kramer: take one! jerrrry: no! krkramer stop p it! jajason alexanander: and boom, ththere you gogo, a situtuation comemedy. sheldodon: bazingaga! tim allelen: this twtwenty -t-three minututes of magic. lucycy: it's soo tasty, too! tracy morgan: you fell in love with these characters. arnold: whwhat chu' talkin' ' about willllis? geri jewell: we need to laugh at ourselves. joey: yoyou hide my y clothe, i'm wearining everything you ow. constance e wu: lalaughter o opens you u u. haley:y: okay ready? sururpri! [screamingng and chaosos] mara b brock akil:l: the thinings that wewe might bee afraid to o talk aboutut. bobow: some pepeople thatt were supposed to protectct us d didn't do the right t thing. tim reid: like racism. son: so ththe cops are the babad guys? dre: yeses. bow: n no. kim m fields: clclass wars ralplph: money!! i'm a a millionairire. dadan levy: anand gender diverersity... sarah:h: dad? mamaura: hi girls.s. ted dansnson: you cacan reach id rereally touchch people's s he. diannene: i hate y you sasam: are youou as tuturned on asas i am? dianne: : more! raininn wilson: : whether it's a a family liliving undeder the sameme roof... jj: dyno-mite! james: now that's the kind of talk i like to hear. rainn wilson: ...or gathered together in a workplace. jack: jennnna, that'ss a glueue stick. jennnna: mmm? rainn wilslson: all ththe gret sitcoms s are about family. debra: so o wonderfuful! kelsey grammar: it's one of the great, great accomplishments of the modern age. [o[opening] michaeael: what hahave we a always saidid was the momost importrtant thing?g? george:: breakfkfast...? michaeael: familyly. george: family, right.t... dadan levy: fafamily is key to t the sitcom. dre: mamama!! rarandall parkrk: it's somomeg that we alall can rerelate t. dre anand mom: shake shakake shake! tracy momorgan: you'u're in the peopople's homes for y years. you'u're a partt of thehe family. eddie:e: one good d thing about moviving here is i hahave no frieiends, anand no distrtractions. that's why i i got a... . gran, what doeoes fonzi sasay? grgrandma: ayyy! jesse e tyler fergrguson: ththe family s sitcom brbris people togogether in a a reallyly unexpecteted way jane leeveves: there's's so manyny differentnt dynamics at worork in famililies. frfrasier: i w want you here, it w will giveve us a chance to o get re -acquainteted! martrtin: that i implies wee were a acquainted d at one poi. jajane leeves:s: there's a lot ofof pain, therere's a lott of lauaughter; you sort o of recognizize yourur dynamic i in there. and you u go, well, , their fafamily is jujust as crazazy a. claire: : i don't rereally cae who kikissed who a and who's t a a pimple on n their heada, and d who's weararing an ououtrageouslyly inapprpropriate drdress... we are goioing to get t togetr and act t like a norormal famy for one e tenth of a a freakingng second, and we'r're going toto do it riright now! come on n lets go! dan n levy: it's's amazing toto sort of t track the h histf the familyly sitcom bebecause you can sesee so much h about culture throughout the years,, now lolooking backck. ♪ jason alexander: and you know, it was really i love lucy that k kind of kicked it t all off. lucy: firsrst operating this evening... stop that now and go back and sit down!! linda lavin: it was a show about a ditzy woman who wawanted to bebe in showow business.s... man: have e you ever consididered acting? everyone: has she ever considered acting? linda lavin: ...and her husband, who is latin and a musician... desisi: honey, y you know how i feel about this. i don't want my wife in show business. lucy: why not? marisa guthrie: lucille ball was always trying to emancipate hersrself from t the wife and the hohomemaker rorole. bob saget: and every time she gets the opportunity, somethining goes awrwry. jaleel white: lucille ball was fearless in her physical comedy. you know, women were supposed to be demure anand dainty a and in theheir place.. tim allen: lucille ball was one of my favorites for titiming her b bits. desi: what do you think you're doing? well? jennifer armstrong: i love lucy became a phenomenon instantly. lorrainene ali: whwhen you thk about the era that lucille ball came up in, and what she was able to achieve it's astounding. dedesi: hey! i i'm a fafather, i'm m a father! tom gilbert: when lucy and ricky had a baby, it was like huge. it was the highest-rated show of the series. it changed the dynamic because all of a sudden it became centered around the family unit. i think i love lucy was the big bang of the family sitcom. marisa guthrie: then the family moved to the suburbs... lucy: gee isn't this exciting. we are in our very own home. marisa guthrie: and that mirrored what was happening in america a at the timime. patrick gomez: advertisers wanted to cater towards that new suburban family that needed to buy that kitchchen applianance or needed to o buy that v vacuu. jacqueliline coley:: and afafter i loveve lucy, there was s a formulaa for whwhat the amemerican famy should l look like.. cybill shepherd: ozzie and harriet... announcer: the adventures of ozzie and harriet. cybill shepherd: i just loved everybody in it, actually. david:d: hurry up,p, bring it t. i'm starved! candice bergen: it was a happy, gentle american family of the 1950s. ozzizie: how mucuch do you need? david: never mind pop, that's okay. ozzie: no don't worry about it, you can pay