A lot of sitcoms tend to write another child into the script. Do you think that makes the show go downhill? It always seems to be a jump the shark moment. Name shows in which you feel the addition of a another child ruined the show.

Here are some shows that added an additional kid.

The Cosby Show - Olivia
Fresh Prince - Nicky
Growing Pains - Chrissy
Step By Step - Lilly
Good Times - Penny
The Jeffersons - Jessica
All In The Family - Stephanie
The Brady Bunch - Cousin Oliver
Family Ties - Andrew
Family Matters - 3J
Who's The Boss? - Billy
My Wife and Kids - Franklin


I don't think all of these shows suffered but some did. What are your thoughts? Feel free to list any other shows.

You forgot to add Adam from Bewitched, Annie from Family, and Sam (shudder) from Diff'rent Strokes. I think that additional kids are added when the writers run out of ideas and they figure a cute kid will freshen things up. It almost always reeks of desperation, and you have these "cute" obnoxious kids hogging up all the airtime. So adding a new kid is almost always a jump the shark moment.

I think always adding a kid on a sitcom is a death knell.

A lot of sitcoms tend to write another child into the script. Do you think that makes the show go downhill? It always seems to be a jump the shark moment. Name shows in which you feel the addition of a another child ruined the show.

Here are some shows that added an additional kid.

The Cosby Show - Olivia
Fresh Prince - Nicky
Growing Pains - Chrissy
Step By Step - Lilly
Good Times - Penny
The Jeffersons - Jessica
All In The Family - Stephanie
The Brady Bunch - Cousin Oliver
Family Ties - Andrew
Family Matters - 3J
Who's The Boss? - Billy
My Wife and Kids - Franklin


I don't think all of these shows suffered but some did. What are your thoughts? Feel free to list any other shows.

i would like to add a few more shows
Too Close For Comfort-Andrew(the new baby)
Married With Children-Seven
The Partridge Family-Ricky
One Day At A Time-Alex
The Donna Reed Show-Trisha
Hazel-Susie

I think always adding a kid on a sitcom is a death knell.

You would think that these writers would learn that, but I guess when they do it on their particular show they think that their "kid" can make it better and not fall into the downhill trap.

You forgot to add Adam from Bewitched, Annie from Family, and Sam (shudder) from Diff'rent Strokes. I think that additional kids are added when the writers run out of ideas and they figure a cute kid will freshen things up. It almost always reeks of desperation, and you have these "cute" obnoxious kids hogging up all the airtime. So adding a new kid is almost always a jump the shark moment.

I think adding children to a show that is already on the decline will not help, most often it hurts a show. Below for example.

Don't forget:
Pippa-The Facts Of Life
Andy-The Facts Of Life
Flip Phillips-Happy Days
Heather Pfister-Happy Days
Alex Handris -One Day At A Time

I think adding children to a show that is already on the decline will not help, most often it hurts a show. Below for example.

Don't forget:
Pippa-The Facts Of Life
Andy-The Facts Of Life
Flip Phillips-Happy Days
Heather Pfister-Happy Days
Alex Handris -One Day At A Time
So true, so true.

Not a sitcom, but 'James' and 'Cassandra' on Little House didn't exactly improve the series. They were downright annoying, IMO. The Ingalls kept getting all of these new kids!

Not a sitcom, but 'James' and 'Cassandra' on Little House didn't exactly improve the series. They were downright annoying, IMO. The Ingalls kept getting all of these new kids!
True, but it does prove the point. I think a show that starts performing poorly should either, go back to its roots or should just end.

When Family Ties added Andrew to the mix Meredith Baxter Birney was pregnant and given it was a family show it was decided to make Elyse pregnant. The show was at its peak when Andrew was born. It was when they instantly aged him from a baby to preschool that hurt the show with the Alex episodes getting repetitious added more insult to injury. Plus they were trying to make Andrew a mini Alex and that's what hurt the show at the end along with Meredith Baxter Birney being unhappy with her role deminishing when she was originally the star along with Michael Gross.

ALF was another one that did not need to add a child into the show when Eric was born. Anne Schedeen, who played Kate Tanner, was expecting and the show decided to write her pregnancy into the storylines. The show was beginning to sag in that season and it did not help any. She did not hardly looked pregnant so they could had pulled off hiding the pregnancy.

Too Close for Comfort should not added Andrew to the mix but Nancy Dussault was unhappy with underdevelopment of her character Muriel Rush so they made her pregnant to give her some laughs. What they should had done is explore more of her singing background and give us a treat to hear Nancy's voice more. She have quite a voice.

