The Bradys

The Bradys was a Syndication network comedy\drama series and sequel to the original 1969-1974 ABC sitcom series, "The Brady Bunch."

The show aired from February 9 to March 9, 1990, lasting for one season & 6 episodes. It was produced by Brady Productions and Paramount Television.

Plot
The series centered on the lives of the Brady family's children and the issues that they face as adults.

Cast

 * Robert Reed as Mike Brady
 * Florence Henderson as Carol Brady
 * Ann B. Davis as Alice Nelson-Franklin
 * Barry Williams as Dr. Greg Brady
 * Leah Ayres as Marcia Brady-Logan
 * Christopher Knight as Peter Brady
 * Eve Plumb as Jan Brady-Covington
 * Mike Lookinland as Bobby Brady
 * Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady
 * Jerry Houser as Wally Logan
 * Ron Kuhlman as Philip Covington III
 * Caryn Richman as Nora Brady
 * Martha Quinn as Tracy Wagner-Brady
 * Ken Michelman as Gary Greenberg
 * Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Kevin Brady
 * Michael Melby as Mickey Logan
 * Jaclyn Bernstein as Jessica Logan
 * Valerie Ick as Patty Covington

Production
In 1988, Syndication commissioned a "Brady Bunch" reunion telefilm for their Christmas season programming.

"A Very Brady Christmas" premiered on December 18, 1988, drawing a then-season high 25.1 rating and 39 share for a television film.

The success of the film convinced series creator Sherwood Schwartz that a new Brady family TV series could be a hit, and work began on the show in December of 1989.

On December 22, 1989, Syndciation re-aired "A Very Brady Christmas" again, using it as a promotional tool for the upcoming new show.

Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis, Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen all returned in their original Brady Bunch roles, and Jerry Houser and Ron Kuhlman reprised their roles from The Brady Brides.

Leah Ayres replaced Maureen McCormick as Marcia because McCormick declined to star in the show.

Cancellation
"The Bradys" was put on hiatus with plans to continue sometime later in the year, but production never resumed and The Bradys was quietly cancelled after six episodes had aired.

Following the season premiere, it was one of the lowest watched Syndication shows each week until its cancellation with one week only being underperformed by an episode of "Tour of Duty".

At the time, it was thought that the audience was simply unwilling to accept the sitcom characters in a more dramatic setting, and the situation was further complicated by its time slot.

When the show launched, Syndication placed it in the 8:00 PM slot on Friday nights, making it the third show of the season to lead off the network's Friday lineup (along with "Snoops" and "Max Monroe: Loose Cannon"), which both flopped).

The network placed "The Bradys" against comedy hits "Full House" & "Family Matters" (which comprised the first half of Syndication's Friday night TGIF lineup at the time).

In Barry Williams' autobiography "Growing Up Brady: I Was A Teenage Greg", he stated that when the initial two-hour episode aired, ratings were poor for the first hour, but when the second hour aired, the show won its time slot and the producers believed a change could be beneficial.

However, the second hour was the 9:00 PM hour that long been home to Syndication' Friday stalwart, "Dallas".

Although "Dallas" had been slipping in the ratings for several years, Syndication was not willing to move the program to accommodate the wishes of "The Bradys" crew as it would have resulted in the displacement of both Dallas and the show that followed, the equally ratings-challenged "Falcon Crest".

Although Syndication would eventually move both shows before the season ended, it did so after "The Bradys" was cancelled.