me back. david: honest pop, i don't want it. ricky: what's the matter with you david, you got rocks in your head? linda lavin: the kids were very polite. everybody was very nice to each other. those e were not real peoeople, but ththey entertatained anand delighteted us. jijim: alrightht kids, dininns onon, we're e sitting down. jennifer armstrong: when you get to father knows best, it's very patriarchal, dealing with tiny little problems. jim: ah.h... a quietet eveningt homeme. i could d use it. [slam] billy gray: and i played bud. bud d usually had a problem with the truth telling, on s some level.l. jim: w what was alall thatat racket upstairs? bud: i didn't hear anything. billy gray: father knows best represented the good life; the amamerican dreream. jim:m: i'll readad you one story, t then off toto bed you. bob: and then leave it to beaver enters the sitcom realm in 1957. wally: what's that? beaver: a haircut i think. tony dow: the real key to leave it to beaver is ththat it's wrwritten fromoa chilild's point t of view. walllly: why dididn't you let stanley cut your hair? beaver: i losted my money. jerry mathers: you have the character of beaver and you have wally his older brother who usually does things right, beaver's always the one that gets inin trouble. june: [gasps] marisa guthrie: and there were the parents to teach them, to show them the right path. ward: we w want you toto feel t you cacan come to o me or to yr mother with any problem and we'll understand. patrick gomez: in the 1950s, sitcoms were really giving us an idealilistic versision of a america. jacqueueline coleyey: but asas we get ininto the 60s0, we'll l see differerent typepes of familily sitcoms. steven: i'm sure i'll be able to handle a little washing and to cook an occasional meal. ♪ sam: i'm'm a bad d mommy. mamax: no, you'r're a didisaster momom. sam: you'r're a big f------ - c--- yourur sister's s an a------, and d your otherer sister's s . (off camera):: aww, thahanks mom! pamela adldlon: betterer thins is aboutut a single e mom whos raraising her r three daughters s on her ownwn. mamax: you're e my mom, i i t yoyou to knonow if i have sexr i wawant to get t high. pamelala adlon: itit's didirty, it's s funny. sam:m: no! hide e things frfrom me pleaease! ememily vandererwerff: betetters is a f fascinatingng examplelf the ways t that the fafamily sim has adadapted to t the 21st cec. frankie:e: mom, where's ththe broom? sam:m: what are e you beining, a witchch? frankie:e: no, i'm g going to a uselesess housewifife from theh. sam: i i love thatat! dan levyvy: throughohout the years, the boundararies have been pushehed back andnd the wawalls have c come down. if y you look baback to the e, ththere was a a lot of cononfin what family looked like and what was acceptable and d what wasn'n't. steven: hi chipper. robbie: hi squirt. chip: hi cats. barry livingston: my three sons was the first show that deviated from the perfect pleasantville nuclear family.. ernie:e: you gonnana blow up e stove e again mr. . douglas? steve: no ernie, i don't think i'll make that same mistake again. [laughs] [small expolsion] barry livingston: it was a show about a single dad. he was a widower with three boys, trying to raise them in an all-male household. chip: you dry. barry livingston: everyone had to do something. everyone had to pitch in. we did dishes, you know, we were darning socks. these are things that t you nevr saw inin the ozzieie and harrt show or donna reid or leave it to beaver.. [phohone rings]] mike: hey that's mine, i've got it! bob saget: when you watch a show that's based on losing someone... ststeven: comeme on, look k o. yoyou're goingng to tear i . bob saget: that adds a deep-rooted truth to the hardness of life. and then it gives s comedy even morore of a reason to go o as crazy a as you wawant to go.. uncle e charlie: i i think that shirt's done. robbie: oh my gosh my shirt! steven: well, robbie you'll just have to wear your pants higher. papatrick gomemez: in the e , yoyou see the e sitcom movovey from telelling storiries that e solelyly focussed d on the nucu, suburban f family. jim colucci: d divorce hadad bee more prevavalent in ththe 60, it hadad become momore part of normal l american l life, but it t took a whilile for t to be reflected in sitcocoms. ♪ the bradady brunch.. the brady brunch. ♪ ♪ that's the way we all became ... ♪ christopher knight: the brady bunch is the story of two s separate fafamilies being glueued togetherer. lloyoyd schwartztz: a maman with thrhree boys, a woman with three girls. the man was going to be a widower. the woman, divorced, but divorce was a taboo topic on television. so t they said, , let's just leave e it so you u don't kno. [yellingng] mike: what's all the yelling about, huh? bobby: she stole our ball. marcia: i'm just trying to find out what they did with my school awards. lloyd schwartz: the brady bunch was an evolution from like leave e it to beavaver, it wasan from the k kid's pointnt of vi. cicindy: will l you lend me your r skate key?y? bobby: i'm not lending you anything to a snitcher. eve plumb: it was all about what children are having problems with.h. their apappearance, , or ther schoolwowork or theieir frien. peteter brady: p pete brbrady intercepts and goes for the shot... eve plumb: oh you broke the vase, it was those kininds of everyday p problems. cindy: m marcia. i'm'm proud