Family (1976 TV series)

Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from March 9, 1976 to June 25, 1980. It was conceived as a six-episode limited series, but initial high ratings led to the production of 86 weekly episodes. Creative control of the show was split among executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols.

Overview
Family depicted what was, for its time, a contemporary traditional family with realistic, believable characters. The show starred Sada Thompson and James Broderick as Kate and Doug Lawrence, an upper-middle-class couple living at 1230 Holland Street in Pasadena, California, with their three children: Nancy (portrayed by Elayne Heilveil in the original miniseries, then by Meredith Baxter Birney), Willie (Gary Frank), and Letitia, nicknamed "Buddy" (Kristy McNichol). Their fourth child, Timmy, died five years before the first season, at age 10, in a boating accident.

Family raised the profiles of all its main actors. In particular, it catapulted Kristy McNichol and Meredith Baxter Birney to stardom.


 * Kate is practical and rational. She is motivated to do what is right, even if it makes her unpopular ("Jury Duty"). A full-time homemaker, she resents people telling her she could have attained more in life ("Home Movie"). After expressing frustration with the monotony of her existence, she returns to college as a music major and joins the faculty at Buddy's high school in season 4.
 * Doug is a calm, steadfast attorney who aspires to be a judge. He listens to and values his wife (although they grapple with issues such as Doug's past infidelity and occasional workaholism) and always makes time for his children.
 * Willie is an aspiring writer. He secures his parents' permission to drop out of high school to write a screenplay; he later earns his GED. Willie pursues work, assisting in a photography studio, an advertising agency, and at a TV show called "The Dame Game." His frequent romantic affairs drove many of the episodes involving his character.
 * Younger daughter Buddy (Letitia) is a tomboy, although she sometimes considers adopting a more feminine appearance ("Coming of Age"). She is a loyal friend, compassionate toward others, and well-liked by her classmates. She has a habit of walking into a room where adults are discussing something confidential and demanding to know what is transpiring. She usually seeks her mother's help when faced with a dilemma. Kate often calls her by the nickname "Tizzylish." Buddy is also very close with older brother Willie, who calls her "Peaches".
 * In the pilot, eldest daughter Nancy Lawrence Maitland catches her husband, Jeff Maitland (recurring guest star John Rubinstein) in bed with another woman. They divorce between seasons one and two. Nancy moves into the family guesthouse with her young son, Timmy (Michael and David Shackelford) and enrolls in law school.
 * In season 4, eleven-year-old Andrea "Annie" Cooper (Quinn Cummings) is adopted by the family after her biological parents, Kate and Doug's college friends, are killed in a car accident. Annie excels academically and strives to fit in with her new family and classmates at school, not always with success.

Storylines were often topical. In the first episode, Nancy walks in on her husband Jeff having sex with one of her friends. Other storylines include Kate's possible breast cancer and Buddy's dilemmas about whether to have sex; she always chooses to wait. In 1976's "Rites of Friendship", Willie's childhood friend is arrested in a gay bar, while 1977's "We Love You, Miss Jessup" deals with Buddy's friendship with a lesbian teacher. Family also contends with alcoholism (Doug's sister; Buddy's friend) and dementia: a 1979 episode directed by Joanne Woodward guest-stars Henry Fonda as Doug's father, James Lawrence, who is beginning to experience cognitive decline. Two years later, Fonda won an Academy Award for playing a similar character in On Golden Pond.

Episodes and production details
The initial showrunners of Family were Nigel McKeand and Carol Evan McKeand, who previously had been writers for The Waltons. After the fourth season, the McKeands departed and were replaced by Edward Zwick, who went on to produce the acclaimed series thirtysomething, My So-Called Life and Once and Again.

Exterior shots of the Lawrence family home were filmed at 1230 Milan Avenue in South Pasadena, California.

Critical reception
Family attracted widespread critical acclaim during its original run. TV critics called the show a rare quality offering in ABC's schedule, which included Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and other Spelling-Goldberg productions such as Charlie's Angels and Fantasy Island.

Despite its occasional adult themes, the National Parent-Teacher Association consistently praised the series. In February 1979, the PTA said Family contained "good parenting lessons" and "slightly controversial" but "excellent" content, recommending it for viewing by teens and older.

In the fourth season, some critics took issue with the show's direction. In February 1979, Noel Holston of the Orlando Sentinel called Family "ABC's most prestigious program" but claimed "the producers' crisis-of-the-week approach is starting to strain the series' credibility." Some critics complained that Family, like many TV shows of the period, had become too reliant on sex-related plots. In spring 1979, ABC shifted the show to Friday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern, and its previously solid ratings dropped to the bottom of the chart.

Although Family earned solid ratings and a loyal following, ABC was criticized for failing to promote the show; the network never aired summer reruns, which could have expanded its audience. In an interview before Family's final season, star Sada Thompson called the network "capricious" and the lack of repeats "most unusual". In December 1979, former showrunners Nigel McKeand and Carol Evan McKeand said, "We worked on that show for 4 1/2 years and there wasn't a day during that time that we felt the network (ABC) gave a damn."

Seven years after the series ended, it was widely reported that a Family Reunion TV movie was planned for the 1987–88 season. At least one report indicated that if the movie's ratings were strong enough, the series would be revived for the current ABC schedule. The plot was to involve the Lawrence children gathering for Kate's remarriage. (James Broderick had died of cancer in 1982.) But the 1988 writers' strike halted production, and the project was abandoned.