The Brady Bunch Wasn't Nearly As Popular As Everyone Believes

Modern audiences regard the Brady clan as one of the most iconic families in television history — but you would never have known it when they were first airing. 

Throughout its original five-season run on ABC, "The Brady Bunch" never even came close to being one of the Top 30 most-watched shows in America, overshadowed by the likes of "All in the Family" and "Hawaii Five-O." The show's struggles in the ratings lasted until it was eventually canceled in 1974, and it wouldn't be until reruns began airing in syndication that "The Brady Bunch" finally found its audience. "[A] generation of 1970s latchkey kids ... found solace in a syndicated show where parents dropped everything to solve their kids' most minute problems," explained reporter Neda Ulaby in a 2019 audio clip that aired on NPR Morning Edition, dissecting the unique journey that the series took to becoming a television touchstone. "At a time when divorce rates were swelling ... it felt reassuring to see a problem-solving, blended family."

Over five decades later, "The Brady Bunch" is remembered not only for its contributions to '70s pop culture, but for originating a dynasty of blended family sitcoms like "Full House" and "Modern Family." Although its painstakingly wholesome tone was frequently dismissed by viewers during its lifetime, it was ultimately that same sunny outlook that earned it a stable audience in reruns. "'The Brady Bunch' just seemed like paradise to me," reminisced Steve Levitan, the creator of "Modern Family," in the same NPR clip. "The colors were so bright, and everybody seemed happy ... It was innocence."

As it turns out, the initial apathy of American audiences toward "The Brady Bunch" was largely shared by reviewers. "The Brady love never started back then," confirmed Eve Plumb — the actress who portrayed Jan Brady — in a March interview with Woman's World. "One of my favorite things is that the TV Guide review of the pilot said, 'As the six children troop up after their parents to join them on their honeymoon, we hope they never come down again.'"

Early reviews of "The Brady Bunch" indeed struck a stark contrast to the glowing reputation that precedes the sitcom today. The Los Angeles Times called the premiere some of the "worst" fare of the 1969 television season, lambasting it as both "insufferably cute" and "embarrassingly bad." Faced with negativity from both audiences and critics, the "Brady Bunch" cast resigned themselves to a constant feeling of rejection during the show's production, not knowing that they were filming what would become one of the most famous sitcoms of all time. "Adults would tell me, 'Oh, you're on this TV show,' and then they'd say, 'Well, we don't watch television,'" recalled Plumb.

"So we've always dealt with that. And now, to have it be so popular and so beloved by so many people—it's kind of, like, 'Well, the heck with you now.'" Despite the criticism the sitcom received at the time, modern audiences look back on "The Brady Bunch" much more fondly.