o be youour sister n no matter how terrible you look. marcia: thanks a lot! andy greene: this is airing in the nixon era, when vietnam is raging and people are losing faith in government. lloyd schwartz: all these things were happening and the brady buncnch was s kind of a a refuge. mamalcom jamalal warner: w watg the brady bunch and having all ththese brothehers and sisistet was a great getawaway for me.. michchael schneieider: the b y buncnch was a huhuge succecess c that l led to the e partridge ey whwhich reallyly attracteded a , hungry audience. shirley: hey kids, hollywood boulevard! danny bonaduce: we were a musical family that would travel aroround dodoing shows.s... keith: (singing) oh girl, you make my day. helen hunt: i was for sure going to marry david cassidy. thatat was defininitely going to hapappen. patrick gomez: the partridge family is trying to embrace this like hippie cool culture. danny: what did you hit mom? shirley: i think it was a studebaker. man: you crazy hippies, it's not enough you don't trust anyone over 30. now you're trying to wipe us out! laura morowitz: but it takes this phenomenon of the counterculture and makes itit very safefe. danny:y: now relax mum.... but just remember our whole future depends on these next few minutes. shirley: ahhh. barry livingston: it was an escape from the real world for a lot of people. news anchor: in new york, a student protest is met by construction workers and at kent state in ohio, 4 students are killed. ethan alter: but some people didn't want to hide from w what was happenining. drew cararey: peoplele were like, no, , we want toto hear about all l this stuffff and w it's affffecting ourur famili. ththat's when n shows likee all inin the familily came o. ethahan alter: n norman learar t the beginnnning of hisis careerd was lookining to find d a show t he c could realllly make hisin anand he was t turned on t ta brbritish series calalled 'til d death do usus part'. norman lear: it wass about t a bigoted father and d i was saidid holy m moly. thatat was the w way i greww up, anand i knew i had a show. crew: aiair pilot. take one. ethan alter: they shot the pilot at abc. it featured d carroll o'o'conr and jean s stapleton as archie and edith bunker. actor 1: we just don't see any evidence, of god... alright? actress 1: that's right daddy. archie: i know we had a couple of pinkos in the house but i didn't know we had a pair of atheists. ethan alter: it was not well received by abc. they watched it and felt the chemistry wasn't there between n the parentnts and d the kids.. norman leaear: and thehen askeked me to make it agagain with twowo different young people. actor 2: we just don't see any evidence, of god, that's all. actress 2: that's right daddy. archie: i know we had a couple of pinkos in this house but i didn't know we had a pair of atheists. emily vanderwerff: the network freaks out about whether people will be able to watch this show that has like real issues. norman lear: everybody is nervous and therere are people sayaying theyey're gonna a kill you.. they'r're going to s shoot you dead in n the streetets. i'm free to grow. i'm free to learn. i'm free to make the next big thing. contra costa college is free for full-time students, which makes you free to explore all the incredible opportunities unleashed by higher learning. start your future and apply today at contracosta.edu/free the power goes out, and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book. who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up. plus, now through december 31st, eligible xfinity rewards members can get 25% off a storm ready wifi device. ♪ herbie j pilato: in 1970, cbs is trying to change their landndscape. they hadad all thesese rural l family sititcoms; they were looking for more sophisticated sitcoms. patrick gogomez: afterer abc dedeclined to o move forwawardh the all in the family pilot, norman leaear made thehe decision to o move the show ovever to cbs.. sally struthers: they said yes but you need a new set of kids. so r rob reiner r and i were the ththird set ofof children for ararchie and edith bubunker. norman lear: so, i made the pilot for the third time. same s script. i w wouldn't change a a word. archieie: so let's's hear it again, , huh? what did you mean by what god? michael: we just don't see any evidence of god, that's all. gloria: that's right daddy. archie: that's right daddy? well i knew we had a couple of pinkos in this house... but i didn't know we had atheists! john lithgow: i do remember seeing the opening episode and rerealizing, m my god, te groundnd is shakining under m. michaeael: now, i'i'm going to tell you something. gloria: michael... michael: no no, wait a second... sally struthers: and we reach ovever each othther atat the tablele and we have argrguments...... mimichael: bececause guys s e yoyou are unwiwilling to g give black man, the mexican american and all the other minorities their just and rightful hard earned share of the american dream. sally struthers: that didn't happen before. we got real. bambmbi haggins:s: political strifefe. interperersonal issu. generationon gaps. and d they're dedealing with it alall in the f famil. michchael: now i i suppose y ye going toto tell me that the black man has had the same opportunity in this country as you? archie: more. he's had more. i didn't have no million people