# The Addams Family (1964)

> A wealthy, macabre family delights in the grotesque while remaining oblivious to how frightening the outside world finds them.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/13047

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 64
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, family
- Created by: Charles Addams
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Carolyn Jones, John Astin, Jackie Coogan, Ted Cassidy, Marie Blake, Lisa Loring, Ken Weatherwax, Bob LeMond
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057729/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: campy, macabre, whimsical, deadpan, gently satirical

## What critics say

Audiences regard the series as a warm, campy satire of the wholesome sitcom family, rated positively by viewers.

## Synopsis

The Addams Family (1964-1966) is an American broadcast sitcom created by Charles Addams for ABC. Across two seasons and sixty-four episodes, the show follows the eccentric wealthy Addams clan, led by the devoted Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones) and her gleefully macabre husband Gomez Addams (John Astin). Their household also includes the scheming Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan), the towering butler Lurch (Ted Cassidy), the ancient Grandmama (Marie Blake), and their children Wednesday (Lisa Loring) and Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax). The engine of each episode is the gap between how the family sees itself and how the outside world sees them: ordinary neighbors, salesmen and officials keep arriving at the mansion and recoiling from its grotesque hobbies and pleasures, while the Addamses remain genuinely baffled by the fear they provoke. Episodes are self-contained case-of-the-week stories built on gags, mild farce and visual punchlines. Its tone is campy, cozy and gently satirical, a sunny inversion of the idealized postwar American nuclear family. Fans of The Munsters, Bewitched and later dark comedies will find a similar kinship in its gothic humor and affectionate outsider perspective.

## Shows like The Addams Family

- [Beetlejuice (1989)](https://ember.film/tv/4075)
- [The Monkees (1966)](https://ember.film/tv/7089)
- [The New Addams Family (1998)](https://ember.film/tv/19403)
- [Leave It to Beaver (1957)](https://ember.film/tv/4872)
- [The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)](https://ember.film/tv/2021)
- [The Addams Family (1992)](https://ember.film/tv/12057)
- [The Addams Family (1973)](https://ember.film/tv/12143)
- [The Munsters (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/1610)
- [Elvira's Movie Macabre (1981)](https://ember.film/tv/27578)
- [Bewitched (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/4263)

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