974, the series debuted insyndication in September 1975.[2] Though it was never a ratings hit or a critical success during its original run, the program has since become a popular syndicated staple, especially among children and teenage viewers.
The Brady Bunch's success in syndication led to several television reunion films andspin-off series:The Brady Bunch Hour (1976–77),The Brady Girls Get Married (1981),The Brady Brides (1981),A Very Brady Christmas (1988), andThe Bradys (1990). In 1995, the series was adapted into a satirical comedy theatrical film titledThe Brady Bunch Movie, followed byA Very Brady Sequel in 1996. A second sequel,The Brady Bunch in the White House, aired onFox in November 2002 as amade-for-television film.
In 1997, "GettingDavy Jones" (season three, episode 12) was ranked number 37 onTV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[3] The show's enduring popularity has resulted in its widespread recognition as an Americancultural icon.
Mike Brady (Robert Reed), a widowedarchitect with three sons—Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight), and Bobby (Mike Lookinland)—marries Carol Martin (Florence Henderson), who herself has three daughters: Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb), and Cindy (Susan Olsen). Mike and Carol adopt each other's children and Carol and her daughters take the Brady surname. Included in the blended family are Mike's live-inhousekeeper, Alice Nelson (Ann B. Davis), and the boys' dog, Tiger. (In the pilot episode, the girls also have a pet: a cat named Fluffy who never appears in any other episodes.) The setting is a large two-story house designed by Mike, located in a Los Angeles suburb.[4] The show never addressed what happened to Carol's first husband.[5] While show creatorSherwood Schwartz always intended for Carol to be divorced from her first husband, ABC preferred for her to be widowed due to more conservative American stance on marriage at the time the first episode aired in 1969, which led to a compromise that resulted in not revealing the first husband's fate on the show.[6] However, other factors also prevented Carol from being revealed as being divorced on the show as well, such as the potential portrayal of bothcustody arrangement and explanations for the divorce, with Mike, who even was able to adopt Carol's daughters, always being portrayed as the only father Carol's daughters accepted.[6][7]
In the first season, awkward adjustments, accommodations, gender rivalries, and resentments inherent in blended families dominate the storylines. The show being centered on a blended family household was considered unique for the time, as most other shows were still focused on single family households.[8] In an early episode, Carol tells Bobby that the only "steps" in their household lead to the second floor (in other words, that the Bradys are not a "stepfamily", only "a family"). Thereafter, episodes focus on typical teen andpreteen concerns such assibling rivalry,puppy love,self-image, character building, responsibility,dating,school grades and getting along in social company. Noticeably absent is anypolitical commentary, especially regarding theVietnam War, which was being waged at its largest extent during the height of the series.[9][full citation needed] Despite some elements of the show being considered revolutionary for its time, including Mike and Carol's sleeping arrangements,[10][11]The Brady Bunch would maintain traditional family-friendly entertainment and avoided scandalous and challenging fare.[8]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| 1 | 25 | September 26, 1969 (1969-09-26) | March 20, 1970 (1970-03-20) | ABC | |
| 2 | 24 | September 25, 1970 (1970-09-25) | March 19, 1971 (1971-03-19) | ||
| 3 | 23 | September 17, 1971 (1971-09-17) | March 10, 1972 (1972-03-10) | ||
| 4 | 23 | September 22, 1972 (1972-09-22) | March 23, 1973 (1973-03-23) | ||
| 5 | 22 | September 14, 1973 (1973-09-14) | March 8, 1974 (1974-03-08) | ||
The regular cast appears in an opening title sequence in which video "headshots" are arranged in a three-by-three grid, with cast members appearing to look around at one another. The sequence used the then-new "multi-dynamic image technique" created by Canadian filmmakerChristopher Chapman; as a result of the popular attention it garnered in this sequence, it was referred to in the press as "the Brady Bunch effect".[12][13] In a 2010 issue ofTV Guide, the show's opening title sequence ranked number eight on a list of TV's top-10 credits sequences, as selected by readers.[14]
In 1966, following the success of his TV seriesGilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwartz conceived the idea forThe Brady Bunch after reading in theLos Angeles Times that "30% of marriages [in the United States] have a child or children from a previous marriage". He set to work on apilot script for a series tentatively titledMine and Yours.[18] Schwartz then developed the script to include three children for each parent. While Mike Brady is depicted as being a widower, Schwartz originally wanted the character of Carol Brady to have been a divorcée, but the network objected to this. A compromise was reached whereby Carol's marital status (whether she was divorced or widowed) was never directly revealed.