out there marching and protesting to get me my job. edith: no, his uncle got it for him. john lithgow: archie bunker was saying things that you just don't say on television. michael: just because a guy is sensitive and he's an intellectutual and he wears g glasses, yoyou make himim out a a queer. archieie: i never r said a gy who wearars glasses s is a quee. a guy who o wears glglasses is a a four eyese, a a guy who's s a fag isis a queer.. tim allen:n: you'll wawatch tt show andnd even end up looking around like you're gonna be arrested. john lithgow: it was jaw dropping. itit was funnyny, but it was veryry challengiging, anand you realized norman learar is takingng us into a a whole neww realm ofof comedy. norman l lear: the b blowback from thehe public wawas burid byby the excititement and the applause. bob leszczak: the show was number one for a long time. ethan alter: it changed cbcbs and d their branand as a netet. as a resesult of all in thehe family, they t turned to norman leararo creaeate more shshows in thahat. archie: ththere's a personon at the door. maude! adrienne barbeau: bea arthur played maude as edith's cousin onn all inin the familily. maude: maudie is here. jim colucci: and she could take on archie head to head. maude: now you can e either come to the table and eat, or you can lie there and feed off your own fat. jim colucci: the story goes that by the time that episode had aired, fred d silverman,, who was s in charge e of cbs at thehe time, hadad called norman l lear and sasaid, get ththat woman her own n show. ♪ anand then thehere's maude..... ♪ ♪ and then there's maude! ♪ ♪ that uncompromisin', enterprisin', ♪ ♪ anything but tranquilizin', ♪ ♪ right on maude! ♪ adriennene barbeau: : it was t your all-american family. carol:l: you're gegetting sesenile in yoyour old ageg. maude: thank you darling. i only hope i live long enough to become a burden to you. adrienne barbeau: maude is an indepependent strorong woman w who speaksks her mind.d. she was mamarried to her fourth husband, walterer, played by bill l macy. maude: i i don't havave time to fix y you your breakfast! here, have some cold knackwurst. eric mccormick: i loved their combative relationship. i still toto this day y if somey pisseses me off i'i'll say, "g"god'll get t you fofor that walalter." maude: god'll get you for that walter. patrick gomez: maude was really the first time that we saw such a fiercelyly independedent won who wasnsn't afraid d to spek her mindnd at the cecenter ofof a family y sitcom. normanan lear: mauaude had a maid flolorida who was a a great chararacter. henry: i'm henry evans ... norman lear: her husband made an appearance. henry: i am proud of you florida ...its just i don't want you to be a maid no more. florida: your mother was a maid. that's how your brothers got through school and you got to be a fireman. norman lear: when john amos and esther rolle finished their scene, we thought, let's fill out that family. ♪ good times! ♪ ♪ good times! jay moriarty: that's the first time you ever saw a black family on television. jj: look who finally got back from her honeymoon in the bathroom mirror. thelma: knock it off jj. your mouth is always ahead of your think piece. lorida: let's face it james, this family ain't ozzie and harriet. jimmie walker: we were very different than other sitcom families from the point that we were urban. trying to survive on the south side of chicago wiwith a dad that has spotty job situations. james:s: it's a cocold world out there, and we can't change it. florida: well maybe we can't change it, james... but we sure can't let it change us. jimmie walker: good times was not only to show the problems, it was t to show thehe love of a minorority familyly. jj: we're e standing in a used car r lot of lovov. james: andnd in 20 yeaears we only turnened out one e clunk. jajacqueline c coley: the e idf white famimilies seeining thingn anan episode o of good times thatat they coululd relatete to theirr own expeperience. ththat is a popower that cannot b be duplicatated with hoursrs of coconversationon. papatrick gomemez: it showod how w sitcoms weweren't afrarao discuss sosocial issues s tht had d formerly b been taboo. ♪ this i is it. this is it! ♪ ♪ this is life, the one you get.... ♪ caryn james: when you get to something like 'one day at a time', the single mother in that show is divorced. that wasas unusual for televivision. julilie: i havenen't had a happy minute since we moved to indianapolis. sure was different before the divorce, when daddy was around. ann: yeah yeah, i know. you used to wrap him around your little finger... caryn james: all of the single paparents befofore had beeeen w. and so t television n begins o catch h up with whwho we are. babarbara: whahatchu doing, mom? ann: i am circling the jobs for which it would appear i am qualified. barbara: i don't see any circles. ann: exactly. valerie bertinelli: i mean it was the 70's. women were feeling empowered to have lives of theheir own and to still have a f family. ann: dararling. would like to tl me what's going on between you and chuck? barbara: you're going to die! you had no business telling her. valerie bertinelli: showing what a family goes through, showing what it's like to raise two daughters in a divorce. ann: we'llll make i it... i promise. i love you. norman lear: we grow up in families and we all shshare these