New “Brady” Book Raises The Bar

Author Kimberly Potts Breaks New Ground For TV Tomes

Here’s the REAL story…of The Brady Bunch, the unstoppable television show that has charmed millions of viewers for what seems like millions of years.

Author Kimberly Potts exquisitely chronicles the TV phenom in her new book, The Way We All Became The Brady Bunch: How The Canceled Sitcom Became The Beloved Pop Culture Icon We Are Still Talking About Today (Grand Central Publishing, 2019).

Although it’s really only been on the air (in one form or another sequel or remake somehow) for 50 years, The Brady Bunch debuted on ABC in the fall of 1969, along with other now-classics such as Marcus Welby, M.D., Love, American Style, and Room 222 (the latter two of which premiered on the same network’s Friday night line-up as the Brady brood).

But the Bunch was never an immediate hit. The show struggled along for five original seasons and depending on which fan you talk with, peaked around the fourth year. While the fifth season began with a stellar season-opening musical episode showcasing the Brady kids all grown-up, rumblings from leading actor Robert Reed, who played father Mike Brady to Florence Henderson as Carol Brady, and the controversial add of young Robbie Rist to the cast (as Cousin Oliver), eventually muddied any chance of there being a sixth season.