The TV Shows of Norman Lear, ‘All in the Family’ to ‘Live Before a Studio Audience’: A Complete Guide

‘The Deputy’ (1959 to 1961)

Over a decade before All in the Family, Norman and Roland Kibbee created this Western. Allen Case is Deputy Clay McCord, actually a storekeeper in 1880’s Silver City, Arizona Territories, who, when necessary, tries to keep the peace at the insistence of Chief Marshal Simon Fry (Henry Fonda), though he doesn’t believe in gun violence and refuses to use his weapon.

‘All in the Family’ (1971 to 1979)

It’s the Bunkers and the Stivics, and the TV show that drew a line in the creative sand of what television was and what it could be. The concept pit conservative bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) against his liberal son-in-law, Mike “Meathead” Stivic (future director Rob Reiner), setting the stage for back and forth arguments between them that covered a wide variety of social issues, among them women’s rights, the Vietnam War, homosexuality, rape, religion, menopause, abortion and so much more. Stuck between them is Archie’s “dingbat” (his nickname, not ours) wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) and their daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers), who’s married to the Meathead and lives in the Bunker household. Over the course of the series, the characters experienced and went through a lot, including Archie who evolved from an offensive bigot to a somewhat lovable guy who had lived what he learned but was genuinely changing. Gradually. Developed by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin.

‘Sanford and Son’ (1972-1977)

Another example of the sitcom maturing in the 1970s and a huge hit for NBC. Redd Foxx is Fred Sanford and Demond Wilson is his son, Lamont — both of them living and working out of the family junkyard. Developed by Norman, many considered it to be the network’s own version of All in the Family, which isn’t unreasonable considering the issues dealt with, albeit comically. Developed by Norman and Bud Yorkin.

‘Maude’ (1972 to 1978)

Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin worked their creative magic again in this first spin-off from All in the Family. Bea Arthur had played Maude Findlay, cousin of Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton), on two episodes of that show, and made such an impression that she got her own series. Pure liberal, the show follows the character’s tackling issues of the day. Co-starring are Bill Macy as her husband, Walter, and Adrienne Barbeau as their daughter, Carol.

‘Good Times’ (1974-1979)

Good Times is credited as being the first sitcom to feature a two-parent African American family. On top of that, it’s a spin-off of Maude, which was a spin-off of All in the Family. John Amos and Esther Rolle lead the Evans family, who struggle each day just to get by — by they do it with a mix of laughs and drama. Things got a little lighter once Jimmie Walker‘s J.J. (and his catchphrase, “Dy-no-mite!”) took off. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans, developed by Norman Lear.

‘The Jeffersons’ (1975 to 1985)

George and Louise “Weezy” Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford) moved on up (to the East Side) and away from their former neighbors, the Bunkers of All in the Family. In some ways, George was something of a mirror reflection of Archie Bunker, only his racism was used against whites. Created by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, developed by Norman Lear.

‘Hot L Baltimore’ (1975)

Developed by Norman Lear, this show was an adaptation of the Off-Broadway play by Lanford Wilson. The setting is the fictional Hotel Baltimore (the “e” is out on the neon sign, hence the title). Controversial from the start — literally, each episode began with a disclaimer regarding adult content. The reason? The assorted (and, in some occasions, sordid) characters the show centered on. Among the regulars were a pair of prostitutes (one of which was also an illegal immigrant) and TV’s first gay couple. Lasting only 13 episodes, this was considered Norman’s first TV failure.

‘One Day at a Time’ (1975 to 1984)

This comedy (including a nice helping of drama) is about the divorced Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) doing her best to raise daughters Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli) and Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) on her own, and her dealing with the challenges of doing so.

‘All’s Fair’ (1976 to 1977)

Richard Crenna plays conservative columnist Richard C. Barrington, who finds himself involved romantically with the much younger Charlotte (Charley) Drake, played by Bernadette Peters, who’s a liberal photographer. The conflict of their age and, naturally, politics, fuels the series. Created by Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf and Rod Parker, and developed by Norman Lear.

‘The Dumplings’ (1976)

The approach, unlike many of Norman’s previous shows, seems a lot softer, the humor more of a self-deprecating kind coming from James Coco and Geraldine Brooks as overweight married couple Joe and Angela Dumpling. They run a luncheonette on the ground floor of a Manhattan skyscraper and the majority of the laughs are provided by “fat jokes” as they interact with customers. The show lasted 11 episodes. Created by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, developed by Norman.

‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’ (1976 to 1977)

This take-off on soap operas aired every weeknight in syndication from January 1976 to May 1977. Louise Lasser plays the title character, a small-town housewife who is desperately trying to understand the strange and violent situations that are taking place around her. Created by Gail Parent, Ann Marcus, Jerry Adelman and Daniel Gregory Brown, developed by Norman.

‘The Nancy Walker Show’ (1976)

Thanks to her appearances on both McMillan & Wife and Rhoda (playing the title character’s mother), Nancy Walker is Nancy Kitteridge, owner of a Los Angeles talent agency. The cast also includes William Daniels, William Schallert and James Cromwell. Created by Norman Lear and Rod Parker.

‘All That Glitters’ (1977)

A spoof of soap operas, the focus is on the executives of the Globatron Corporation, though the twist Norman provides is that in this world females are decidedly the stronger sex, while the males were the secretaries or parents staying home with the kids. A strong cast consisting of Eileen Brennan, Greg Evigan, Gary Sandy and Jessica Walter. Linda Gray was cast as TV’s first transgender character, a fashion model. The show lasted 65 episodes. Created by Norman Lear.

‘A Year at the Top’ (1977)

This is different for a Norman Lear-produced show: a pair of aspiring rock and rollers (Greg Evigan  and Paul Shaffer) head to Hollywood from Idaho and hook up with a promoter (Gabriel Dell), who guarantees them a year at the top — if they’ll hand over their souls after that time. Turns out that this guy is the son of the devil. Created by Heywood King, with Norman Lear serving as executive producer.

‘Fernwood Tonight’ (1977)

A summer replacement series for Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, this was a spoof of talk shows with Martin Mull playing host Barth Gimble, with Fred Willard as his sidekick, Jerry Hubbard. The show aired weeknights in Mary Hartman‘s timeslot and lasted 65 episodes. In its second season (which aired between April and July 1978), it became America 2-Night, with their talk show relocating to Southern California, thus making it logical that they could have more celebrity guests. Created by Norman Lear.

‘Sanford Arms’ (1977)

Starring neither Redd Foxx or Demond Wilson, this spin-off introduced a new character played by Teddy Wilson, who took over the Sanfords’ property and ran the rooming house next door. Eight episodes were produced, but only four were originally aired. Developed by Norman Lear.

‘Apple Pie’ (1978)

During the Great Depression, to cheer herself up hairdresser Ginger-Neil Hollyhock (Rue McClanahan) puts out a number of newspaper ads to bring together a fake family for no other reason than the hoped-for laughs. In response, she gets a con-man husband (Dabney Coleman‘s Fast Eddie Murtaugh), a blind grandfather (Jack Gilford’s Grandpa Hollyhock),  tap-dancing daughter Anna Marie Hollyhock (Caitlin O’Heaney) and, finally, a son that wants to fly like a bird (Derrel Maury‘s Junior Hollyhock). Two of the eight episodes produced actually aired. Created by Norman Lear.

‘In the Beginning’ (1978)

Thrust two people with opposing views up against each other and you’ve got the ingredients of a Norman Lear show. In this case, McLean Stevenson is conservative priest Father Cleary with Priscilla Lopez as streetwise nun Sister Agnes, the two of them working in a Baltimore ghetto mission. Five of the nine produced episodes aired. Created by Norman Lear, Jim Mulligan and Norman Steinberg.

‘The Baxters’ (1979 to 1980)

Norman became a part of this show in the midst of its run and took it in new directions. Once again, you cannot deny the uniqueness of a Lear-produced series. This time it was described as an “interactive sitcom,” which Wikipedia explains as follows: “The first half of each episode [was] a vignette featuring the Baxter family and presenting a situation or dilemma they faced, and the second half [was] an ‘instant’ analysis talk-show format, giving a live studio audience and guests a chance to talk about the topic being presented.” On top of that, any of the stations that carried the show through syndication had the option to produce their own segments of discussion. Have you ever seen that before? This one had 50 episodes.

‘Mr. Dugan’ (1979; Unaired)

Trying to punch up Maude, Norman came up with the idea in 1978 for the show to shift locale to Washington, DC, with Bea Arthur’s character becoming a congresswoman. Two episodes were filmed, but then Bea decided she wanted out. Still having faith in the concept, he used the script for a new show called Onward and Upward with Good Times‘ John Amos in the role of a football star running for the U.S. Congress. Then a falling out between the actor and producers resulted in him leaving. Blazing Saddles star Cleavon Little was brought in as a new congressman and the show’s named was changed to Mr. Dugan. Three episodes were shot and the show canceled before it even hit the air. Created by Norman Lear.