e experiencs in o one way or r another. erernest lee thomas: one day at a time, all in the family, maude, good times... all these family sitcoms they just owned the top 10. ♪ ethan alter: the 1980s were a radical transformation frfrom what amamerica had d n lilike in the e 1960s and d 19. the e economy was boomoming... judge: congratulations sir. ethan alter: ...as the reagan era took hold, there was a rise in conservative values. patrick gomez: we saw american audiences losing interest in sococially relelevant sitco, anand really t the sitcomm ststarted to d die away. gerrad h hall: dramamas had d really takaken over, those sosoaps wewere so big:g: dydynasty, d dallas, mamagnum p.i.. patrick gogomez: and s so you saw the family s sitcom reallyly strived t to findnd a new idedentity. alex: i can't believe you guys can watch this, you look ridiculous. sarah rodman: family ties has one of the great premises i in sitcomom history.. steven: : half a million people trying to stop a senseless war... you find that ridiculous? alex: i'm talking about the outfits. sarah rodman: these two flower children from the 60 's, grow up and then in the 80's suddenly find themselves with t this youngg republicican son. alex: wewell, how do i looook? steven: middle aged. michael gross: it was about the clashes betwtween two generatitions. steven: : you're a young man, you shouldn't be worried about success. you should be thinking about hopping on a tramp steamer and going around the world. alex: the 60's are over, dad. steven: thanks for the tip. gerrad hall: family ties is a reversal in many ways of all l in the famamily, excepepw you have t the liberalal pares and d the coconservativeve child. elysyse: this momorning i fofoa copy of ththe wall strtreet joul under his bed. steven: you think maybe he was switched at birth and the rockefellers have our kid? meredith baxter: michael was just wonderful. he was young and energetic and he had such good timing. alex: who did this? michael gross: we started rather slowly, nbc was s moving uss aroundnd a little e bit, trying t to find thehe right t place for r us. jim m colucci: f family ties pumpeded a little e bit of lie into thehe family sisitcom, bt the sisitcom in gegeneral had been pronouounced dead.d. there were very few on the air. and then all of a sudden comes the cosby show in '84. theo: dad, can i have an advance on my allowance? cliff: son, you're already backed up to your 50th birthday. tim allen: the cosby show was a game changer to me. ththis is justst a familyly i adored.d. present history has tainted that a little bit. it didn't t stop the fact thahat that wasas a grouound-breakining expeperience. jacqcqueline cololey: they h has really s sort of idydyllic fam. claire was a lawawyer. he was a doctor. jaleel white: there was a very natural chemistry between clcliff huxtable and clairir and ththeir childrdren that wasasn't clichéhé black k poverty. cliff: sonon, your mother asked me to o come up hehere and kili. how do you expect to get into college with grades like this? theo: no problem... bambi haggins: there's a much more conservative paradigm that i is drivingg the cosbsby show. theo: instead of acting disappointed because i'm not like you, maybe you can just accept who i am and love me anyway. malcolm-jamal warner: you know, in any other sitcom, that would be the momement whee the music would start and the fathther would embrace the son and say something, you know, , really encouragining. cliff: theo... that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard in my life! tom werner: and you could hear the audience gasp because like, this is a strongng father whwo is g going to sasay to his s , as he sasaid, yoyou know, i i - cliff: i b brought you in this world, a and i'll tatake you o. tom werner: all of a sudden the audience cheered because it was like e the parentnts are sasaying, yes,s, we'r're taking back the h house. clififf: i just t want you t toe best youou can. thatat's all. malcolm-jamal warner: there was such a love and camaraderie in ththe huxtablele family ththat k you hahad a universasal audien. tom werner: we got super bowl ratings s every singngle week and they're tuning in because everybody wants to be a huxtable. jacqueline coleyey: the cosbsy shshow revitalalized the s si. warren littlefield: alright, then l let's put c cosby at . let's put t family ties at 8:8:30. michael gross: and then family ties went poom in a huge way. michaeael gross: t that great thursdayay night linineup cosby, f family tieses, cheeeers, night t court. jajacqueline c coley: nbcc reallyly created t this idea of f must see t tv. yoyou're talalking about 20 and 30 and 40 million peopople tuning g in. mimichael grososs: people e y yoyou were onene of americics mostst successfuful fatherers. i said no, it was bill cosby. cosby y was number one. jaleel white: with respect to what's happened of late. it's l like, hugelely disasappointing g to all of f, but hehe set the s standard fr whatat a family y sitcom was. jim colucci: the cosby show had proven that the fafamily sitcocom was a viable g genre againin. [a[audience lalaughter] lynn: : i'm mr. bebelevedere! gerrad hall: by the late 80s family sitcoms were very popular among the big three networks. gerrad halall: therere was ththis incredidible resurgenc. jejesse: this s is great,, we s should be m mothers. joeyey: ah