Married... with Children

Proved crude counterprogramming could build a fourth network's brand.

Why it matters

Episode guide

259 episodes across 11 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.

At a glance

Al Bundy sells shoes, worships a long-ago high-school football score, and leads TV's anti-Cosby household. Fox's Married... with Children (1987–1997) made Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, Christina Applegate, and David Faustino the first family of gleeful dysfunction. It was a flagship that helped define young Fox as the rude alternative. Couch gags and NO MA'AM energy included. Love, American style — refunded.

Network & studio

• Fox — broadcast network
• ELP Communications — production studio
• Columbia Pictures Television — production studio
• Tandem Productions — production studio

Why watch now

The anti-wholesome sitcom that made Fox a personality — O'Neill's Al is comic misery perfected. Essential if you want 1980s TV to sneer back.

Cultural impact

Married... with Children branded Fox as the home of irreverent comedy and made the Bundys pop icons of anti-family-sitcom family. It influenced a generation of cynical domestic comedy. Applegate's Kelly became a defining dumb-blonde satire of the era (for better and worse).

Creators

Michael G. Moye · Ron Leavitt

Key cast

• Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy
• Katey Sagal as Peggy Bundy
• Christina Applegate as Kelly Bundy
• David Faustino as Bud Bundy

Flash facts

• Fox sitcom aired 1987–1997; an early network flagship.
• Starred Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy and Katey Sagal as Peg Bundy.
• Christina Applegate and David Faustino played Kelly and Bud.
• Known for crude humor contrasting the Cosby-era warm family sitcom.
• Helped establish Fox's young, irreverent brand identity.

FAQ

Back to the decade

More from the 1980s — Glitz, Soaps & Nighttime Neon. All shows.