The American family has been reflected in television sitcoms for the last seven decades. The very first situation comedy was Mary Kay and Johnny, about real-life married couple John Stearns and his zany, unpredictable wife, Mary Kay Stearns. After its debut in 1947 on the DuMont Television Network, many other sitcoms, like I Love Lucy, followed the same format.
But at a certain point, as television viewership grew, audiences craved more diversity in their TV families. America is a melting pot, and viewers wanted the characters and storylines they saw on TV to reflect their own families and experiences, not just the white, upper-class, heterosexual one.
Today we’re seeing a lot more diversity on the small screen. From a Taiwanese family to a show about a teen with cerebral palsy, sitcoms are starting to look more like the real America. But that doesn’t mean TV sitcoms are completely inclusive — yet. Could we see a sitcom about a Native American or a family dealing with autism one day? We hope so.
This slideshow takes a look at the evolution of sitcoms and how they’ve adapted to a changing America over the years.
‘I Love Lucy’
1951 – 1957
In the 1950s, Hollywood censors didn’t allow characters to discuss sensitive matters like pregnancy, even if they were married in real life. When Lucille Ball became pregnant, she included the pregnancy in the show. To refer to her condition, the characters simply said she was “expecting.” The title of the episode in which Lucy reveals she’s with child was called “Lucy is Enceinte,” which made use of the French word for “pregnant.” Today, shows feature pregnant actresses all the time, but a bigger challenge is when the character isn’t supposed to be pregnant and the director has to find crafty ways to hide the baby bump. You’ve come a long way, baby.
‘The Honeymooners’
1955 – 1956
This show depicted a blue-collar, cantankerous couple in a lower-class part of New York. Television was fairly new, and the comedy derived from the bickering between Alice (Audrey Meadows) and Ralph (Jackie Gleason) was thought to be pretty edgy at the time. The famous catchphrase “to the moon, Alice” implied that Ralph would smack her so hard it would send her to the moon. Times have certainly changed, because domestic violence would never be considered a joke on a TV show today.
‘Leave It to Beaver’
1957 – 1963
Running for six seasons, the Cleavers became the stereotypical all-American family: white, middle class, with a stay-at-home mom. Though the show reflects a simpler time and lacks diversity, audiences enjoyed this idyllic American family, particularly Beaver’s (Jerry Mathers) goofy grin and boyish antics.
‘The Brady Bunch’
1969 – 1974
Though the show never enjoyed critical success, no TV family is more iconic than the Bradys. Yes, they are white, wholesome and privileged, but they did do one radical thing — portray a blended family, reflecting the changing structure of American families, where divorce was becoming commonplace.
‘All in the Family’
1971 – 1979
Nixon was president, the Vietnam War was still going on, and civil rights became a national topic when this show debuted in 1971. Families were struggling and wanted to see themselves on television. Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), a cranky bigot, represented the older, white generation who didn’t like all the changes that were happening in society. Conversations between Archie and his feminist daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers), were explosive — and very relatable to the viewers. For the first time on TV, we saw a family trying to cope with a big, ideological divide. Not only did it reflect the times, but it was incredibly funny.
‘Good Times’
1974 – 1979
For the very first time, a TV show depicted life in the projects of South Side Chicago. The Evanses were African-American and dealing with poverty and crime, but it wasn’t without controversy. Black Panther activists approached the show’s creator, Norman Lear, asking why black people had to be depicted as poor. They felt the show reinforced negative stereotypes and didn’t give the black community any hope that things will get better. Lear wisely listened to their complaints and created the show The Jeffersons, about a wealthy African-American family, in response.
‘Happy Days’
1974 – 1984
Set in 1950s suburbia, the show took viewers back to a simpler time while creating iconic characters like The Fonz (Henry Winkler) and Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard). Though the show isn’t known for representing diversity, it did introduce us to a member of an alien species, Mork from Ork (Robin Williams). Mork went on to have his own show, Mork and Mindy, in 1978.
‘Family Ties’
1982 – 1989
Family Ties portrayed two hippie parents, Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse Keaton (Meredith Baxter), as they struggle to raise their kids in the socially conservative Reagan era that valued wealth and luxury over social work. With Steven and Elyse constantly butting heads with their son Alex (Michael J. Fox), who represented the yuppie point of view, the show accurately portrayed the social rift between the liberal mindset of the ’60s and the pursuit of money and status by the younger generation in the ’80s. Ronald Reagan himself declared Family Ties his favorite show.
