It was not a “sunshine day” for these ill-fated continuations of America’s most enduring sitcom. Here are the Brady Bunch spinoffs that didn’t experience the same level of success as the original show.
The Brady Bunch was not a massive hit when it first aired from 1969 to 1974. It never hit the Nielsen Top 30, but it did resonate with kids and teenagers. That cult appeal made it a favorite in reruns, where it’s never stopped airing somewhere in the U.S. It’s been so popular after the fact that the show has spawned a number of spinoffs…and almost all of them are way weirder than the fact that six Brady kids shared one bathroom that didn’t even have a toilet.
The Brady Kids
All six Brady child actors provided their own voices for this bizarre Saturday morning cartoon show. The parents and Alice were gone, but assisting the Bradys in their adventures through space and time (literally) were a talking bird named Marlon, a talking dog named Mop Top, and pandas named Ping and Pong. It aired for over a year (1972-73).
The Brady Bunch Hour
A garish, glitzy, star-studded 1970s-style variety show…hosted by the cast of The Brady Bunch…in character. (Well, almost everyone. Eve Plumb refused to reprise her role as Jan and was replaced with another actress.) A swimming pool was the centerpiece of the set, and not so surprisingly, a Brady ended up in that pool in every episode.
The Brady Brides
After huge ratings for a 1981 TV movie called The Brady Girls Get Married, in which Jan and Marcia marry their boyfriends in a double wedding at home, ABC commissioned this series. Jan and Marcia, and their husbands, all lived in one house together because they couldn’t afford to live separately. It lasted only six episodes.
The Bradys
In 1990, CBS debuted The Bradys—a serious drama about the six Brady kids all grown up, with shockingly serious problems. For example, Bobby had been paralyzed in a car accident, Peter is in an abusive relationship, Jan and her husband can’t conceive a baby, and Marcia has a drinking problem. It was cancelled after just six episodes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLAy9GePhMs
The Brady Bunch in the White House
After two ironic, tongue-in-cheek theatrical Brady movies, the third film entry aired on Fox over Thanksgiving weekend in 2002. Mike Brady (Gary Cole) tries to return a winning lottery ticket to its rightful owner, a death row inmate. His honesty impresses the president of the United States, who asks Mike to be his running mate. After the corrupt president resigns…Mike Brady becomes the most powerful man in the free world.
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