Guide Note
The sitcom Married... With Children ran for over a decade on FOX and was the network's first hit show. The show was conceived as the "anti-Cosby" show, based on the unsupportive, caustic family at its center, the Bundys.
Fast Facts
- Aired: 1987-1997
- Network: FOX
- Total Episodes: 259
- Third longest airing sitcom on the FOX network
- First Aired: April 5, 1987
- Starring: Ed O'Neill, David Faustino, Christina Applegate, Katey Sagal, Amanda Bearse, Ted McGinley
- Theme Song: "Love and Marriage" sung by Frank Sinatra
- Al Bundy is a member of NO MA'AM, the National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood
Show Concept
Though the show's stories often encompass the entire Bundy family, the protagonist of the show is Al Bundy, a miserable shoe salesman in Chicago who laments his life, especially days when he is forced into sex with his wife, Peggy.
Their daughter, Kelly Bundy, is attractive but dimwitted, and their son Bud Bundy is a loser who can't get a date.
Their neighbors are often features of the episodes. In the original seasons, Marcy and Steve Rhoades lived next door, but Steve was replaced with a new husband, Jefferson D'Arcy, in the fifth season.
Though Al often expressed bitterness toward his wife and ogled over attractive women, he consistently passed on opportunities to cheat in a number of episodes.