yeah!h! ethahan alter: f families tutd ininto these t tv shows toto sn aspirational version of what family life could be.e. urkel:l: did i do that?t? jennififer keishinin armstror: shows like silver spoons and growing pains and all that. it's constant hugging and learning, right? [audience clapping] ethan alter: with the family sitcom at the height of its popularity, fox started moving ininto the telelevision aren. cedric: fox was new, building their network. they were one of the last mamajors to bubuild a netwtw. patricick gomez: t they decidd theyey were going to usese te fafamily sitcocom to do ththad compete agagainst the e big th. peggy: al, look at our little girl. we don't really have to go to a recital, do we? ethan alter: and they wound up going inn a cocompletely oppositete directionon. sort o of the antiti- in a way, the a anti-familyly sitc. al: nonow bud, apopologize toto your sister. bud: no. al: okay. anita sarkeesian: married with children is full of trash people ththat do horrrrible thingns and sasay horriblele things. al: quiet you morons! paul reiser: you were always aware they were just wise guys, you know, , zinging each othther. al: peg,g, how couldld you sesell the famamily playboys? jacqueline coley: looking back on it now, i don't know how that show stayed on air. kelly: is this okay, mom? i haven't worn it since grandma's funeral. jim colucci: married with children helped put fox on the map. ethan alteter: this ididea ofa darker famamily presentatition e to p people who o were borededh what the m main familyly sitcs werere offering g at the tim. al: famimily before e you go, would you bring old daddy's shot gun and stand close together? ♪ roseseanne: you u just sit t e anand drink yoyour beer huhu, i'll fix the sink myself. dan: the hell you will! patrick gomez: in the 1990s, we saw the big networks really start to experiment with thehe family sisitcom. gerradad hall: somome sitcomoms were verery edgy, like roseaeanne and married wiwith childreren... roroseanne: tatalk is cheap, mr.r. fix it. patrick gomez: on the other hand, you had shows that were kind of going back to a more wholesome storytelling, you see that on abc's homome improvememen. ♪ tim allen: in a broad stroke, what home improvement did is, first off, it made a stable family and a loving family. jill: no running in the house! tim: brad! cover the ball with both hands so you don't fumble. go on! jill: tim! tim allen: but also i really wanted to find out what made men tick. tim: boy therere's nothingng le the feeling of raw and cold steel hanging onto your hips. latoya ferguson: tim the tool-man taylor. he's a local celebrity. he has his own home imprprovemet show calleled tool timime... tim: you k know what men, we want a jobob done riright, and we want it done quick. what do we need? audience: more power! tim allen: more power was my moniker my whole life [laughining] plus the grunting [grunt] and blowing stuff up. latoya ferguson: he's like this supposed man's man... patricia r richardson:n: and ththen he comemes home too a woman who's a feminist... jill: anand under nono circumsts dodo you ever r treat the female sex as though they are housekeepers put here to wait on you hand and foot. tim: honey, you wanna pop that in the washer for me? patricia richardson: what was great about our family, was that even though we disagreed, randy: i t think i'lll just p pop on out t of here.. patricia richardson: we loved each other and always made up. patrtrick gomez: home improvemement was proof that a traditioional familyly sitcm could ststill be a h hit, but ththrough the 90's we continued to see ththe famimily change.e. we saw p people haviving chchildren mucuch later inin e and ththe family s sitcom rereflected ththat. paul reiser: in mad about you, the marriage itself wawas the prememise ofof the show.w. mamara brock a akil: a strong woman chcharacter agagainst a strong malale characteter, and soso the fireworks..... it just t kept happepening. helen huntnt: watchingng how twtwo people try to love each otheher overer time. jamie:e: it doesn't bother you that we haven't had sex in five days? paul: hello. paul reiser: you know the feeling when you go to a party and yoyou and yourur wife and you'rere having fufun, and you u say goodninight, yoyou get intoto the car.. the e minute thahat car door closes, , that's thehe show. jamimie: what'ss going g on with usus? paul: what's going on is that we're married five months and the sexual part is over. see i thought you understood that, i'm sorry. that's what happens, i play checkers in the park and you start arguing with busses, come on. jamie: it's not funny! helen hunt: they are these two people who can voice their own opinions without fear and be awful and apologize and d hit a dry y spell in the marriaiage and then find the heat between them again. people were feeling probably that combination of, i relate to it and i aspire to it... jamie: more. paul: come here. helen hunt: ...that made it very much its own. paul reiser: early, likeke season onone i think, ththe network k said you guys shoululd have a k kid. and we wenent no, nono, no, no, , no. we don't,, that's t too soon. seasonon two is time for a a kid. it went, i it was like the n network wasas, like annoyoying in-lawaws. oh, anand are youu guys gononna try? like, wewe'll let yoyou know. you know, , on raymondnd, you nenever saw ththe