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As long as theres been TV, the family has been one of its favorite go-tos.
All week long, Vulture is exploring how its been represented on our screens.
One of the hallmarks of a TV family series is the sense that were looking into a mirror.
None of those felt quite right for this project.
The other tough part was deciding what, exactly, constitutes a family TV show.
The genius ofParty of Fivewas that it looked like a teen drama, but was really a family one.
There are few notable forerunners in this category, including the Duggar family or the titular Sister Wives.
If anything, the Gosselins highly visible crash and burn only fanned the flames.
But mostly, this was feel-good retro entertainment, with some shark-jumping thrown in for good measure.
42.Family Ties, 19821989Norman Lear introduced politics to the family sitcom in the 1970s.
Its also responsible for creating one of the most likable right-wingers in the history of … well, everything.
39.Family, 19761980In the 1970s,The WaltonsandLittle Houselooked to the past as a setting for family drama.
Tearjerker television likeParenthoodandThis Is Usowe it a debt.
Its best summarized by that urrrgg!
Ray Barone is the man between times.
But this is not the model he grew up with, and frankly, he doesnt want to.
He wants to want to, and at his heart, hes a good guy.
And he doesnt want to be like his parents.
But hed also like it if his wife would just stoptalkingto him so much.
This was an interesting environment in which to examine class and economic distinctions.
There are so few shows that consider a teen pregnancy, 16 years later.
There are so few series that start from a core family unit thats almost entirely female.
And so few family shows really nail a comedic tone thats such a paper-thin cover for real hurt underneath.
It has given us the first bona fide, mainstream-connection hit family drama in a long time.
31.The Brady Bunch, 19691974The members of the Brady family attained prominent pop-culture status during the sitcoms initial run.
It was not the nostalgic family as a safe harbor from the world.
It was family as a warfront, as an ever-shifting, unreliable snarl.
26.The Goldbergs, 19491956No, not that one, thoughwe do love it.
The father, Louis (Randall Park), runs a steakhouse with a meat-and-potatoes-heavy menu.
Eddie (Hudson Yang), the oldest brother, is an obsessive fan of hip-hop culture.
Can it also qualify as a family series?
It could get overly sentimental at times because of that.
21.Black-ish, 2014presentBlack-ishis this decades answer toGood TimesandThe Cosby Show.
But the announcer is almost regretful to inform the audience, they areanAmerican family.
Its a significant series because its a predecessor of the entire genre of reality television.
It is revelatory, and its also more than a little voyeuristic.
More importantly, it made sure that a same-sex couple was a central part of its portrait of parenting.
Are Cam and Mitch responsible for greater real-life acceptance of gay marriage?
Lets put it this way: Theydefinitely didnt hurt.
Up untilThe Osbournes, most family TV shows introduced us to parents and children wed never met.
ButGolden Girlsabsolutely belongs here.
One wasThe Waltons, which was set during the Great Depression and aired for nine seasons on CBS.
13.Bobs Burgers, 2011presentSo much ofBobs Burgerscouldbe hoary tropes from TV families going way, way back.
Who else but Linda could explore so deeply the anxiety of not being cool?
And Bob, whose Thanksgiving obsessiveness is as much about family as it is about food.
In retrospect, the shows skeptical-to-pessimistic attitude about turn-of-the-millennium America feels prophetic.
There isno better family on TV right nowthan the Villanuevas.
Ozzie and Harriethawked Hotpoint kitchen appliances.
They justwishthey had the reach of the Kardashians.
(The2016 remake ofRootsis also very much worth seeing.)
The show got our attention by killing off the family patriarch in the first few minutes of its pilot.
The idea that reactionary conservative ideas are the new punk rock really started to flower here.
But the series soon acquired a sinister and despairing aura.
The current occupant of the White House is Al Bundy with money.
For better or worse (probably worse), this is one of the most influential shows ever made.
4.The Cosby Show, 19841992It is difficult to talk aboutThe Cosby Showwithout talking about Bill Cosby.
But you know what?
The perfect family looked like Cliff, Clair, Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy.
They fight with one another, and not in a gentle knock it out kidsOzzie and Harrietsort of way.
The Conner children grow up on the show, get married, and have their own marital tensions.
They get pregnant unexpectedly (more than one child is conceived onRoseanneoutside of a marriage).
There are gay characters.
There are stories about birth control and PMS.
It will be fascinating to see what its2018 revival has in store.
The show was so popular that in 1992, Republican presidential candidate George H.W.
