# Mama's Family (1983)

> Two spinster sisters' home fills up with a divorced son and his teenage children, and a cranky matriarch struggles to adjust.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1907

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 130
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Dick Clair, Jenna McMahon
- Network: NBC, Syndication
- Cast: Vicki Lawrence, Ken Berry, Dorothy Lyman, Beverly Archer, Allan Kayser, Rue McClanahan, Eric Brown, Karin Argoud
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085050/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: cozy, sardonic, warm, breezy, comforting

## What critics say

Audiences consistently rated the series positively, with its family comedy and strong central performances holding up across its run.

## Synopsis

Mama's Family (1983-1990) is an American family sitcom created by Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon for NBC, later widely syndicated. Vicki Lawrence plays Thelma Harper, a cranky, argumentative widow who opens her home to her recently divorced son Vinton (Ken Berry) and his teenage children, while her spinster sister Fran (Rue McClanahan) and the rest of the household try to absorb the upheaval. The engine of the show is the daily friction of crowded rooms, generational clashes and small domestic schemes, with Thelma's temper pushing every situation toward a comic blowup before the household settles again. Episodes are self-contained, so the show works as a case of the week comedy rather than a continuing serial, and it ran six seasons and 130 episodes. Set in a modest American suburban home of the 1980s, it is a warm, broad, traditional multicamera sitcom in the vein of The Golden Girls and Everybody Loves Raymond. Its mood is cozy and gently sardonic, with a comforting sense that squabbling relatives will always come back together by the end of the half hour.

## Shows like Mama's Family

- [Step by Step (1991)](https://ember.film/tv/2486)
- [The Golden Girls (1985)](https://ember.film/tv/1578)
- [Eight Is Enough (1977)](https://ember.film/tv/4165)
- [Charles in Charge (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/535)
- [One Day at a Time (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/2078)
- [Perfect Strangers (1986)](https://ember.film/tv/1684)
- [Good Times (1974)](https://ember.film/tv/140)
- [Petticoat Junction (1963)](https://ember.film/tv/3184)
- [Designing Women (1986)](https://ember.film/tv/675)
- [The Facts of Life (1979)](https://ember.film/tv/1700)

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