Fresh Prince of Bel Air was a bad situation where an actress gets pregnant and added a baby into the storyline. It was good but when they instantly aged Nicky that was when the show was getting bad. The issues that Janet Hubert-Whitten had with Will Smith and the producers filtered out on screen and that what hurt the show. I did not like Daphne Maxwell Reid in that role. Janet was Vivian and she was a more flashier dresser than Daphne.

Bewitched added Adam when the show was already on the decline with Dick York having to leave due to health issues and the Dick Sargent replacing DY. There was no chemistry between Dick Sargent and Elizabeth Montgomery. She had better chemistry with DY. But they added Adam because Elizabeth was expecting in real life. Notice that Bewitched is the only show where the lead actress was expecting twice and it was incorporated into the storylines.

You forgot to add Adam from Bewitched, Annie from Family, and Sam (shudder) from Diff'rent Strokes. I think that additional kids are added when the writers run out of ideas and they figure a cute kid will freshen things up. It almost always reeks of desperation, and you have these "cute" obnoxious kids hogging up all the airtime. So adding a new kid is almost always a jump the shark moment.
:yeahthat

The exception being I Love Lucy, the addition of Little Ricky made the show receive higher ratings and fans loved the episodes.

As for the Little House reference above, there is even an episode where James is feeling a "bit overcrowded" with the five kids living in that damn Ingalls home, which by the way, was TOO DAMN SMALL to begin with.

:yeahthat

The exception being I Love Lucy, the addition of Little Ricky made the show receive higher ratings and fans loved the episodes.

As for the Little House reference above, there is even an episode where James is feeling a "bit overcrowded" with the five kids living in that damn Ingalls home, which by the way, was TOO DAMN SMALL to begin with.
Why DID Pa never add on to the house!?? :lol:

When Family Ties added Andrew to the mix Meredith Baxter Birney was pregnant and given it was a family show it was decided to make Elyse pregnant. The show was at its peak when Andrew was born. It was when they instantly aged him from a baby to preschool that hurt the show with the Alex episodes getting repetitious added more insult to injury. Plus they were trying to make Andrew a mini Alex and that's what hurt the show at the end along with Meredith Baxter Birney being unhappy with her role deminishing when she was originally the star along with Michael Gross.

ALF was another one that did not need to add a child into the show when Eric was born. Anne Schedeen, who played Kate Tanner, was expecting and the show decided to write her pregnancy into the storylines. The show was beginning to sag in that season and it did not help any. She did not hardly looked pregnant so they could had pulled off hiding the pregnancy.

Too Close for Comfort should not added Andrew to the mix but Nancy Dussault was unhappy with underdevelopment of her character Muriel Rush so they made her pregnant to give her some laughs. What they should had done is explore more of her singing background and give us a treat to hear Nancy's voice more. She have quite a voice.

Fresh Prince of Bel Air was a bad situation where an actress gets pregnant and added a baby into the storyline. It was good but when they instantly aged Nicky that was when the show was getting bad. The issues that Janet Hubert-Whitten had with Will Smith and the producers filtered out on screen and that what hurt the show. I did not like Daphne Maxwell Reid in that role. Janet was Vivian and she was a more flashier dresser than Daphne.

Bewitched added Adam when the show was already on the decline with Dick York having to leave due to health issues and the Dick Sargent replacing DY. There was no chemistry between Dick Sargent and Elizabeth Montgomery. She had better chemistry with DY. But they added Adam because Elizabeth was expecting in real life. Notice that Bewitched is the only show where the lead actress was expecting twice and it was incorporated into the storylines.
Yes, you're right on all counts. Without DY, Bewitched was sinking fast and I think the only reason Adam was written in was because Liz was pregnant. As for Nancy Dussault, I also LOVED her guest turn on Barney Miller as a sassy hooker. :rofl:

I noticed nobody mentioned Jeffrey and Serena Burton from The Waltons, with their grandmother Rose, to boot. They came on board during the eighth (1979-80; second-last) season and had a much more devastating effect on the show than Cousin Oliver :D did The Brady Bunch. The show should have renamed itself The Burtons since they took over all of the storylines.

