50 YEARS OF ARCHIE BUNKER — AND STILL RELEVANT

Norman Lear's lightning-rod television series All in the Family has turned 50. The comedy, starring Carroll O'Connor as working-class patriarch Archie Bunker, debuted Jan. 12, 1971, on CBS. Archie's conservative views contrasted with those of his liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner), embodying the tension of a politically polarized United States. “We didn't know Archie Bunker, but we felt we did,” Lear, 98, told the New York Post. “It shows you that very little has changed,” said Struthers, 73. “If you took a recording of an (All in the Family) episode ... and just heard the audio, especially where there's a discussion or argument about politics ... and you inserted the names of politicians today, all of the arguments still hold up.” All in the Family was based on British TV hit Till Death Us Do Part and ran for nine seasons. It produced spinoffs including The Jeffersons, Archie Bunker's Place, and Maude. In 2019, ABC broadcast two separate specials titled Live in Front of a Studio Audience, which recreated All in the Family episodes with modern-day stars.