Schwartz shopped the series to the "big three" television networks of the era.ABC,CBS, andNBC all liked the script, but each network wanted changes before they would commit to filming, so Schwartz shelved the project.[19] Although similarities exist between the series and two 1968 theatrical release films, United Artists'Yours, Mine and Ours (starringHenry Fonda andLucille Ball) andCBS'sWith Six You Get Eggroll (starringBrian Keith andDoris Day), the original script forThe Brady Bunch predated the scripts for both of these films. Nonetheless, the outstanding success ofYours, Mine and Ours (the 11th-highest-grossing film of 1968) was a factor in ABC's decision to order episodes for the series.[18]
After receiving a commitment for 13 weeks of television shows from ABC in 1968, Schwartz hired film and television directorJohn Rich to direct the pilot, then called "The Brady Brood", cast the six children from 264 interviews during that summer, and hired the actors to play the mother, father, and housekeeper roles.[20] The hair colors of the parents were intended to be contrasting from the beginning, so Schwartz intended to keep in reserve three blonde boys, three brunette boys, three blonde girls and three brunette girls until the parents' actors would be confirmed. For the part of the father, Schwartz originally castBob Holiday, who was well known for portrayingSuperman in aBroadway musical, but since Holiday had little on-camera experience, network executives overrode Schwartz's decision; also considered wasGene Hackman, who, however, was largely unknown at the time, so in the end, the role was given to TV veteranRobert Reed, because he was already under contract to Paramount and he had name recognition fromThe Defenders.[21][22] For the mother's role, comedic actressJoyce Bulifant was close to be cast, to play a somewhat wacky mom. She already did some of the screen tests with the various child actors, in fact, Eve Plumb was cast because of her resemblance to Bulifant. However, after comedic actressAnn B. Davis was cast as the housekeeper, she was deemed to be "more than wacky enough", and a more grounded, down-to-earth mother was needed to maintain a balance, soFlorence Henderson was cast instead.[21] As the sets were built onParamount Television stage 5, adjacent to the stage whereH.R. Pufnstuf was filmed bySid and Marty Krofft, who later producedThe Brady Bunch Hour,[23] the production crew prepared the backyard of a home inSherman Oaks, Los Angeles, as the exterior location for the chaotic backyard wedding scene. Filming of the pilot began on Friday, October 4, 1968, and lasted eight days.
The theme song, written by Schwartz andFrank De Vol, and originally arranged, sung, and performed by Paul Parrish, Lois Fletcher, and John Beland under the name thePeppermint Trolley Company, quickly communicated to audiences that the Bradys were a blended family.[24] As described above, the Brady family is shown in a three-by-three grid, tic-tac-toe board-style graphic with Carol in the top center, Alice in the middle block, and Mike in the bottom center. To the right are three blocks with the boys from the oldest on top to the youngest. To the left are three blocks with the girls from the oldest to the youngest. In season two, the Brady kids took over singing the theme song. In season three, the boys sing the first verse, girls sing the second verse, and all sing together for the third and last verse. In season four, a new version is recorded with the same structure as the season three version, but in season five, the season three version returns. UtilizingChristopher Chapman's "multi-dynamic image technique", a version of which had famously appeared in the 1968 filmThe Thomas Crown Affair, the sequence was created and filmed byHoward A. Anderson Jr., a visual effects pioneer who worked on the title sequences for many popular television series.[25] The use of this innovation here became so familiar through the sitcom's popularity that it was referred to in the press as the "Brady Bunch effect".[12][13]
The end credits feature an instrumental version of the theme song's third verse. In season one, it was recorded by the Peppermint Trolley Company. From season two on, the theme was recorded in-house by Paramount musicians.
The house built in 1959, by Harry M. Londelius Jr., and used in exterior shots, is located inStudio City, within the city limits of Los Angeles. It originally bore little relation to the interior of the Bradys' on-screen home, but was gutted and renovated in 2018 to match the layout of the soundstage sets. According to a 1994 article in theLos Angeles Times, theSan Fernando Valley house was built in 1959 and selected as the Brady residence because series creator Schwartz felt it looked like a home where an architect would live.[26] A false window was attached to the front'sA-frame section to give the illusion that it had two full stories (the 2018/19 renovation installed a real window where the false one was in the TV show footage).[27] Contemporary establishing shots of the house were filmed with the owner's permission for the 1990 TV seriesThe Bradys. The owner refused to allow Paramount to restore the property to its 1969 look forThe Brady Bunch Movie in 1995, so afacade resembling the original home was built around an existing house.[citation needed]
