“All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” are making a grand return to television for one night only, live and brimming with star power.
Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, and Wanda Sykes will headline this special event, re-creating classic episodes from these iconic 1970s sitcoms. Legendary creator Norman Lear, who brought both “All in the Family” and its spinoff “The Jeffersons” to life, will co-host the ABC prime-time special alongside Jimmy Kimmel, the network announced Thursday.
Harrelson and Tomei will take on the roles of Archie and Edith Bunker, while Foxx and Sykes will portray George and Louise Jefferson. The special will also feature Ellie Kemper, Justina Machado, and Will Ferrell, with more celebrity appearances to be unveiled.
The original series featured Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton as the Bunkers, a blue-collar couple, and Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford as the Jeffersons, an upwardly mobile black family. A 1991 reunion of the “All in the Family” cast highlighted their enduring legacy.
Norman Lear, addressing skeptics who believe these shows were products of their time, asserted in a statement, “People say these two shows were meant for the ’70s and would not work today. We disagree with them and are here to prove, with two great casts depicting ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons,’ the timelessness of human nature.”
The special, titled “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons,'” will be directed by sitcom veteran James Burrows and executive produced by Ferrell, Lear, and Kimmel, among others.
Debuting in 1971, “All in the Family” was groundbreaking, using humor to tackle racism, women’s rights, and other pressing social issues. “The Jeffersons,” which aired from 1975 to 1985, followed a successful black family navigating a predominantly white world and featured one of TV’s rare interracial couples.
Norman Lear, now 96, continues to influence modern television. He recently served as executive producer on the Netflix reboot of another one of his hits, “One Day at a Time” (1975-1984), which was reimagined with a Latino family before its recent cancellation.
Don’t miss this special event that promises to revive the spirit and humor of two beloved TV classics, proving that their themes are just as relevant today as they were decades ago.
