Editing Married... with Children (section)

{{short description|American sitcom (1987–1997)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Married … With Children (Sony Pictures Television series logo).svg
| caption              = 
| genre                = {{Plainlist|
*[[Sitcom]]
*[[Surreal humour]]
*[[Satire]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1092238/how-married-with-children-paved-the-way-for-the-simpsons-massive-success/ | title=How Married with Children Paved the Way for the Simpsons' Massive Success | date=November 13, 2022 }}</ref>
}}
| creator              = {{Plainlist|
* [[Michael G. Moye]]
* [[Ron Leavitt]]
}}
| showrunner           = {{Plainlist|
* Ron Leavitt {{small|(seasons 1–7)}}
* Michael G. Moye {{small|(seasons 1–6; 8–9)}}
* Richard Gurman
* [[Kim Weiskopf]] {{small|(both; season 10)}}
* [[Pamela Eells O'Connell|Pamela Eells]] {{small|(season 11)}}
}}
| starring             = {{Plainlist|
* [[Ed O'Neill]]
* [[Katey Sagal]]
* [[David Garrison]]
* [[Amanda Bearse]]
* [[Christina Applegate]]
* [[David Faustino]]
* [[Ted McGinley]]
}}
| theme_music_composer = {{Plainlist|
* [[Sammy Cahn]]
* [[Jimmy Van Heusen]]
}}
| opentheme            = "[[Love and Marriage]]"<br />by [[Frank Sinatra]]
| endtheme             = "Love and Marriage"<br />(instrumental)
| composer             = [[Jonathan Wolff (musician)|Jonathan Wolff]]
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 11
| num_episodes         = 259
| list_episodes        = List of Married... with Children episodes
| executive_producer   = {{Plainlist|
* Ron Leavitt
* Michael G. Moye
* Katherine Green
* Richard Gurman
* Kim Weiskopf
* Pamela Eells
}}
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
* Barbara Blachut Cramer
* John Maxwell Anderson
}}
| camera               = [[Videotape]]; [[Multi-camera setup|Multi-camera]]
| runtime              = 22–23 minutes
| company              = {{Plainlist|
* [[ELP Communications]]{{efn|Credited as [[Embassy Communications]] (seasons 1–2)}}
* [[Columbia Pictures Television]] <small>(seasons 2–11)</small>
}}
| network              = [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1987|4|5}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1997|6|9}}
| related              = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Top of the Heap]]''
* ''[[Vinnie & Bobby]]''
}}
}}

'''''Married... with Children''''' is an American television [[sitcom]] created by [[Michael G. Moye]] and [[Ron Leavitt]] for the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mclellan |first=Dennis |date=February 12, 2008 |title=Co-creator of 'Married . . . With Children' |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-12-me-leavitt12-story.html |access-date=March 23, 2022}}</ref> broadcast from April 5, 1987,<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0642348/reference/?ref_=ttep_ep_1 |title="Married... with Children" Pilot (TV Episode 1987) - IMDb |access-date=2025-04-26 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> to June 9, 1997.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0642246/reference/?ref_=ttep_ep_24 |title="Married... with Children" Chicago Shoe Exchange (TV Episode 1997) - IMDb |access-date=2025-04-26 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> It is the longest-running live-action sitcom ever aired on Fox. ''Married... with Children'' was the first primetime series broadcast on the new Fox network. The series' run ended with the episode broadcast on May 5, 1997.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3wRsf9NAVw | title=MWC fox promo - Desperate Half Hour & How To Marry A Moron | date=April 27, 2022 | publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2 July 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0642293/mediaviewer/rm2176877569/?ref_=tt_md_9 | title=Fox May Events: Married with Children Series Finale | publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=2 July 2023 }}</ref> Two previously unaired episodes were broadcast on June 9, 1997, and June 18, 2002.

The show is set in [[Chicago]] and follows the lives of [[Al Bundy]], a former high school football player turned hard-luck women's shoe salesman; his lazy wife [[Peggy Bundy|Peggy]]; their pretty, but dim-witted daughter [[Kelly Bundy|Kelly]]; and their smart-aleck son [[Bud Bundy|Bud]]. The show also features their neighbors [[Steve Rhoades|Steve]] and [[Marcy D'Arcy|Marcy]] Rhoades, both of whom Al finds annoying, and who feel the same way about him. Later in the series, Marcy marries [[Jefferson D'Arcy]], a white-collar criminal who becomes her "trophy husband" and Al's sidekick.

The series is one of the longest-running sitcoms in American television history, covering 11 seasons with 259 episodes in its run. Its theme song is "[[Love and Marriage]]" by [[Sammy Cahn]] and [[Jimmy Van Heusen]], performed by [[Frank Sinatra]]. Critical reception was mixed during its original run, and the show's sexually charged humor and depiction of a dysfunctional family were in stark contrast to family sitcoms of the era.

The first two seasons were videotaped in front of a studio audience at [[The Prospect Studios|ABC Television Center]] in the [[Los Feliz, Los Angeles|Los Feliz]] section of [[Los Angeles]], with seasons 3 through 8 recorded at [[Sunset Gower Studios]] in Hollywood, and seasons 9 through 11 at [[Sony Pictures Studios]] in [[Culver City]]. The series was initially produced by [[Embassy Communications]]. Starting halfway through the second season, it was produced by ELP Communications under the studio [[Columbia Pictures Television]].

In 2008, the show made the top 100 on ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'s}} "New TV Classics" list, placing number 94.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The New Classics: TV|url=https://ew.com/article/2007/06/18/new-classics-tv/|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=February 21, 2012|date=June 18, 2007|archive-date=October 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020093840/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C20207339%2C00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2022, an animated revival was in the works.<ref name=animatedseries>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/married-with-children-animated-series-original-cast-revival-1235023019/ |title='Married… With Children' Animated Series With Original Cast Heats Up TV Marketplace |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=May 13, 2022 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=May 13, 2022}}</ref>