The house was put up for sale, for the first time since 1973, in the summer of 2018 with an asking price of $1.885 million.[28] Cable networkHGTV outbid seven others for it, includingNSYNC'sLance Bass.[29] HGTV has expanded the home for its original seriesA Very Brady Renovation, with the goal of recreating each of the interior rooms used in the TV series (which had only existed as a Paramount Studios set) while maintaining the original exterior look from the street, and to make it fully habitable (unlike the sets made on Paramount soundstage #5). The six actors who played the TV children, and who also actively participated in the 2018/19 renovation, posed for a photo in front on November 1 the same year.[30] In May 2023, it was announced that HGTV was selling the house for $5.5 million.[31][32][33][34] The house was bought on September 11, 2023, by media executive Tina Trahan, the wife of formerHBO chief executiveChris Albrecht and a longtime fan of the show, for $3.2 million. She said she will leave the house as is and not renovate nor update it, and no one will be living in the house, and plans to use it for charity events and fundraisers.[35][36][37]
In the series, the address of the house was given as 4222 Clinton Way (as read aloud by Carol from an arriving package in the first-season episode entitled "Lost Locket, Found Locket", and "Clinton Way" is clearly legible on Marcia's driver permit in the fifth-season episode "The Driver's Seat").[38] Although no city was ever specified, it was presumed from references to theLos Angeles Dodgers, theLos Angeles Rams, and aHollywood film studio, among many others, that the Bradys lived inSouthern California, most likely Los Angeles or one of its suburbs. Episode 2: Dear Libby, revealed that Brady's live "2000 miles away" from Illinois, which is same as the distance between Illinois and California. Episode 5: My Sister, Benedict Arnold, has Sheri Cowart, who played Kathy Lawrence doing a cheer implying Greg and Marcia went to Fillmore Junior High. This school, known more formally as, "Fillmore Middle School" would probably imply the Brady family lived in Fillmore California.[39][40]
The interior sets of the Brady house were used at least three times for other Paramount TV shows whileThe Brady Bunch was still in production: twice forMannix and once forMission: Impossible. In the case ofMission: Impossible, the Brady furniture was also used.[41][42][43] A re-creation of the Brady house was constructed for theX-Files episode "Sunshine Days", which also revolved aroundThe Brady Bunch.
Since its first syndicated airing in September 1975, an episode of the show has been broadcast somewhere in the United States and abroad every day of the year.[44][obsolete source] Episodes were also shown onABC Daytime from July 9, 1973, to April 18, 1975, and from June 30 to August 29, 1975, at 11:30 a.m. EST/10:30 CST.
The show aired onTBS starting in the 1980s until 1997,Nickelodeon (as part of theNick at Nite block in 1995 for a special event, and again from 1998 to 2003 and briefly during the spring of 2012),Noggin (as part ofThe N block from March to April 2004),TV Land from 2002 to 2015,Nick Jr. Channel (as part of theNickMom block from 2012 to 2013), andHallmark Channel from January to June 2013 and again starting September 5–30, 2016.
U.S.
Since its national launch in 2010, theWeigel Broadcasting–owned classic-TV networkMeTV has aired a weekly block of the show every Sunday morning promoted as the "Brady Bunch Brunch".[45][46] MeTV's sister networkCatchy Comedy airs the show weekday mornings at 8:00 AM EST and Saturdays from 1:00-3:00 PM EST.[47]
International
InWest Germany, the show premiered on ZDF under the nameDrei Mädchen und drei Jungen ("Three Girls and Three Boys") on August 8, 1971, with episode six "A Clubhouse Is Not a Home", and was shown on Sunday afternoons until halfway through Season 4, culminating with episode 77 "Cyrano De Brady" on October 5, 1974.[48] Some episodes were omitted. From 1984 to 1998, reruns would sporadically occur onSat.1. The later reunion show, "The Brady Girls Get Married/The Brady Brides" would be broadcast on ZDF asEine Reizende Familie ("A Lovely Family") from October 18, 1984, to January 10, 1985.[49] The second half of Season 4, Season 5 and the omitted episodes would not premiere before 1997 on Comedy & Co.[50][51]
In Italy, under a RAI-Paramount deal, eight episodes were broadcast on Programma Nazionale (today RAI 1) from April 27 to June 15, 1973, under the nameAlbum di famiglia.[52][53][54] In the late-70s, it would be shown again in Italian dub on Swiss and Istrian networks.[55][56] Years later, RAI bought the distribution rights again, and the show began airing on Rai 1 and later Rai 3 under the nameLa famiglia Brady (The Brady Family) starting on March 11, 1987.[57][58] It was later bought by Fininvest, that aired it on Italia 1 from July 9, 1990, and on Canale 5 from January 5, 1991.[59][60]
ITV broadcast the show in a number of United Kingdom regions, includingThames,Granada,Tyne Tees,Grampian andUlster from 1975 to 1982.[61]
Streaming
The Brady Bunch is also available throughvideo-on-demand servicesHulu andParamount+, although neither streamer offers the complete collection of episodes in its entirety. It was shown dubbed in Argentina under the name “La tribu Brady”.
Paramount Home Entertainment released all five seasons on DVD inRegion 1 from 2005 to 2006, beforeCBS Home Entertainment took over DVD rights to theParamount Television library (though CBS DVD releases are still distributed by Paramount). Paramount/CBS has released the series on DVD in other countries as well.
