All In The Family (Pilot Episode 1971)
All In The Family ran for 9 seasons on CBS
Let’s go back to 1971
A show that went where others had not gone. It would rule the ratings and award shows throughout its run. While the show was a blip on the radar in its first season. It would become the first show to ever top Nielsen’s ratings for five consecutive years.
Produced by Norman Lear, the show was based on the British sitcom “Till Death Us Do Part.” The show starred Carroll O’Connor, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, and Rob Reiner. The show revolves around the life of a working-class father and his family. The show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously considered unsuitable for a U.S. network television comedy, such as racism, antisemitism, infidelity, homosexuality, women’s liberation, rape, religion, miscarriages, abortion, breast cancer, the Vietnam War, menopause, and impotence. Through depicting these controversial issues, the series became arguably one of television’s most influential comedic programs, as it injected the sitcom format with more dramatic moments and realistic, topical conflicts. Others like Maude and Good Times would come after to push the envelope even further.
There were many pilots filmed for the show before it actually made it on the air with a “go” from the network. Below you can watch one of those pilots from 1968. You’ll notice some different people playing different characters too.
The show would spin off other successful, ground-breaking sitcoms including The Jeffersons, Maude, Good Times, Archie Bunker’s Place, Gloria and more.
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Source: Sal Amato
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