I noticed nobody mentioned Jeffrey and Serena Burton from The Waltons, with their grandmother Rose, to boot. They came on board during the eighth (1979-80; second-last) season and had a much more devastating effect on the show than Cousin Oliver :D did The Brady Bunch. The show should have renamed itself The Burtons since they took over all of the storylines.
By 1980, Michael Learned and Richard Thomas had left for greener pastures, Ellen Corby had left because of her health problems, and Will Geer had passed away. All four had won Emmy Awards for their roles on The Waltons. The higher-ups should've packed it in and called it a day because Ralph Thomas and the remaining kids just couldn't pull it off. The chemistry was gone by then and the falling ratings showed it. At least the reunion movies featured many of the original cast. :)

Why DID Pa never add on to the house!?? :lol:
He must have had a big bill owing at the Olsen's mercantile...:rofl:


As for the Waltons', they were always complaining abt barely making it, yet, they took in EVERYBODY UNDER THE SUN...:crazy:

Let us not forget the boy twins on Full House...Nicky and Alex. One baby on a sitcom is bad enough...but TWO??

Btw, it was ridiculous that none of the adults never moved out on that show. They should've done something like AITF and later ELR did...have Jesse, Becky and their kids live in the house next door or across the street. That way it's a bit more realistic and the entire family is still always together.

Sttepping off the :soapbox: now...:D

Recipe for destroying any tv show.

One ingredient. Add child.

That's it. Presto, like magic!

ACK -- here's another one. After Raven-Symone spoiled the Cosby Show, she went on to sink Hanging With Mr. Cooper. puke:

ACK -- here's another one. After Raven-Symone spoiled the Cosby Show, she went on to sink Hanging With Mr. Cooper. puke:
God, how I hated her character on Cosby.

Don't forget Pam...not a kid, but nonetheless, still another addition not needed.

By 1980, Michael Learned and Richard Thomas had left for greener pastures, Ellen Corby had left because of her health problems, and Will Geer had passed away. All four had won Emmy Awards for their roles on The Waltons. The higher-ups should've packed it in and called it a day because Ralph Thomas and the remaining kids just couldn't pull it off. The chemistry was gone by then and the falling ratings showed it. At least the reunion movies featured many of the original cast. :)

CatLover79, who is Ralph Thomas? Do you possibly mean Ralph Waite, who played the father?

Not a sitcom, but 'James' and 'Cassandra' on Little House didn't exactly improve the series. They were downright annoying, IMO. The Ingalls kept getting all of these new kids!
not to mention Nellie lookalike Nancy Olsen!

i noticed they used James and Cassandra more than original cast member Carrie:rolleyes:

CatLover79, who is Ralph Thomas? Do you possibly mean Ralph Waite, who played the father?
YES -- I meant Ralph Waite. I didn't even notice. Thanks for pointing that out. :rofl: (You mean you've never heard of Ralph Thomas?? He was great. HA! :joke:)

YES -- I meant Ralph Waite. I didn't even notice. Thanks for pointing that out. :rofl: (You mean you never heard of Ralph Thomas?? He was great. HA! :joke:)
Ralph Thomas is one of my all time favorite actors:happyface

Ralph Thomas is one of my all time favorite actors:happyface
:rofl:

not to mention Nellie lookalike Nancy Olsen!

i noticed they used James and Cassandra more than original cast member Carrie:rolleyes:
Adding Albert to the show was a good addition given the son that Charles always wanted. I did not care for the way that relationship was written at times there was this being tough being promoted instead being a man of integrity. A couple of episodes stood out when that was displayed. With the Ingalls taking in all those children with so little room showed me that one can work with little that is there. They had a small home but a good heart for children especially orphans.

As for The Waltons' one post stated that they should had canned the show once the principle actors were leaving and/or have died. The show somewhat survived when Richard Thomas left but when Ellen Corby had the stroke was out for an entire season the vinegar and spice that Grandma and Grandpa brought into that relationship made the show interesting when the show began to slip. When Will Geer passed away and the following season Michael Learned left in the middle of the season the show was not quite the same. Even though Michael came back for a few episodes her portrayal of Olivia Walton was not the same. She left again then the final season Ralph Waite, not Ralph Thomas, was gone.

I did not like when Family added Annie on the show. She did not do anything for the show that was a powerful family show.

I did not like when the Cosby Show added Olivia in there. She hogged up the airtime when the Huxtable's had grandchildren that could make interesting storylines. At some point in family shows the kids grow up, get married and have chidlren. It would had been interesting to see more storylines with Cliff and his twin grandchildren.

My Wife & Kids made a mistake with Franklin.

Yes, you're right on all counts. Without DY, Bewitched was sinking fast and I think the only reason Adam was written in was because Liz was pregnant. As for Nancy Dussault, I also LOVED her guest turn on Barney Miller as a sassy hooker. :rofl:
Nancy Dussault was an underrated actress. She is funny and can do comedy well. She reminds me so much of Bonnie Franklin except Nancy is a better actress and singer.

