Classic American sitcoms dating from the '70s might get their modern reboot. It was revealed that Sony Pictures is planning to do miniseries remakes of Norman Lear sitcoms including "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," "Good Times" and "Maude."
Lear and Sony are discussing to repackage the said sitcoms into short, six-episode anthologies. New actors will recreate the scenes from the classic shows from an original script.
"We're exploring it," Sony EVP for comedy development, Glenn Adilman, said according to Variety. "It's tricky for a lot of reasons, and it's something we're exploring," he added.
The discussion emerged with the premiere of Lear's '80s sitcom, "One Day at a Time," on Jan. 6 on Netflix. The story follows a single mother who works hard to raise her to children.
"There is a possibility that we'll do 'All in the Family,' 'Maude,' 'The Jeffersons,' 'Good Times,'" Lear said. For millennials who got no idea how these sitcoms are all about, here are some brief introductions:
'All In The Family' (1971-1979)
"All in the Family" is one of the greatest American television shows of all time and was consistent no. 1 in Nielsen yearly ratings during its original release. Does the title ring the bell? "All in the Family" follows the story of an ordinary working, class family. Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) aka "lovable bigot" is a very prejudiced World War II veteran, currently a blue collar worker who hates everyone who doesn't like his ideas and viewpoints.
He has an understanding wife, "dingbat" Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton), who is miraculously able to deal with Archie's stubbornness, but is somehow naïve. Their daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers), is kind like her mother but also inherited her father's stubbornness. She serves as the referee when Archie and Michael Stivic (Gloria's husband portrayed by Rob Reiner) get into silly arguments.
'Maude' (1972-1978)
A spin-off of "All in the Family" featuring Edith's cousin, Maude Findlay (Beatrice Arthur). However, opposite of Edith, Maude is a feminist, politically liberal woman. She is very outspoken and is not afraid to speak her mind. She has been married four times, the first one died while she divorced the other two.
She lives with her current husband, Walter Findlay (Bill Macy), who owns an appliance store and her daughter from her first marriage, Carol Traynor (Adrienne Barbeau), a single mother. Carol has the reputation of dating many men and often clashes with her mother.
'The Jeffersons' (1975-1985)
It's one of the longest-running sitcoms in American television -- well, it aired for a decade. It is another spin-off of "All in the Family" featuring an African-American couple, George (Sherman Hemsley) and Louise Jefferson (Isabel Sanford), former neighbors of the Bunkers. The show is known for its reference to issues such as racism, alcoholism, gun control suicide, and adult illiteracy.
After their success in the dry cleaning business, the Jeffersons moved to a luxury apartment in Manhattan. The sitcom follows their daily interaction with their new neighbors. A common gag in the show is George slamming the door while in the middle of conversation with Harry Bentley (Paul Benedict), a friendly but somehow dimwitted British neighbor who works as an interpreter at the United Nations.
'Good Times' (1974-1979)
A spin-off of "Maude" (which also makes it a spin-off of "All in the Family"). The show follows the Evans family. Florida (Esther Rolle) and James Evans (John Amos) live with their three children in a poor, black neighborhood in inner Chicago. The main goal of the show is to deal with serious issues such as poverty in a comedic way, but later it focused more on James Evan Jr. aka JJ's comedic antics.
Florida works as Maude's housekeeper, while James usually juggles manual labor such as being a construction laborer, dishwasher and more. But despite their situation, James is prideful and does not accept charity. Sometimes, he is unemployed and hustles money by playing pool.