kids. ray: hi mom. doris: hi.i. i saw youour car l up befefore. you d didn't cal! ray: no.o. patrtricia heatoton: we realy wantnted to focucus on the marrrriage and t their rerelationshipip with the e pa. raray: hi, i'm'm ray and i i e here in lolong islandd with my wife debra. patricia heaton: and in the very first season, ray says in ththe openening creditits... ray: it't's not realally about the kids. patricia heaton: ...it's not about the kids. doriris: i say t that evevery year y you're overer, you shouldld add an ininch to the hem liline of yourur dres. frank:k: well thenen you shoule drdragging aroround a persrsia! jim mckakairnes: we'e've all l had parentnts who, despite ouour best efffforts, reject allll of our kikindness. and it bacackfires. doris: i i don't undnderstand why you u would usee bleach on n these totowels. patricicia: they j just seseemed a litittle yellowow. doris: y yes, they'r're yellllow towels!s! papatricia heaton: we e all cocome into a a family. we need a a family. loveve them or h hate them that's w who we werere given. mara brock akil: the success of cosby resurrected the sitcom and d because ofof that ushehen a lot of g great storyrytelli. jajacqueline coley: when the cosby show went off the air, we did have other black family sit-coms to fill that void, and one of them was the fresh prince, which was s another version of aspiratioional black family w wealth. will: : i didn't k know there were s so many brorothers liviving in thisis neighbhbourhood. we doingng alriright, huh?? jacquelinene coley: bubut fox s one of the firirst networkrks thatat really totook risk wiwitk sitcoms that had minority peoplele that werere very much part t of the wririting d the creaeation of itit. aramide tinububu: i thinkk it's v vital that t people of color write e their owown stories,s, because thatat's where t the authenticity comomes from. [b[baby cryiying] gina: he's probably tired. martin: well he should be, kept us up all night gina. we should be the ones crying! jacqueline coley: we saw black family sitcoms like martin, lilike the bernie mac show, those sitcoms showed, parenting to be difficult... bernie: uncle bernie, he's too old to play withth dolls. can we play something else? [drumming] jacqueline coley: which was not something you saw on a show like the cosby show. rochelelle: chris!s! get in thehe bathroom m and we the pee e off the totoilet se. disgususting... cedricic: fox netwtwork had come on n and did d really wel withth black sititcoms, and so thehen the wb a and un uh, , at the timime were coming on n and they start toto diversifyfy and growow that audidience. aramide titinubu: theyey are ae to snanatch up thihis audiene that the o other netwoworks wewere really y ignoring up intnto thatat point. jacqueliline coley: : and so these showows kind of f set te stage fofor the diveversity n the famimily sitcom that canan be seen o on telelevision tododay. man: welcocome huangngs, i'm m rick. nee e hau. the lelength and d depth ofof my bow exexpresses my deep appreciaiation. louis: um,m, i thinknk that's more of f a japanesese thing. but t um..thankk you ririck. ♪ claiaire: if halaley never w s up o on a beach h in florida half nakaked, i've done my y job. phphil: our jojob. claire: riright. i'i've done ouour job. patricick gomez: in the latate 90s, eararly 2000, yoyou see the e popularityy of reaeality televevision. and that had a huge impact on the family sitcom. steven levitan: everything was reality shows back then. the sisitcom was pronounceded dead, agagain. so c chris lloydyd and i sai, what's's a new wayay to do a fafamily show? and d then we sasaid what ifie shoot it dococumentary s style. stevenen levitan: ...and i instead of f focusingn onone family, , what if wee focusesed on multitiple famili? alex: dad,d, clclaire: whatat happenened? alex: lukeke just shot me! steve e levitan: w what we want to dodo is portraray thee charactersrs as real.. luluke: i didndn't mean t to. clclaire: are you okok? alexex: no! the e little bibitch shot m me... claire: : language! steve levivitan: but t the netwtwork said y you can't h ha kid swswear like t that, anand i said t that line came frorom my daughghter! my attitude e about it i is, teg storieies from ourur own livi, and d not being g afraid of those s stories, thatat's what pepeople can relatete to. gloriaia: hi i'm g gloria pritchett,t, manny's's mothe. man: o oh this must be yoyour dad. jay: a actually nono i'm her r husband. don'n't be fooleled by the, , ue me a sececond here..... eve plumumb: none ofof these people looook like they would be a family,y, but ththey are. mimitch: what t the hehell is thatat? cacam: i had a andre do itt while e we were gogone. mitch: is s that usus with wingngs? jejesse tyler r fergusonon: i wawas just reaeally taken y the portrayal of a gay couple as part of an equal p part ofof the cast.t. jay:y: he was a a bit ofof a drama q queen. mitch: no,o, no no,o, stop. you comeme into my h house andu insultlt me and mymy boyfriendn, by thehe way, is n not thatat dramatic.c. [mususic from 'the lion n king'] jesse tyleler fergusonon: so whwhen he actutually reveaeals, it's's to the ththeme sosong from lilion king. ♪ i it's the cicircle of lie mitch:h: we adopted d a baby. daniel fieienberg: thihis loviny couplele who were e just adoptpa child, this wawas the mostst progreressive thining on broadt televivision