‘The Cosby Show’
1984 – 1992
Whatever opinion you hold of Bill Cosby, there’s no denying that The Cosby Show was incredibly successful in blasting negative stereotypes for African-American families. Premiering in 1984, the Huxtables transcended every previous black TV family by displaying wealth and stressing the importance of education and the preservation of family values. And it was funny. The show altered the landscape of television, revived the sitcom as a successful genre, and some even credit The Cosby Show as an asset to Barack Obama’s rise to the presidency.
‘Married…with Children’
1987 – 1997
This show came about as a reaction to so-called “perfect” sitcom families, like those in The Cosby Show and Happy Days. The Bundys were a parody of the American family, often referred to as the “anti-family” because they were so petty and dysfunctional and lacked ambition. By creating such crass and lewd characters, the show was able to deal with taboo topics like women’s menstrual periods and the consequences of bad parenting. Though many people considered the show to be “trash television,” it became incredibly popular due to its offbeat and hilarious take on a “white-trash” family.
‘Roseanne’
1988 – 1997
For nearly a decade we got to spend time with Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) and her blue-collar family hilariously trying to make ends meet. Loud, large, sometimes obnoxious, but always brutally honest, Roseanne could cut through the crap and really portray what life was like in a lower-class, Midwestern town. As a comedian, Barr was rough and raw but paved the way for plus-size actresses like Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson.
‘The Simpsons’
1989 – present
America loves this cartoon family, mostly because of how relatable the characters are and the fact that they never age. Bart (Nancy Cartwright) represents our mischievous self, Lisa (Yeardley Smith) is the voice of reason, and Homer is that poor decision-making clod who values beer over anything else. This is a dysfunctional family at its funniest, and animation allows the show to explore topics that would be too controversial if live actors were dealing with them.
‘Modern Family’
2009 – present
Reflected in the title of the show, Modern Family portrays various iterations of the American family as it exists today. In addition to the traditional nuclear family of the Dunphys, there is Jay (Ed O’Neill), who’s remarried to a much younger Latina, Gloria (Sofia Vergara), and helping to raise her son from a previous marriage. Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) are in a same-sex marriage and raising their adopted Asian daughter, adding to the diversity. In addition, the show has recently cast transgender child actor Jackson Millarker. The show is multicultural and inclusive of the LGBT community, which may have helped the legalization of gay marriage by showing an openly gay couple in a positive light. According to a 2012 poll taken by the The Hollywood Reporter, “27 percent of likely voters said that depictions of gay characters on TV made them more pro-gay marriage, and there are news accounts of people crediting their newfound sympathy toward gay people to Modern Family.”
‘Black-ish’
2014 – present
In the era of the Black Lives Matter movement, Black-ish has become an important show for its ability to explore racism in America while speaking to a multi-ethnic audience through honesty and humor. Anthony Anderson stars as patriarch Dre Johnson, as he and his family deal with topics like police brutality and racial identity. The show is also groundbreaking behind the scenes because of its inclusion of non-white and female writers and crew.
‘Transparent’
2014 – present
Jeffrey Tambor mixes pain and humility into his performance as Maura, the patriarch of the Pfefferman family who became the matriarch. This is perhaps the most cutting-edge show out there because it portrays the challenges the entire family faces when a parent is transgender. Smart, heartfelt and sometimes raw, this TV family has come a long way from the Cleavers.
‘Fresh Off the Boat’
2015 – present
Based on the childhood of real-life restaurateur and TV host Eddie Huang, the show features an Asian-American family trying to retain their culture as they assimilate into a very white community in central Florida. The show reflects the growing Asian-American population who are becoming more affluent every year. Constance Wu plays Eddie’s mother, Jessica, a tiger mom who steals every scene with her sharp wit and toughness. Fresh off the Boat will be entering its third season.
‘Speechless’
2016 – ?
One group that is very underrepresented on TV is those with special needs. Actor Micah Fowler, who has cerebral palsy in real life, plays JJ DiMeo, a wheelchair-bound teen who lacks the ability to speak due to his own severe form of the same disease. Fowler is the first special-needs actor to star in a TV show since Chris Burke starred as Corky in Life Goes On in 1989. This show is a milestone for diversity in pop culture because it reflects the many American families dealing with their own family members with special needs.
‘American Housewife’
2016 – ?
Originally called The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport, American Housewife stars Katy Mixon as a plus-size matriarch raising her flawed family while dealing with the pressure to be as perfect as the other moms in her upscale town. Mixon is adorable at any weight, but it’s nice to see a “real”-looking wife and mother be represented on television instead of most super-skinny TV moms, like Claire (Julie Bowen) from Modern Family. American Housewife premieres Oct. 11.
Leave a Comment