The Sitcoms of Norman Lear

by Sean Campbell

Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, Maude--the television sitcom world of the 1970s was peopled by the creations of Norman Lear. Beginning in 1971 with the premier of All in the Family , Lear's work gave sitcoms a new face and a new style. No longer were families perfect and lives in order. Mostly blue-collar workers and their families, Lear's characters argued, struggled, uttered sometimes shocking opinions and had no problem contributing to--or at least, acknowledging--the turmoil so shunned by 1960s television. Significantly, not only did Lear address difficult issues, but he did so through successful programming. Week after week, Americans tuned in to see the family adventures of the Bunkers, the Jeffersons, and Sanford and Son. With a thorough analysis of his sitcoms, this volume explores Norman Lear's memorable production career during the 1970s. It emphasizes how Lear's shows reflected the political and cultural milieu, and how they addressed societal issues including racism, child abuse and gun control. The casting, production and behind-the-screen difficulties of All in the Family, Sanford & Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time are discussed. Each show is examined from inception through series finale. Interviews with some of the actors and actresses such as Rue McClanahan of Maude and Marla Gibbs from The Jeffersons are included.

207 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Petty Lisbon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
There are times where I question the path that I've taken in my life when I'm watching Antenna TV reruns of Maude at 3:30 AM half asleep, but reading this book validated my choices. This book gives recaps of Norman Lear's shows, with interviews, behind the scenes drama, and of course, the societal impact that each show had. I'm someone who spends a lot of time reading about television (more than I watch it), but there were still plots that I didn't know about (such as the recession era plots on All in the Family and One Day at a Time).
I'm glad to learn more about The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Sanford and Son. Usually, All in the Family and Maude monopolize all of the discussion on Norman Lear's work so I appreciated learning more about how somehow The Jeffersons being more successful at commentary than Good Times (I saw that he mentioned criticism for JJ's character in Good Times, including using the shortened version of the word raccoon. I can't find any information on the author's background but I feel like if he was going to use that word, whether or not he was quoting others, he should've gotten more in depth instead of just quoting a sensitive term without context). I'm a casual viewer of 227 and I'm embarrassed to note that I never knew Marla Gibbs was on The Jeffersons. I didn't really know One Day at a Time besides the Netflix show but I was surprised to learn that it was also political (for its day). I'll try to find them on syndication somewhere.

This book was more of a history book than a sociology one. I expected this to be more like a university press criticism book at first, with specific essays rather than a general recap of each show (I guess it's time for me to submit my "The False Equivalence of Archie Bunker and Maude Findlay" essay). The casual tone was more appropriate although I feel like his writing style was low key repetitive and reminds me of trying to reach page limits in high school. "By seeing Maude complain to her local school board about closed primary elections, viewers at home would feel comforted knowing that their problems were being seen on the screen". That being said, I wish there were more books about Norman Lear/shows before peak television and this makes me imagine a time where you could be home sick and watch a marathon of Maude and then go on Television Without Pity and talk to 3 other people who were also home that day and watched the same episodes as you. I really enjoyed all the effort he put into this book, with interviews from former cast members and Norman Lear himself.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the sections on the shows I had seen, All in the Family, and Maude. This felt a bit like the lit analysis we write in school talking about what specific quotes mean and not proving much history as t to the shows themselves which is what I really wanted.

[Suzann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides great insight into the Lear shows you grew up watching.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his first book, Sean Campbell provides us with an overview of the genius of Norman Lear, the TV producer who was responsible for such ground-breaking shows as _All in the Family_, _Good Times_ and _Maude_. Chapter by chapter, Campbell takes one of Lear's monumental shows and runs through its history from conception to cancellation to examine the political issues prevalent at the time (or political debates inspired by their address on Lear's shows), the show's behind-the-scenes conflicts, and even Lear's constant battle with network execs, who were put-off by a sound as everyday as that of a flushing toilet Campbell shows a genuine interest in these programs and the creative tussles that each show underwent, and he presents these to us in a tone as accessible and inviting as the Bunker living room.

The viewpoint that Campbell maintains throughout the book is to show us the mission of Norman Lear to regard television not as mindless, but as sensible--entertainment that informs and challenges our assumptions of people and the world while amusing us. If there is indeed a Golden Age of television, Campbell makes a great case for that age to be headlined by Normal Lear. Campbell shows us how Lear challenged the rigid confines of 'appropriateness' on national airwaves. These challenges weren't to just shock or dismay the people of America, as many have bastardized the idea of artistic challenge, but to present on television the world people lived in--how they talked and what issues they were discussing--not a fantasy world where housewives happily did their chores in pearls and father (who puffed on a pipe in the living room while perusing the evening edition) always did know best. Lear clearly wanted to present actual people on television, who didn't always say or do the perfect thing, but came across as completely human in the way that neighbors or friends or relatives were human.

