# Sanford and Son (1972)

> A cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son bicker their way through money schemes in 1970s Los Angeles.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2458

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 136
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Norman Lear, Ray Galton, Bud Yorkin
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, Robert Guillaume, Milton Selzer, Martin Kosleck, George Foreman, Maureen Arthur, Pat McCormick
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068128/

## Ember's analysis

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

## What critics say

Viewers broadly regard Sanford and Son as a sharp, enduring sitcom whose comedy is driven by Redd Foxx's cruel-yet-funny patriarch and his clashes with his son, though its later seasons are less well received.

## Synopsis

Sanford and Son (1972-1977) is a American network sitcom created by Norman Lear, Ray Galton and Bud Yorkin for NBC, adapted from a British original. Redd Foxx plays Fred G. Sanford, a cantankerous junk dealer who runs a scrapyard in Los Angeles, and Demond Wilson plays his frustrated son Lamont, the exasperated straight man forever dragged into his father's schemes. Aunt Esther, played by Rawanda Page, serves as the long-suffering relative who absorbs the sharpest barbs. Each episode follows a familiar sitcom engine: Fred cooks up a get-rich-quick deal or a feigned illness to avoid work, and Lamont tries to keep the business and his own life on track. Running six seasons and roughly 136 episodes, the show is a classic multi-camera comedy built on quick insults, reaction shots and broad physical gags. Its tone is cheerful and biting at once, with cruelty played for laughs and warmth surfacing beneath the bickering. Fans of All in the Family, The Honeymooners and Good Times will find the same working class household comedy, sharp verbal sparring and sitcom patriarch energy here.

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