You would never want to hang out with Caroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker from “All in the Family” in real life. Still, golly if it wasn’t enjoyable watching the cantankerous, intolerant family man butt heads with his outspoken progressive son-in-law Michael (Rob “The Meathead” Reiner himself) and his loving but equally liberal and often flustered daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), all while being doted on by his seemingly naive wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), who was really far wiser than Archie ever gave her credit for. Across nine seasons, audiences tuned in time and time again to watch Archie get his comeuppance, only to learn his lesson (or, more often than not, stubbornly refuse to) on Norman Lear’s trailblazing 1970s sitcom.
Looking back in the wake of Lear’s passing at the ripe old age of 101, it’s all the easier to appreciate just how important “All in the Family” was to the evolution of the sitcom. When it premiered on CBS in January of 1971, the network’s nightly lineup included “Green Acres” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.” These broad farces had their charms, of course, but their premises hinged on cultural clashes that provoked laughter without any deeper introspection. “All in the Family,” on the other hand, addressed real-world topics that were strictly forbidden in U.S. comedy series up until that point, from the political turmoil of the Nixon era to the systematic prejudices facing anyone who wasn’t a white, straight, cisgender man.
These qualities have kept “All in the Family” timeless in the decades since it went off the air, making it primed for a revisit (goodness knows Archie himself behaves like the clowns who love carrying on about “wokeness” and “cancel culture” online these days). But where can you watch it? And what about the show’s myriad spin-offs? Allow us to help.
“All in the Family: The Complete Series” is available to purchase on DVD from outlets like Amazon and Walmart online, as are the show’s individual seasons (although those are more difficult to come by). Alternatively, those who wish to stream the show may do so at no added charge on Prime Video’s ad-supported counterpart Freevee. All nine seasons are similarly available to stream on Apple TV, although you’ll have to pay a fee to check them out there. As always, we would encourage you to pick up a hard copy of the series if you’re so inclined, lest you risk finding yourself only partway through streaming the show when it’s suddenly removed from your platform of choice.
If you’re a hardcore completionist, you may also want to check out the show’s various spin-offs, including “Maude” (which centers on Edith’s cousin Maude Findlay), “The Jeffersons” (a sitcom about the Bunkers’ Black one-time next-door neighbors), “Archie Bunker’s Place” (itself more of a sequel series about Archie managing the tavern he bought on “All in the Family”), “Gloria” (a show about a now-divorced Gloria and her son), and “704 Hauser” (a series about a family living in the Bunkers’ former house). Admittedly, these series are pretty scattered across the internet and rarely available in their entirety, but you can find episodes and behind-the-scenes material from most of them on the official Norman Lear YouTube channel.
(You can also check out illegal uploads for many of their episodes on YouTube — we promise we won’t tell if you do!)