In April 2007, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment released the complete seriesbox set, which includes the TV filmsA Very Brady Christmas and "The Brady 500" (an episode ofThe Bradys), as well as two episodes ofThe Brady Kids animated series. The box art for this set features greenshag carpeting and 1970s-style wood paneling.
8 years later on April 7, 2015, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment re-released the complete series box set, a repackaged version at a lower price, but it does not include the bonus disc that was part of the original complete series release.[62]
The TV filmA Very Brady Christmas was released as a stand-alone DVD in Region 1 on October 10, 2017.[63]
In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the original series, CBS/Paramount releasedThe Brady-est Brady Bunch TV & Movie Collection in Region 1 on June 4, 2019.[64] The collection contains every episode ofThe Brady Bunch,The Brady Kids,The Brady Brides, andThe Bradys, as well as the filmsA Very Brady Christmas,The Brady Bunch Movie,A Very Brady Sequel,The Brady Bunch in the White House, andGrowing Up Brady.
The first two seasons are also available on Region 2 DVD for the UK, with audio in English and subtitle choices inNorwegian,Swedish,Danish, orFinnish.[65][66]
The series has also been released onVHS.
| DVD name | Episodes | Release dates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | DVD Special Features | ||||
| The Complete First Season | 25 | March 1, 2005 | August 27, 2007 | September 19, 2007 | Audio Commentary on 4 Selected Episodes. 15 min Behind the scenes Feature Special features are on the Region 1 release only | ||
| The Complete Second Season | 24 | July 26, 2005 | March 24, 2008 | March 6, 2008 | None | ||
| The Complete Third Season | 23 | September 13, 2005 | N/A | September 4, 2008 | None | ||
| The Complete Fourth Season | 23 | November 1, 2005 | N/A | April 2, 2009 | None | ||
| The Complete Final Season | 22 | March 7, 2006 | N/A | June 18, 2009 | None | ||
| The Complete Series | 117 (with extras) | April 3, 2007 April 7, 2015 (re-release) | N/A | N/A | Audio Commentary on 4 Selected (Season One) Episodes. 15 min Behind the scenes Feature (Season One) A Very Brady Christmas "The Brady 500" Two episodes ofThe Brady Kids | ||
| The Brady Kids: The Complete Series | 22 | February 16, 2016 | N/A | August 6, 2016 | Episode Promos | ||
| A Very Brady Christmas | Film | October 10, 2017 | N/A | N/A | None | ||
| The Brady-est Brady Bunch TV & Movie Collection | 50th Anniversary Collection | June 4, 2019 | N/A | N/A | The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series The Brady Kids: The Complete Series The Brady Brides: The Complete Series A Very Brady Christmas The Bradys: The Complete Series The Brady Bunch Movie A Very Brady Sequel The Brady Bunch in the White House Growing Up Brady | ||
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank (Nielsen ratings) | Rating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| 1 | 25 | September 26, 1969 (1969-09-26) | March 20, 1970 (1970-03-20) | 56 | 14.9[67] | |
| 2 | 24 | September 25, 1970 (1970-09-25) | March 19, 1971 (1971-03-19) | N/A | N/A | |
| 3 | 23 | September 17, 1971 (1971-09-17) | March 10, 1972 (1972-03-10) | 31 | 19.3[68][a] | |
| 4 | 23 | September 22, 1972 (1972-09-22) | March 23, 1973 (1973-03-23) | 45 | 17.8 | |
| 5 | 22 | September 14, 1973 (1973-09-14) | March 8, 1974 (1974-03-08) | 54 | 16.1[69][b] | |
Ratings data prior to 1972 is scarce for shows that did not place in the Top 30. Beginning in 2017, The TV Ratings Guide began publishing vintage television ratings as they became readily available from old newspaper publishings. Season 4 ratings came fromVariety year-end rankings dated May 30, 1973.[69]The Brady Bunch earned steady ratings during its primetime run (but never placed in the top 30 during the five years it aired) and was cancelled in 1974 after five seasons and 117 episodes; it was cancelled shortly after the series crossed theminimum threshold forsyndication. At that point in the storyline, Greg graduated from high school and was about to enroll in college.[70]
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The Brady Bunch was not an award-winning show at the time of its original broadcast in the 1970s. The series and its cast and crew were not nominated for an award until 1989, whenBarry Williams was honored with theFormer Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award at the10th Youth in Film Awards.[71]
All other awards and nominations for the series have come from theTV Land Awards:
| Year | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Hippest Fashion Plate – Male | Barry Williams | Nominated |
| Favorite Dual-Role Character | Christopher Knight (as Peter Brady and Arthur) | Nominated | |
| Funniest Food Fight | The Brady Pie Fight on the Paramount Lot | Nominated | |
| Favorite Guest Performance by a Musician on a TV Show | Davy Jones | Won | |
| Most Memorable Male Guest Star in a Comedy as Himself | Joe Namath | Won | |
| 2004 | Favorite Fashion Plate – Male | Barry Williams | Nominated |
| Most Memorable Mane | Susan Olsen | Nominated | |
| Favorite Made-for-TV Maid | Ann B. Davis | Won | |
| 2005 | Theme Song You Just Cannot Get out of Your Head | The Brady Bunch theme | Nominated |
| Best Dream Sequence | Episode: "Love and the Older Man", in which Marcia has a crush on her dentist. | Nominated | |
| Favorite Two-Parter/Cliffhanger | For the Greg Brady surfboard accident. | Nominated | |
| Favorite Singing Siblings | Williams, McCormick, Knight, Plumb, Lookinland, Olsen | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Best Dream Sequence | Episode: "Love and the Older Man", in which Marcia has a crush on her dentist. | Nominated |
| Favorite Made-for-TV Maid | Ann B. Davis | Won | |
| Favorite TV Food | Pork chops and applesauce. | Won | |
| 2007 | Most Beautiful Braces | Maureen McCormick | Nominated |
| Pop Culture Award | Williams, McCormick, Knight, Plumb, Lookinland, Olsen, Davis, Henderson, Lloyd J. Schwartz (producer) | Won |
During the series' original run, the six Brady kids recorded several albums on Paramount's record label, all credited to "The Brady Bunch". Note that Florence Henderson and Robert Reed did not participate in these recordings, and are not pictured on the album sleeves.
