Married With Children possibly returning... as an Animated Series

[MenacingMonk]

Another classic 1990s comedy is making a comeback. An animated revival of Married… with Children headlined by the original series’ stars Katey Sagal, Ed O’Neill, Christina Applegate and David Faustino is being pitched to networks and streamers and is getting strong interest, sources tell Deadline.

The new take on the 1987 Fox sitcom is written by Family Guy executive producer Alex Carter, who serves as showrunner. Sony Pictures Television, which owns and distributes the original series, has been working on the animated project for over a year and closed deals with the quartet of Married… with Children stars before taking it out.

While it is unclear yet where the animated Married… with Children would land, Fox, Hulu and Peacock are considered logical destinations.

Married… with Children, which aired from 1987-97 on Fox, is a signature series for the network. Considered one of the most influential TV shows in pop culture, it was one of the first original scripted series on the then-fledgling network, which helped put it on the map and establish its edgy comedy brand. What’s more, adult animation is in Fox’s DNA, and the network has several animated family comedies, most notably juggernauts The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Meanwhile, Hulu and Peacock are streamers that carry the original series, and adding the new installment would enhance their current collection and bring new viewers to the old episodes too. In addition to finding audiences on streaming, Married.. with Children also remains popular in syndication.

One of the longest-running live-action comedy series on network television, Married… with Children aired for 11 seasons. Created by Michael G. Moye and the late Ron Leavitt, the show follows the Chicago lives of Al Bundy (O’Neill), a misogynistic women’s shoe salesman; his lazy wife, Peggy (Sagal); and their children, Kelly (Applegate) and Bud (Faustino).

Talk about a Married… with Children followup has been around for years, with reports six years ago about Faustino pitching an idea to Sony about a divorced and struggling Bud moving back in the old house with his ex-wife and his best friend while Al and Peg live in Vegas after winning the lottery. Titled Bud, the potential spinoff reportedly came close to reality, backed by the original co-creator Moye as executive producer/showrunner and Sony TV, but ultimately did not move forward over objections from the son of the other co-original creator, Levitt. The other original stars are said to have been supportive of that project but in interviews, they have largely dismissed the prospect of a full-blown Married… with Children revival because of their busy schedules.

Gradually, the idea for an animated series emerged as it easily accommodates actors’ existing commitments and still could feature some signature elements of the original series, like its famous theme song, Frank Sinatra’s “Love and Marriage.” Sony TV recently took the same route with another classic sitcom in its catalog, Norman Lear’s Good Times, which has an animated version in the works at Netflix.

‘Married…with Children’ Animated Series With Original Cast Hits TV Marketplace – Deadline

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

.......................

 

[Trapperman Dave]

Fat women jokes in 2022 legoooo

 

[Shogun]

2022 version of Married With Children is not it.
Al will spend the entire episode telling Peggy how brave she is

 

[MenacingMonk]

2022 version of Married With Children is not it.
Al will spend the entire episode telling Peggy how brave she is

Yeah, I’m highly skeptical about this, but it’s animated and there’s plenty of adult animated comedies.

 

[Json]

Strangely I was thinking about this a few weeks ago. Figured they might try a one-off special.

I know Christina Applegate has been having health issues

 

[Rekkapryde]

It better not be PC

 

[Bud Bundy]

​

 

[Bryan Danielson]

@Stir Fry

Why did you ask for this?

 

[Stir Fry]

@Stir Fry

Why did you ask for this?

I asked for a cartoon xxx parody of married with children, but I guess the porn part got filtered out somewhere down the line. sorry

 

[The Guru]

Fat women jokes in 2022 legoooo

Fat woman came into the shoe store today Peg:
She was beautiful, strong and brave!

 

[Ed MOTHEREFFING G]

F is for Family is as close as i expect we’d get. Great show btw

 

[Trapperman Dave]

Fat woman came into the shoe store today Peg:
She was beautiful, strong and brave!

You mean brave enough to fit her big hoof in a size 4 peg? Yeah she was mighty brave peg

 

[feelosofer]

I just watched some episodes again. None of that shyt from the late 80s/early 90s would fly today. If it does come back do it all the way or not at all.

 

[Mike the Executioner]

I'm usually against the idea of live-action becoming animation and vice versa. Most of the time, it's just awkward and doesn't work. Although, I'll admit it's harder for animation to make the transition into live-action.

On one hand, getting the original cast back means they don't have to age the characters up. And a Family Guy writer is the showrunner, so that might bring back some of the edginess (even though Family Guy isn't really that offensive anymore). But if this goes through, they have to be committed to it. Adult animation took what Married...with Children did and expanded on it, so they have to be willing to do something to stand out.

I wonder if Michael Moye will be a producer or consultant. If I remember correctly, he stepped away from TV after MWC and that was because he felt like he couldn't fight against political correctness. Wouldn't make sense for MWC to go the PC route so I wonder if this idea even has legs.