Norman Lear’s legacy at age 100

ABC celebrates the TV veteran known for creating hit family comedies with a twist.

Norman Lear turned 100 on July 27, and to belatedly mark the occasion, ABC is airing a star-encrusted tribute Thursday, “Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter.” On broadcast television, the producer’s home for nearly all his TV career.

The series for which he was best known — including “All in the Family,” “Maude” and “The Jeffersons” — were not necessarily my favorite comedies. There was a lot of yelling. (I preferred the becalmed quiet of his formally radical soap opera parody, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.”) But strong memories suggest that I watched them all, along with “Sanford and Son” and “One Day at a Time.” And there’s no question that these shows, born in an era of war protests, (sometimes militant) liberation movements, presidential malfeasance and an ever-widening generation gap, brought something fresh to the medium, making room for passages of seriousness and emotional depth between the crafted laughs. “Good Times” (created by “Jeffersons” son Mike Evans and Eric Monte) was the first full-on Black

Where: ABC

When: Thursday, 9 p.m.

Rating: TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children)