Whilesession musicians provided backing, the actors from the series provided their own singing voices (which was not always the case for early 1970s television crossover acts). In addition, Chris Knight & Maureen McCormick issued a duet LP in 1973, and five of the six Brady kids also released solo singles between 1970 and 1974; only Susan Olsen did not. None of the singles from The Brady Bunch, or any single or album from the assorted spin-off acts, ever became hits on any national musiccharts. The group's 1972 albumMeet The Brady Bunch was their only charting release, hitting No. 108 on Billboard's album charts.[72]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [73] | US Cashbox [74] | US RW [75] | ||
| Merry Christmas from the Brady Bunch | — | — | — | |
| Meet the Brady Bunch |
| 108 | 66 | 107 |
| The Kids from the Brady Bunch |
| — | — | — |
| The Brady Bunch Phonographic Album |
| — | — | — |
| Chris Knight & Maureen McCormick (Chris Knight andMaureen McCormick duet album) |
| — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| It's a Sunshine Day: The Best of the Brady Bunch |
|
Also includes solo singles as indicated.
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Frosty the Snowman" | 1970 | Merry Christmas from the Brady Bunch |
| "How Will It Be?"(Eve Plumb) | Non-album single | |
| "Sweet Sweetheart"(Barry Williams) | 1971 | |
| "Time to Change" | 1972 | Meet the Brady Bunch |
| "We'll Always Be Friends" | ||
| "Over and Over"(Chris Knight) | Non-album single | |
| "Candy (Sugar Shoppe)" | The Kids from the Brady Bunch | |
| "Zuckerman's Famous Pig" | 1973 | The Brady Bunch Phonographic Album |
| "Truckin' Back to You"(Maureen McCormick) | Non-album single | |
| "Everything I Do" | The Brady Bunch Phonographic Album | |
| "Little Bird (Sing Your Song)"(Maureen McCormick) | Chris Knight & Maureen McCormick | |
| "Love's in the Roses"(Maureen McCormick) | 1974 | Non-album single |
| "Love Doesn't Care Who's in It"(Mike Lookinland) |
Severalspin-offs, andsequels, and reality series to the original series have been made, featuring all or most of the original cast. These include another sitcom, an animated series, a variety show, television films, a dramatic series, a stage play, theatrical films, and a reality series.
A final-seasonBrady Bunch episode, "Kelly's Kids", was intended as a pilot for a prospective spin-off series of the same name.Ken Berry starred as Ken Kelly, a friend and neighbor of the Bradys, who with his wife Kathy (Brooke Bundy) adopted three orphaned boys of different racial backgrounds. One of the adopted sons was played by Todd Lookinland, the younger brother of Mike Lookinland. WhileKelly's Kids was not subsequently picked up as a full series, producer Sherwood Schwartz reworked the basic premise for the short-lived 1980s sitcomTogether We Stand starringElliott Gould andDee Wallace.[77]
A 22-episode animatedSaturday morning cartoon series, produced byFilmation and airing on ABC from September 1972 to August 1974, is about the Brady kids having various adventures.[78] The family's adults were never seen or mentioned, and the "home" scenes were in a very large, well-appointed tree house. Several animals were regular characters, including two non-English-speaking pandas (Ping and Pong), a talking bird (Merlin) which could do magic, and an ordinary pet dog (Mop Top). The first 17 episodes featured the voices of all six of the original child actors from the show, but Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick were replaced for the last five episodes due to a contract dispute.