Campbell has good insight into this mission of Lear's and presents it with a thorough and critical perspective. The chapter on _All in the Family_ is especially insightful. The show is one that people still debate to this day, since it opened corridors of thought and action that have still to be emulated properly in television culture. He shows us how Archie Bunker could spout ignorant and hateful speech, but care deeply for his family and his own way of life. He shows us how Edith was a mixture of tame housewife but a center of compassion and wisdom, how Meathead could both yell furiously at his father-in-law and love him dearly.

But don't think that Campbell uses his first book as a mere infomercial for Norman Lear DVD sets--Campbell addresses the conflicts that occured backstage and with the networks to show that such a creative endeavor was not always easy. Lear fought with network execs, with Carroll O'Connor, and with directors. Clearly, such important work did not churn out like butter. Campbell also shows us some of Lear's failures, the shows that never quite got out of the gate, the conflicts that could even get Lear away from his own shows.

With such a broad, historical perspective, Campbell is not always able to express clearly the essence of the humor in Lear's shows, and this humor is truly one of the things that makes Lear's work immortal. Lear was able to address serious social issues with such honesty and real-to-life reflectivity that audiences were laughing not just at others but also at themselves and the world they lived in. But this is just the first offering from a young and promising writer who clearly has a lot to give to the world. Campbell has such a high level of insight and perspective that he can bring life to any subject he is drawn to tackle, and his next project will also be a joy to read.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Norman Lear and the Television shows he created should be a book every person who wants to be a sitcom producer needs to read. This book details the ups and downs of what it took to create the shows and characters that he did. Norman was a person who put into his shows what life put into him. This is what made his shows work in the beginning. He used what he knew to capture his audiences' attention. He would always push the envelop if it meant better ratings.

This book talks about each of his popular TV shows that launch him into being a top TV producer. It took guts to do what he did at that time in America but it worked. He set the stage for having so many of the shows we do today. He created shows out of characters who appeared only a few times from other sitcoms, but what he loved to do best was spin-offs, but he never liked to call them that. "The Jefferson's" all started from "All in the Family." "Good Times" came from "Maude," which came from "All in the Family."

Norman lear was successful because he brought to America's attention what people complained about in their homes - race issues, woman's equal treatment, poverty and lots more. Those kind of sitcoms wouldn't work today because there are too many divided opinions now. America didn't have the internet so the only way people really understood what people in America were thinking was by watching TV and the news. Norman capitalized on that movement.

The downfall to his work was that he then started to create shows out of just (political or social) issues. The first started in 1975 when he created Hot L Baltimore, it only lasted 13 episodes, with some calling it the beginning of the end. Lear was most popular in the 70's because he brought up issues that were never allowed on screen before. He fought the network executives almost all the time, threatening to take his success else where, which, they often gave into. No network wanted to be like ABC, who actually declined "All in the Family" in the beginning, which was originally called, "Those were the days," because it led to a decline in viewership during the same period when NBC and Lear partnered, leading to some of the highest ratings ever.

Lear knew how to create sitcoms - just find what people are complaining about in the news and talk about that. Today shows can not work on the same model because of how much information people get daily. The sitcoms of Norman Lear were simply depots of distilled news given to its viewers. It was also a way for people to understand what was happening in the news if they didn't have time to read the paper.

Shows today have taken on a new format of producing, they still look for issues to talk about but now they don't have to worry about not saying anything about women's rights or race issues. The only key to success nowadays is to find a controversial topic and spin it around a semi-family theme and people will follow but because we have more cable networks, finding the right audience is no longer a hard thing to do, as when you had to do it for only three networks at the time.

It was a very interesting and fun read and has made me go back and watch the sitcoms that started it all.

[Shant · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Apparently the author was 18 years old when he wrote this? I'm impressed/ would like to know the context, but there were parts of this book where I couldn't get past the author's age*. Like a paragraph would just end with a sentence saying 'Clearly the course of television would be on a different path without Norman Lear'. Obviously that's true, but more direct correlations would have been better. In the late 2010's/early 2020's, for example, with the Comedy categories of the Emmy's having a lot more dramatic performances awarded, would that be attributed to these shows?

It sounds like he interviewed the cast on his own, which is impressive, but I would like to know more about the process.

I liked the Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, and misc. shows chapters. I never heard of Hot L. Baltimore.

*Checking the acknowledgements, he said he started writing this book 3 years before the release date. I can't find more information on him on Google, so I'm leaving with more questions than answers.

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Thoughtful & Engaging Overview Of A Television Master....