Nancy Dussault was an underrated actress. She is funny and can do comedy well. She reminds me so much of Bonnie Franklin except Nancy is a better actress and singer.
In this episode of Barney Miller, the barbs between her and Max Gail (Wojo) were priceless. :lol:

It really goes downhill when the kid ages rapidly between seasons

Recipe for destroying any tv show.

One ingredient. Add child.

That's it. Presto, like magic!

An even worse ingredient: Aging the child between seasons

In this episode of Barney Miller, the barbs between her and Max Gail (Wojo) were priceless. :lol:
She also held her own with Ted Knight on Too Close For Comfort when they gave her a chance to be funny. Her singing voice is priceless especially the episode when Muriel, Nancy's character, found out she was pregnant when she sung Zing With the Strings of My Heart.

She also held her own with Ted Knight on Too Close For Comfort when they gave her a chance to be funny. Her singing voice is priceless especially the episode when Muriel, Nancy's character, found out she was pregnant when she sung Zing With the Strings of My Heart.
Didn't she also co-host Good Morning America when it first came on back in the '70s??

Didn't she also co-host Good Morning America when it first came on back in the '70s??
Yes she was from 75 to 77. She was let go due to her speaking up about her limited role on the show. I did enjoyed her on the show. David Hartman had an issue with women on the show and Joan Lunden fixed that and she became the show's first official co-host. She made the show not Hartman.

Here's another tidbit about Nancy Dussault. She was a regular on the first two seasons of The New Dick Van Dyke Show. She was great on that show but the show did a major overhaul of the cast and premise and she was let go.

It depends. Adding Amanda Bynes to the cast of All That HELPED the show.

http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/babies-on-tv-comedies.html?mid=twitter_vulture

Babies As Milestones
If a baby shows up more than one or two seasons into a show, its primary role is often to create meaning and mark time in its parents’ lives. This is the baby of How I Met Your Mother, The Office, and if I had to predict, The Big Bang Theory. In the often-limited vocabulary of television comedies, there aren’t many season finale-sized events in the lives of characters who’ve entered long-term relationships. A baby becomes a universally recognized way to liven up a relationship when the emotional well starts running dry. Those moments in a three-cam sitcom when the live studio audience gasps in rapturous delight? They’re much harder to come by after that first will-they-won’t-they seal is broken, but a new baby announcement is a sure thing.

The baby-as-milestone model is familiar, and the results are, too. Pam and Jim weren’t dating, and then they were, and then they get married, and then the series needs another “and then.” But The Office’s main premise leaves very little room for telling extensive stories about infancy, so instead, babies in this category appear (and usually, disappear) like mile markers on a road trip. They denote a new stage in these characters’ lives, but they’re dispatched quickly, sent to the magical land of perpetual naptime where so many TV babies live.

For notable milestone babies, consider Rachel’s daughter on Friends, who becomes the catalyst for her final union with Ross; How I Met Your Mother’s Marvin, the inevitable result of Lily and Marshall being together for several seasons; Miranda and Steve’s son Brady (who was mostly a “one of these women needs a baby” baby); the Knope-Wyatt triplets on Parks and Rec; and of course, Cecelia Marie Halpert on The Office. Looking back even farther, we have the babies on Growing Pains and The Cosby Show, among others.

Babies As Props
If a TV comedy baby survives the culling of that initial “we had a baby” milestone sweep, or if the show’s premise was built around parenthood (you can tell because the series’ promo images always feature a baby), chances are pretty good these babies will become props. If you began life as a milestone baby, and you do occasionally make it back on screen, it will almost always be as a joke. These babies never actually appear as newborns because they enter the televisual world as chubby, smiling six month olds who coo responsively and grow from there into precocious toddlers who rarely throw tantrums. They tend to fade in and out of reality, frequently being swapped for dolls or undistinguished rolls of blankets. These are the babies who get wigs accidentally glued to their heads, or they’re twins whose names get swapped, or they’re forgotten or locked inside the house. In a minor bit from Friends, Joey and Chandler leave Ross’s son Ben on the bus, and have to go to a city facility to pick him up. Except once they do, they’re not precisely sure which baby is Ben. Haha, whoops!

When they’re not physical props, these babies live as tiny baby improv prompts. Consider the toddler on Grandfathered, whose most frequent job is to play up her grandfather’s juvenile behavior and egotistical tendencies. Whatever the promos and loglines may suggest, the point of these shows is rarely to illustrate parenthood. It’s to tell stories about people who happen to be near babies.