On November 28, 1976, a one-hourtelevision special entitledThe Brady Bunch Variety Hour aired on ABC.Eve Plumb was the only regular cast member from the original show who declined to be in the series and the role of Jan was recast withGeri Reischl.[79] Produced bySid and Marty Krofft, the sibling team behindH.R. Pufnstuf,Donny and Marie, and other variety shows and children's series of the era, the show was intended to air every fifth week in the same slot asThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, but ended up being scheduled sporadically throughout the season, leading to inconsistent ratings and its inevitable cancellation.
In 2009,Brady Bunch cast member Susan Olsen, with Lisa Sutton, published a book,Love to Love You Bradys, which dissects and celebrates theVariety Hour as a cult classic.[80]
| The Brady Bunch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | The Brady Brides |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Sherwood Schwartz Lloyd J. Schwartz |
| Directed by | Peter Baldwin |
| Starring | Maureen McCormick Eve Plumb Jerry Houser Ron Kuhlman Florence Henderson Ann B. Davis Keland Love |
| Theme music composer | Frank De Vol |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Sherwood Schwartz Lloyd J. Schwartz |
| Producer | John Thomas Lenox |
| Production locations | Paramount Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California |
| Cinematography | Lester Shorr |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | Redwood Productions Paramount Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC[81][70] |
| Release | February 6 (1981-02-06) – April 17, 1981 (1981-04-17) |
| Related | |
| The Brady Bunch Hour A Very Brady Christmas The Brady Bunch | |
A TV reunion film calledThe Brady Girls Get Married was produced in 1981. Although scheduled to be shown in its original full-length film format, NBC decided at the last minute to divide it into half-hour segments and show one part a week for three weeks. The fourth week debuted a spin-off sitcom titledThe Brady Brides, which carried on from where the reunion film left off. The film featured the entire original cast; this proved to be the only time the entire cast worked together on a single project following the cancellation of the original series (the complete surviving cast also appeared in these official projects together:Brady Bunch Home Movies from 1995,The Brady Bunch 35th Anniversary Reunion Special: Still Brady After All These Years from 2004, as well as various reunion programs in 2019 for the 50th anniversary). The film's opening credits featured the season-one "Grid" and theme song, with the addition ofThe Brady Girls Get Married title.[82] The film shows what the characters had been doing since the original series ended: Mike is still an architect, Carol is a real-estate agent, Greg is a doctor, Marcia is a fashion designer, Peter is in the Air Force, Jan is also an architect, Bobby and Cindy are in college, and Alice has married Sam. Eventually, they all reunite for Marcia and Jan's double wedding.
The Brady Brides featuresMaureen McCormick andEve Plumb reprising their respective roles as Marcia and Jan Brady. The series begins with Marcia and Jan and their new husbands buying a house and living together. The clashes between Jan's uptight and conservative husband, Phillip Covington III (a college professor in science who is several years older than Jan, played by Ron Kuhlman) and Marcia's tousled and morebohemian husband, Wally Logan (a fun-loving salesman for a large toy company, played byJerry Houser), were the pivot on which many of the stories were based, not unlikeThe Odd Couple.Florence Henderson andAnn B. Davis also appeared regularly. Ten episodes were aired before the sitcom was cancelled. This was the only Brady show in sitcom form to be filmed in front of a live studio audience.Bob Eubanks guest-starred as himself in an episode where the two couples appear onThe Newlywed Game.
Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s,The Brady Girls Get Married was rerun on various networks in its original full-length film format.
In 2019, the series was released on DVD for the first time as a part ofThe Brady-est Brady Bunch TV & Movie Collection.