‘Hanging In’ (1979)

The concept of Mr. Dugan was reworked again, this time with Maude‘s Bill Macy as former pro football player Lou Harper, who is now president of the fictional Braddock University. Four episodes aired.

‘Palmerstown, USA’ (1980 to 1981)

Co-created by Norman and Roots author Alex Haley (whose childhood inspired it), it’s about two nine-year boys in Palmerstown, a rural Southern community, during the Great Depression. The conflict comes from the fact that one of them is black, the other white.

‘a.k.a. Pablo’ (1984)

Paul Rodriguez is Paul Rivera, a struggling stand-up comic who struggles with his comedy and the fact that his Mexican American family finds his ethnic humor offensive. The idea of the show is that it would show Paul’s rise in his career while balancing success with the relationship with his family. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see much of that as only six episodes were produced. Created by Norman Lear and Rick Mitz.

‘Sunday Dinner’ (1991)

Taking several years off from television, Norman returned with this show about the growing romance of 56-year-old businessman Ben Benedict (Robert Loggia) and 30-year old lawyer Thelma Todd “TT” Fagori (Teri Hatcher). Their age difference fuels much of the conflict of the show, but tensions also came from his family members determined to undermine their relationship. Norman used the show as an opportunity to explore societal issues much as All in the Family had. Again, this one only went six episodes.

‘The Powers That Be’ (1992 to 1993)

This show takes on the world of politics, the main character being John Forsythe’s senator William Powers and the rest being his family and staff. And what a cast: Holland Taylor as his wife, Margaret; Eve Gordon as William’s chief of staff and mistress; Peter MacNicol as press secretary Bradley Grist; Valerie Mahaffey as Bill and Margaret’s daughter, Caitlyn; David Hyde Pierce as her suicidal husband, Theodore Van Horne, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as their son, Pierce. The show spanned two seasons with a total of 21 episodes. Created by Friends‘ David Crane and Marta Kaufman, with Norman serving as executive producer.

‘704 Hauser’ (1994)

Of all the shows explored here, 704 Hauser is the one that might have been the most interesting to watch evolve. It has the African American Cumberbatch family moving into the former home of Archie and Edith Bunker. John Amos was Ernie, Lynne Godfrey his wife, Rose; T.E. Russell as their live-at-home son “Goodie,” the latter of whom is dating a white Jewish conservative activist named Cheryl Merkowitz (Maura Tierney). Flipping the script from All in the Family, Ernie and Rose are working class Democrats who butt heads with Goodie and Cheryl. According to Norman, the idea for the show came to him in the aftermath of the rise of conservative talk radio, which suggested that the time was right to start addressing some serious issues. Once again, only six episodes were produced, with one of them not airing.

‘One Day at a Time’ (2017-)

A successful revival of the Bonnie Franklin-led series from the 1970s, this take looks at the struggles of a Cuban-American family living in Los Angeles’ Echo Park. Justina Machado is Army veteran Penelope Francisca de Alvarez, who, while coping with PTSD, is raising her kids and has her mother (played by Rita Moreno) living with them. Heavy subjects are dealt with, among them sexism, immigration, mental illness, homophobia and racism against Latinos. The show started on Netflix, was canceled after two seasons, but picked up by Pop and TVLand. Season four recently debuted. Developed by Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce, with Norman serving as executive produer.

‘Live in Front of a Studio Audience’ (2019)

It seems like the perfect bookend to Norman Lear’s career (at least so far!), a pair of specials under the title Live in Front of a Studio Audience, which have presented live recreations of Lear classics. The first, airing on May 22, 2019, featured classic episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons, cast with actors like Woody Harrelson (Archie Bunker), Marisa Tomei (Edith), Jamie Foxx (George Jefferson) and Wanda Sykes (Louise). The ratings were phenomenal, so a second special aired December 18, 2019. That one featured another episode of All in the Family and one of Good Times, with Andre Braugher (James Evans, Sr.), Viola Davis (Florida ), Tiffany Hadish (Willona Woods) and Jay Pharoah (James “J.J.” Evans, Jr.).

The second special a success as well, there will be more on the way. Perhaps the most applaudable aspect of both of them is that they showcase the power of Norman’s original creations and, as dated as they may seem on the surface in terms of subject matter, the craftsmanship — not to mention genuine laughs — of good writing.