Prop babies are everywhere. Modern Family does an entire baptism episode where young Fulgencio barely appears; the Full House twins were born because the Olsens were aging out of prop status, plus of course the babies from Friends and Grandfathered. See also, Up All Night, Raising Hope, and the many prop babies not limited to TV comedy — currently, Bones and Nashville come to mind.

Babies As Mirrors
Babies on TV, especially TV comedies, are guest stars in their own families: present only when convenient, and when they’re gone, no one seems to notice or find it at all bizarre. But it’s possible for a show to strain against the boundaries of real-baby plausibility and still tell worthwhile, funny stories about parenthood. Even when physically absent, the narrative existence of a baby can become a way to drive characters to deeper, more reflective places.

Sometimes these narratives come in the form of short but weighty one-off episodes, like the sleep-training bottle episode of Mad About You. Sometimes they’re bigger arcs — The Mindy Project is one of the biggest offenders in the TV realm of magically sleeping, born-as-a-six-month-old, new-mom-wearing-gorgeous-outfits crimes against babyhood. In spite of this, Mindy’s frustration with staying at home and her conversations with Danny about losing her identity are vital and under-represented depictions of life after becoming a parent. As another example, CBS’s Mom has done a noteworthy story on parenthood after one of its characters gave her baby up for adoption.

There are some important production-related reasons why babies can’t be around all the time. They’re expensive! They can only film for short periods of time, there are all kinds of rules governing being on set, and they’re not the most reliably cooperative actors. But when they’re not physically around, the best path out of the dull mire of bad TV baby tropes is to treat the existence of a baby — and its impact on parents’ lives — as a mirror, reflecting back previously unseen angles on a character’s life.

Good examples of these are few and far between, but other than Mindy Project, Mad About You, and Mom, it’s useful to stretch the definition of comedy a bit to include Julia’s adoption story line on Parenthood. There is plenty ridiculous about Julia’s quest to adopt her barista’s baby, but that unseen baby’s ability to reflect Julia’s pain is poignant.

Babies As Babies
The rarest baby on television comedy is an actual baby. A baby who first appears on the series as an squalling, unphotogenic newborn, whose life hits not just one but several successive stages of new developmental challenges, who requires regular feedings and constant supervision, is as difficult to find as a Golden Age TV drama with a female protagonist.

There aren’t many of them, but Jane the Virgin is one of the few comedies that’s grappled with new motherhood and the realities of parenting in an extended, fundamental (and also hilarious!) way. Like Mindy, Jane struggles to balance her new role as a mother with her career ambitions, but we get to see that happen in the context of forgotten breast pumps, sleep training strategies, childcare anxieties and — a surprisingly unusual feature of TV — real, unthinking, ordinary pleasure in her son. Jane’s depiction of parenthood feels radical because it is, and because there are so few comedies that come close to Jane’s narrative commitment to Jane as a parent. (And it’s not as though dramas do much better.)

One of the few arresting portrayals of the specific madness of parent- and babyhood isn’t even widely available to watch: the nineties trailblazer Murphy Brown. Its protagonist enters motherhood ambivalent and without a partner. Murphy’s baby is often a victim of suddenly-a-doll syndrome, and quickly becomes a tiny pawn in a larger political discussion about family values, but the series’ outlook on infancy is apparent in an early scene in the episode after the baby is born. Murphy lurches out of bed to comfort her crying son on his first night home, and Candice Bergen holds a real, surprisingly tiny baby in exactly the least comforting way you can imagine. He dangles from her hands, as far from her body as she can manage, and Murphy’s discomfort and fear are crazily palpable. It’s a remarkable moment, and it comes out of a narrative that’s grounded in Murphy’s sudden confrontation with her baby as a real, unavoidably frail and needy human infant.

It’s likely not a coincidence that some of television’s best comedies about babydom are rooted in a fundamental discomfort — or at the very least, ambivalence — with the whole prospect of parenthood. Some of the best, and funniest, depictions of parenthood are the ones that begin from the premise that the entire endeavor is slightly questionable — these are the comedies that begin with the baby not as a prop, but as a bomb. From that opening stance, the realization that babies are also gloriously fun, and joyful, and inherently hilarious, feels exactly the way it does in real parenthood. It is a happy and truly unexpected surprise. And so there’s every reason to look forward to this second season of Catastrophe, a series whose first season was a deliciously ambivalent, skeptical, and hopeful take on the human project of making a family. Let’s just cross our fingers no babies get glued to a bad wig, or left on a bus, or forgotten altogether.

My Wife & Kids made a mistake with Franklin.
They should have dropped that little troll!