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Brady Girls Get Married (Part 1)" | February 6, 1981 (1981-02-06) | |
Marcia and Jan announce that they are both getting married and plans soon begin for a double wedding. Note: This was the final time that the original cast of The Brady Bunch was all together. | |||
| 2 | "The Brady Girls Get Married (Part 2)" | February 13, 1981 (1981-02-13) | |
Jan and Phillip want a traditional wedding, and Marcia and Wally want a modern wedding. | |||
| 3 | "The Brady Girls Get Married (Part 3)" | February 20, 1981 (1981-02-20) | |
The weather spells disaster for an outdoor wedding, so they end up having the ceremony inside the Brady house. | |||
| 4 | "Living Together" | March 6, 1981 (1981-03-06) | |
After all the houses they see are too expensive, Marcia, Jan and their husbands decide to share a house. | |||
| 5 | "Gorilla of My Dreams" | March 13, 1981 (1981-03-13) | |
Marcia and Jan get some self-defense lessons from their mother, while a thief attempts to burglarize their home. | |||
| 6 | "The Newlywed Game" | March 20, 1981 (1981-03-20) | |
Game-show hostBob Eubanks asks Marcia and Jan to appear onThe Newlywed Game with their new husbands. | |||
| 7 | "The Mom Who Came to Dinner" | March 27, 1981 (1981-03-27) | |
Carol temporarily moves in with her newly wedded daughters and their husbands while Mike is out of town. | |||
| 8 | "The Siege" | April 3, 1981 (1981-04-03) | |
Wally's guilt over parking tickets causes him to panic when a policeman visits the house, so he decides to impersonate Phillip. | |||
| 9 | "Cool Hand Phil" | April 10, 1981 (1981-04-10) | |
Phillip tries to change his image by dressing and acting "hip". | |||
| 10 | "A Pretty Boy is Like a Melody" | April 17, 1981 (1981-04-17) | |
Marcia is forced to use Wally and Phillip in her fashion show after her models go on strike. | |||
A second TV reunion film,A Very Brady Christmas, aired in December 1988 on CBS and features most of the regular cast (exceptSusan Olsen, who was on her honeymoon at the time of filming; the role of Cindy was played byJennifer Runyon), as well as three grandchildren, Peter's girlfriend, Valerie, and the spouses of Greg, Marcia, and Jan (Nora, Wally, and Phillip, respectively).[83] TheNielsen ratings forA Very Brady Christmas were the highest of any television film that season for CBS.[84]
Due to the success ofA Very Brady Christmas, CBS askedBrady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz and son Lloyd to create a new series for the network. According to Lloyd Schwartz, he and his father initially balked at the idea because they felt a new series would harm the Brady franchise. They finally relented because CBS was "desperate for programming". A new series featuring the Brady clan was created entitledThe Bradys. All originalBrady Bunch cast members returned for the series, except forMaureen McCormick (Marcia), who was replaced withLeah Ayres.
As withA Very Brady Christmas,The Bradys also balanced elements of comedy and drama and featured storylines of a more serious nature than the original series and subsequent spin-offs. Lloyd Schwartz later said he comparedThe Bradys to another dramedy of the time,thirtysomething. The two-hour series premiere episode aired on February 9, 1990, at 9 pm on CBS and initially drew respectable ratings. Subsequent episodes were moved to 8 pm, where ratings quickly declined. Due to the decline, CBS cancelled the series after six episodes.[85]
TheDay by Day episode titled "A Very Brady Episode" (February 5, 1989), on NBC, reunited six of the originalBrady Bunch cast members:Robert Reed,Florence Henderson,Ann B. Davis,Christopher Knight,Mike Lookinland andMaureen McCormick.[86][87]
A one-hour TV specialretrospective ofThe Brady Bunch hosted byFlorence Henderson who introduces a montage of various episodes of the original series, and also examines the show's phenomenal after-life, illustrated by clips from spin-offs and other incarnations of the series. Also, cast membersChristopher Knight,Susan Olsen,Mike Lookinland,Barry Williams,Ann B. Davis, and creatorSherwood Schwartz reflect on the impact of the show on their lives. Directed byMalcolm Leo, the special was originally broadcast onABC on May 19, 1993.[88]
Christopher Knight,Mike Lookinland,Maureen McCormick,Susan Olsen,Eve Plumb, andBarry Williams reunited for the 2019HGTV seriesA Very Brady Renovation, which follows a full renovation (interior mostly) of the real house, used for the sitcom's exterior shots, into the fictional Brady house.[89][90][91]
In conjunction with the Renovation series, in the autumn of 2019,The Food Network aired two episodes of their programChopped with the siblings as guest judges. Season 43, episode 3 - "Brady Bunch Bash" features Williams, Plumb, and Lookinland judging meals made from Hawaiian ingredients.[92] Season 43, episode 4 - "A Very Brady Chopped" features McCormick, Knight, and Olsen judging meals from "groovy" ingredients of the '70s.[93]
In October 2020, during the global Covid-19 virus pandemic,Ogunquit Playhouse did a live stream broadcast ofA Very Brady Musical, a brand new musical adventure for the stage created byLloyd J. Schwartz (son of Brady Bunch creatorSherwood Schwartz), Hope Juber (book/lyrics), andLaurence Juber (music/lyrics) and directed by Richard Israel. It was co-produced by Ogunquit Playhouse, Purple Mountain Productions, and Broadway and Beyond Theatricals. More in the vein of the Brady films, this PG-13 story follows the Brady kids’ misadventures when they come to the mistaken conclusion that Mike and Carol are headed for divorce. After consulting Alice, the kids raise money to pay for marriage counseling, learning valuable lessons along the way, as their respective well-intentioned ideas land them in outrageous trouble.Barry Williams andChristopher Knight were on hand for a post-show question and answer session on all things Brady.[94]
On June 30, 2021, streaming serviceParamount+ celebrated Pride Month with the premiere of acrossover special combiningThe Brady Bunch and the reality television seriesRuPaul's Drag Race. In the crossover event, originalBrady cast members and formerDrag Race competitors come together to recreate aBrady Bunch episode.Christopher Knight andMike Lookinland reprise their roles of Peter and Bobby Brady, respectively, while the original Greg Brady,Barry Williams, switches parts to play family patriarch Mike; Greg Brady is portrayed byDrag Race Season 6 andAll Stars 3 competitorBenDeLaCreme. Season 6 winnerBianca Del Rio fills the role of mother Carol Brady, and daughters Marcia, Jan, and Cindy are portrayed byAll Stars 5 winnerShea Couleé,season 2 andAll Stars 6 competitorKylie Sonique Love, andseason 13 runner-upKandy Muse, respectively.Season 11 Miss CongenialityNina West appears as housekeeper Alice Nelson.[95]
The special, which recreates the season two episode "Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?", also contains cameos byDrag Race judgesRuPaul andMichelle Visage, who appear as employees of a wig shop that Jan patronizes. The original Jan and Cindy Brady,Eve Plumb andSusan Olsen, also appear as children who are guests at the birthday party.[95]
In January 2022, Christopher Knight and Barry Williams published their new podcast The Real Brady Bros. The weekly podcast recaps episodes ofThe Brady Bunch. Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen and Mike Lookinland have guested to discuss episodes in which they have featured.
