All in the Family

Archie Bunker, a working class bigot, constantly squabbles with his family over the important issues of the day.

All in the Family (1971-1979) is an American television comedy sitcom created by Johnny Speight and Norman Lear for CBS. Carroll O'Connor plays Archie Bunker, a working class New Yorker whose loud prejudices and opinions on the day's headlines set off constant arguments at home. Jean Stapleton plays his devoted wife Edith, whose innocent good nature often undercuts him, while Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner play their daughter Gloria and her politically liberal husband Michael, whose clashing views on race, war, and politics supply much of the friction. Across nine seasons the engine is simple: an ordinary household kitchen table becomes a battlefield where each episode stages a fresh argument over a topical issue. The show is a sharp, single-camera-era style sitcom built on a live studio audience, its humor coming from the gap between Archie's certainty and the world he refuses to see. Set in 1970s Queens, New York, the series captures the anxieties of a working class family facing a changing country. Its tone is biting yet warm, satirical yet rooted in affection for its characters. Fans of Till Death Us Do Part, Roseanne and The Royle Family will find resonance in its blunt social satire and its tangle of family loyalty and ideological conflict.

Viewers broadly regard All in the Family as a sharp, daring sitcom whose comedy about a bigoted patriarch is funny and socially pointed, with the later seasons rated highest.

• Till Death Us Do Part (1965)sharp workplace-free family sitcom satire, working class bigotry played for comedy, socially divisive topics
• The Royle Familymultigenerational household comedy with sharp social commentary and ensemble family conflict
• Roseannepolitically charged sitcom built on a bigoted patriarch and a liberal foil, topical issues in a family setting
• The Honeymoonersdomestic sitcom with confrontational social satire and a stubborn central patriarch

Created by

Johnny Speight, Norman Lear

Release Date

1971-01-12

Episode runtime

25 min

Rating

8.4 / 10 (188)

What is All in the Family about?

A working class New York bigot clashes with his family over the political and social issues of the 1970s.

What is All in the Family like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of All in the Family as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is All in the Family violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in All in the Family.

What did critics think of All in the Family?

Viewers broadly regard All in the Family as a sharp, daring sitcom whose comedy about a bigoted patriarch is funny and socially pointed, with the later seasons rated highest.

Which shows are like All in the Family?

Shows with a similar feel include Till Death Us Do Part (1965), The Royle Family, Roseanne, and The Honeymooners.

How long is All in the Family?

All in the Family: 9 seasons, 210 episodes.

Is All in the Family still running?

No, All in the Family has ended.

Where can I watch All in the Family?

In United States, All in the Family streams on Amazon Prime Video.