How Many Brady Bunch Spin-Offs Are There? & 9 More Questions About The Bradyverse, Answered
The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) is one of the most famous family sitcoms in television history. The Bradys formed one of the first blended TV families, including a super housekeeper named Alice and a dog named Tiger (Fluffy the cat didn't make the cut).
More than 50 years after the premiere of The Brady Bunch on ABC, devoted viewers have consumed countless hours of reruns and can sing every word of the theme song. A fandom as strong as that of the Bradyverse inspires some questions, and it's time to find the answers. All sources below are detailed in Kimberly Potts' The Way We All Became The Brady Bunch: How The Canceled Sitcom Became The Beloved Pop Culture Icon We Are Still Talking About Today.
10 How Many Spin-Off Series Are There With The Original Cast?
Television Brady spin-offs featuring original cast members total four, altogether. When The Brady Bunch was early in its run, an animated series called The Brady Kids (1972-1973) was created by Sherwood Schwartz. The child stars of The Brady Bunch voiced their same characters without the adults of the original show.
Shortly after The Brady Bunch ended, most of the cast channeled their musical interests into The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1976-1977). 1981 brought The Brady Brides, the only spin-off project to star the entire original cast with no replacements. Next came a short-lived drama called The Bradys in 1990. It is also interesting to note that in 1987, Florence Henderson and Robert Reed played their Brady roles on an episode of The Love Boat.
9 How Many Brady Movies Are There With The Original Cast?
Despite the many series that came from the originating show, there were only two movies starring members of the authentic cast. These were The Brady Girls Get Married, a 1981 TV movie that served as a lead-in to The Brady Brides series, and A Very Brady Christmas (1988, also a TV movie).
The Christmas film gives the bunch a grown-up edge and reveals what the adult Brady kids are like when they come home for the holidays.
8 What Gave Sherwood Schwartz The Idea For The Series?
In The Way We All Became The Brady Bunch, author Kimberly Potts describes Sherwood Schwartz's road to the concept for The Brady Bunch. Schwartz was reading the Los Angeles Times one morning in 1966 and read that "more than 29 percent of all marriages [at the time] included at least one child from a previous marriage."
The statistic spoke to him, so he registered the series with the Writers Guild of America and called it Yours and Mine.
7 How Did The Brady Bunch Land On ABC?
Once the Gilligan's Island creator was on his way with the new sitcom, he had to find a network for it. Then-ABC executives Barry Diller and Michael Eisner loved the script.
It took a couple of years for Schwartz to get his way with the show he had designed, but a blended family film called Yours, Mine, and Ours starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball sparked further interest in Schwartz's plan in 1968. Fans who want to read more of this account should check out Potts' book.
6 What Was It Like Behind The Scenes?
Generations of Brady fans have watched the group grow up over and over again, and it's normal for viewers to wonder what the set was like. It's no secret that Robert Reed had a difficult time while playing Mike. Reed was a serious actor and a gay man playing a husband and father with a script that he often disapproved of.
The notable challenges are well-documented, including Reed refusing to take part in the series finale. Otherwise, there were also happy times behind the scenes. The entire cast took up needlepoint, inspired by Ann B. Davis, who played Alice. Many of the actors spent time together away from the set and truly became like family.
5 How Many 1990s Brady Movies Are There?
The Bradyverse extended to several movies in the 1990s in which the Bradys were portrayed by new actors, with the exception of a couple of cameos from the old guard.
The first of these movies was The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), which puts the Brady family into the 1990s, even though they're still living like it's the 1970s. The film was followed by another theatrical release, A Very Brady Sequel, in 1996. The final installment was a 2002 TV movie called The Brady Bunch in the White House.
4 Are There Any Books About The Brady Bunch?
There are many books about the groovy TV family. In addition to Kimberly Potts' authoritative text, fans might like to read Elizabeth Moran's Bradymania!: Everything You Always Wanted to Know - And a Few Things You Probably Didn't. Creator Sherwood Schwartz and his son, Lloyd J. Schwartz, wrote about the show in Brady, Brady, Brady: The Complete Story of The Brady Bunch as Told by the Father/Son Team Who Really Know.
Cast members have also shared their experiences, sometimes with the help of co-authors. Barry Williams was one of the first stars to share with Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg. Later came Maureen McCormick with Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, and Susan Olsen penned a coffee table book called Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. Florence Henderson wrote Life Is Not a Stage: From Broadway Baby to a Lovely Lady and Beyond.
3 Have Fans Created Any Other Brady Media?
Kimberly Potts goes on a deep dive into all other media in the Bradyverse. The Bardy Bunch is a musical by Stephen Garvey in which the Bradys and the Partridges enact a Shakespearean comedy of errors.
The Real Live Brady Bunch, created by Jill and Faith Soloway, was a stage show where cast members acted out scripts of the original show verbatim. Jane Lynch played Carol Brady. There are other projects out there, like a set of pornographic Brady parodies.
2 What Became Of The Iconic Brady Bunch House?
In 2018, HGTV won the bidding war for the Brady residence. The network restored the home to its 1970s look with A Very Brady Home Renovation in 2019. This project brought all six Brady kids together, and not just to look at the finished product!
Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen all took part in the renovation process.
1 What Are The Brady Kids Up To Now?
It's hard to say what Greg, Marcia, Peter, Jan, Bobby, and Cindy might be up to in 2021, but the actors who portrayed those characters are as busy as ever. Maureen McCormick hosts a new Discovery+ show with Dan Vickery called Frozen in Time. It's all about modernizing homes of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s -- perfect for the woman who played Marcia Brady.
Barry Williams also stays active in the entertainment business with his band, Barry Williams and the Traveliers. Christopher Knight and artist Eve Plumb both own home and lifestyle brands, Christopher Knight Brands and PlumbGoods, respectively. Mike Lookinland creates custom concrete countertops, and Susan Olsen teaches acting and the making of short films for children.
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