In October 2024, during a heated Presidential election cycle,Susan Olsen claimed on a political podcast that due to her right-wing political views, in 2022, a planned Brady Bunch revival, which would have picked up with the Brady Bunch children as adults, was cancelled.[96] Olsen alleged that Lloyd J. Schwartz questioned her about her political views, and due to her behavior, the project died in early stages and it was unclear whether even a script had been written. Reportedly, in the series, Cindy was going to be a libertarian podcaster. According to Olsen, the project was "dead in the water".[97][98]
Twenty years following the conclusion of the original series, a film adaptation,The Brady Bunch Movie, went into production and was released in 1995 fromParamount Pictures. The film is set in the present day (1990s) and the Bradys, still living their lives as if it were the 1970s, are unfamiliar with their surroundings. It starsGary Cole andShelley Long as Mike and Carol Brady, withChristopher Daniel Barnes (Greg),Christine Taylor (Marcia), Paul Sutera (Peter),Jennifer Elise Cox (Jan),Jesse Lee (Bobby),Olivia Hack (Cindy),Henriette Mantel (Alice), and cameo appearances fromAnn B. Davis as a long-haul truck driver,Barry Williams as a record label executive,Christopher Knight as a Westdale High gym teacher,RuPaul as a guidance counselor, andFlorence Henderson as Carol's mother.Mike Lookinland,Susan Olsen andMaureen McCormick appear in deleted scenes.
A sequel,A Very Brady Sequel, was released in 1996. The cast of the first film returned for the sequel. Another sequel,The Brady Bunch in the White House, was made-for-television and aired onFox in 2002.Gary Cole andShelley Long returned for the third film, while the Brady kids and Alice were recast.
In the video game,Fallout: New Vegas, there's anachievement (video games) in the add-on "Dead Money" called "Assemble Your Crew" which parodies the opening title but features numerous Fallout characters, includingVault Boy.[99]
The third episode of theDisney+ miniseriesWandaVision, "Now in Color", pays homage to 1970s sitcoms, includingThe Brady Bunch, and uses a similar intro for the virtualWandaVision in-show program.[100]
An unauthorized stage show,The Real Live Brady Bunch, was created by siblingsJoey Soloway and Faith Soloway atChicago’sAnnoyance Theatre in 1991. The cast, includingAndy Richter as Mike,Jane Lynch as Carol, andMelanie Hutsell as Jan, performed originalBrady Bunch scripts verbatim on stage.[101] The show became a phenomenon in Chicago, with “new” episodes transcribed and performed every two weeks. Guest performers included Eve Plumb and Davy Jones, while Robert Reed and Susan Olsen attended multiple performances.[102]Paramount was preparing legal action over the stage show when Sherwood Schwartz visited Chicago. Charmed by the tribute, Schwartz agreed to grant rights to the Soloways. The show went on to run inNew York andLos Angeles.[103] Joey Soloway became a successful television producer, with credits includingTransparent.[101]
David Gilbert’s 2014 short story, “Here’s the Story,” imagines a backstory for the series, in which the original spouses of Carol and Mike are on the verge of beginning an extramarital affair when they both die in the same plane crash. The story ran inThe New Yorker in 2014.[104]
Sherwood Schwartz, the show's producer, told me that I had the lead role of the Father. Several actresses auditioned for the part of my "wife", and after much discussion, Florence Henderson was chosen. At the eleventh hour, Sherwood called me, practically in tears. He said the executives at ABC had overridden his decision to cast me. They had chosen Robert Reed for the part. He had been on a show calledThe Defenders, and was a "known" TV actor.
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