Unpacking the Bold Humor of All in the Family: What Made It So Controversial?

Sally Struthers was next to get her own All in the Family spinoff as Gloria Bunker Stivic, Archie and Edith’s daughter. She reprised her role several times on Archie Bunker’s Place and then took center stage on Gloria, the last series to focus on a member of the Bunker family. The series began after a backdoor pilot on Archie Bunker’s Place called “Gloria: The First Day.” Gloria and Mike are no longer together, so Gloria and her son, Joey, leave California and go home to New York. Gloria works as the assistant to two veterinarians.

The 1970s sitcom All in the Family is one of the most iconic ever, following Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) and his family as they go through life. Archie is known for having very strong opinions that are considered offensive today.

One of the key themes of All in the Family was race relations, as was exemplified by the relationship between Archie and his neighbor George Jefferson. The second spinoff of All in the Family was Good Times, and it did even more to bring the lived experience of Black Americans to households across 1970s America (although, technically, it was a spinoff of Maude).

Florida Evans (Esther Rolle) was Maude Findlay’s maid in Tuckahoe, New York, and Good Times moved on to develop Florida’s life with her family in Chicago. They live in a public housing project and struggle to get by at times.’

While Florida’s husband on Maude was a firefighter named Henry (John Amos), her husband on Good Times was James, a hard worker often taking on multiple jobs to support the family. Amos continued in the role of James until the character’s death. Florida and James have three children: J.J., Michael, and Thelma. Another interesting connection of the sitcom universe is that Mike Evans (who played Lionel Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons) created Good Times with Eric Monte. Just like Maude, Good Times lasted for 6 seasons, although had slightly fewer episodes at 131.’

While Good Times was a spinoff of Maude, it did use the All in the Family universe to shed light on the experience of Black Americans at a time when it was almost controversial to do so. The next spinoff, The Jeffersons, did the same, though was drawn directly from characters in All in the Family (and was arguably much more successful than Good Times). The parent show would have been completely different without the Jefferson family in the neighborhood, and so it’s no surprise that they got their own spinoff.

Although Archie and George (Sherman Hemsley) argue a lot, Louise Jefferson (Isabel Sanford) is a dear friend to Edith Bunker, and it’s hard for the two to say goodbye when the Jeffersons move away. George owns a profitable dry-cleaning chain, so he and the family move to a nice apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City in a backdoor pilot on All in the Family. On their own show, the Jeffersons interact with new friends and neighbors while inhabiting a new lifestyle.

The Jeffersons was one of the longest-running broadcast sitcoms, lasting an impressive 11 seasons consisting of 253 episodes. It’s one of the few All in the Family spinoffs that was arguably more successful than the original show, and had an equally impactful cultural legacy. Unfortunately this didn’t translate to awards success in quite the same way, though it could be argued this was also due to prejudices at the time — prejudices that The Jeffersons was actively trying to combat.

While many of the shows connected to All in the Family did extraordinarily well, Checking In only lasted for four episodes. The show was a spin-off of The Jeffersons, though it managed to capture none of the charm and appeal of it’s parent show or any of the other All in the Family spinoffs like Maude or Good Times. Low ratings were given as the reason for Checking In’s cancelation.

As with Maude and Good Times, the main character of the new series was a maid on her previous series. Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs) worked for the Jefferson family on their show, but Checking In focused on her life as the executive housekeeper of the St. Frederick Hotel in New York City. Florence Johnson returned to The Jeffersons after Checking In ended. When Florence returned to her original show, it was explained that the St. Frederick Hotel had burned down.

All in the Family took a leaf out of its own book and spawned yet another sitcom after the series ended. Archie Bunker’s Place started out with both Archie and Edith, but Jean Stapleton left the show and was killed off shortly after the series began. Unlike the other All in the Family spin-offs, Archie Bunker’s Place was a direct continuation of the parent show, and was something of a sequel of sorts (though this unfortunately didn’t make it as popular as All in the Family, or other spinoffs like The Jeffersons and Maude).

Even before All in the Family ended, Stapleton expressed a desire to distance herself from the role of Edith. Edith’s death in the context of the spin-off made Archie a widow, and though he missed Edith terribly, he continued on with his pub and focused on taking care of Edith’s young relative, Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois). Archie Bunker’s Place extended Archie’s role to over twelve years on television.

Gloria (1982-1983)

Another Short-Lived All In The Family Spinoff