at ththat partrticular momoment. jay: in this f family do w we k and punch h each otherer, or do wewe love each otherer? mamanny and luluke: loveve each otheher. jay: t that's righght. i'llll be in thehe den. lorrainene ali: modedern famimily took ththis genre t t seemed kinind of playeyed out, u updated itt anand breatheded life back into o the familyly sitc. after r that, we s start to see morere perspectitives, new peperspectiveses, fresesh perspectctives. louiuis: you'r're goining to love e orlando. i've grorown to loveve it lilike the daughterr we wisished evevan had beeeen. ♪ constance wu: in fresh ofoff the boat, an asianan american story centers the narrative as opopposed to b being likee the bubutt of the e joke. teacacher: i'd l like you all toto give a wawarm welcome to. hung, , gee... (struggleses with nameme.) eddie: yeaeah, call me eddieie! teacher:r: oh ththank god. constance wu: it's about an asian-american familily that moves frfrom a multiti-culturaly toto a very whwhite suburbrban. deirdre: oh hihi! wewelcome to t the neighbouourhood. i'm deirdrdre, this isis amandada, this is s samantha, thisis is lisa..... coconstance wuwu: it was aa reallyly good windndow into hw mainstream c culture couould fl strange e to somebodody else. randalall park: "f"fresh off e boatat" made a m major impacan prproving to t the indudustry that t a show like this can be successful. constance wu: still to this day, i get people on the street who comeme up to me e in tears s sg how meaniningful it wawas seeing thehemselves represenented, and f feeling le you are a part of america. rarandall parkrk: it's a p pt ofof a progression of repepresentatioion in t tv. dre: okay,y, so i'm just youour standardrd, reregular old,d, incrediblby handndsome, unbebelievably charismatitic blacack dude. this d drooling, pigment challengnged mixed r race woman is m my wife. emily vanderwerff: black-ish is a family sitcom that is interested in talking about topics of racial identity in ways that television sometimes is uncocomfortablee about t discussingng. bow: you'r're not seririous abt naming o our kid davonte are y ? dre:e: i want aa strongng black name. rainbow: o oh boy. dre: o okay, becauause we've given ouour kids whihite nams and d they've alall ended up blackck- ish. araramide tinunubu: the fafar feelels like hisis family is losing touch withth their roooots. he wanants them toto sort of know ththeir heritatage dre: i jusust want onene of y kids to enend up beingng black so i i can lolove it. malcolm m venable: w whereas e cosby y show was a a much morere sort of s safe kind of herere's us liviving every d , the blblack-ish fafamily is vy unapolologetic abobout their blacackness in w ways that really hadadn't been s seen on prime- titime telelevision befefore. dre: s so next sataturday, whn you u turn 13 3 you're bececog a man totoo, a blblack man. because i'i'm throwingng you anan africanan rites of pasassage ceceremony. andre: t that doeses not sosound as funun. zoeyey: no it dodoes not. emily vavanderwerff:f: black -i-ish was a s show that w s really gooood about talklking ababout indivividual sociaial s in a w way that wewe hadn't really s seen since e norman l. patrick k gomez: andnd that leas righght up to ththe reboot o ofn learar's 1970s clalassic, one day atat a time. elena: i i get it, , we're cuban.n. lylydia: azucucar! isababella gomezez: it follos threree generatitions of latat. lydia:a: come on!!!! isabellala gomez: evererything t we w would get i into as a n nl famimily but thehen it also o ts a lot ofof things thatat are gg on in ththe world ththat normay are e seen as taboo. like queerer issues. penelolope: where e are we with the i idea tellining hi? elenena: who thihinks it's a good i idea to grereet my latatino veteraran dad d with "hey!y! i like gigi" penelope: : you'll fininally he somemething in c common. isabella gomez: : you know,, there'e's ptsd witith the mo, therere's anxietety and dedepression.. penelolope: when h he called ya naname, what d did he callll ? stupid, dudummy, goobeber? alex: hehe saw me anand yelllled build a a wall. elena: o oh my god.. isabella gomez: i think it alallows audieiences to hahavee coconversationons in theirr own liliving roomsms. elelena: even n these daysys, is openly racist world. i manageged to neverer have a an incidentnt. pepenelope: yoyou and yourur br are of dififferent shahades. lydia:a: yes. papamela adlonon: if you p t somemething in y your show that's shohocking and radicacal. the hope i is in fifive years' ' time, it's goingng to bebecome more e normal. elena: whoho even decicides whatat latinx lolooks like? i lolook latinx.x. penelopepe: of coursrse you do, you'rere beautifulul. i alwaysys thought y you lookoked like ananne hathawa. elelena: oh nono, no, no!! emilily vanderwewerff: the f fe of the famamily sitctcom to e is most present in shows like one day at a time; telling stories about an america you don't always see on t television,n, elena: yeah!h! in ways s that are f funny, ad fresh,h, and invigigorating.. and if y you look atat the bet family sititcoms on tv right n , that's's what theyey're doin. elenena: anybodydy else wawants to knonow what's u ? this l latin amerirican familys heheaded to ththeir americican. patron: that is so c cool. annene hathaway just totalaly stooood up for t those mexici. 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