Watching these TV shows, you couldn't help but wish that you were one of the family.

Updated 37 minutes ago, December 24, 2024

We all know the phrase, “You can’t choose your family,” with many of us–perhaps even all of us–relating to that sentiment more than a few times in our lives.

Yet even by our individual standards, few families have proven as overarchingly dysfunctional as the ones that appear on TV.

Over the years, the television medium has introduced audiences to an unending assortment of colorful families, many of whom bicker, fight, and constantly hurl themselves at each other’s throats throughout their series’ runs. As often as they might squabble and argue, these TV families also express obvious love and admiration for one another, supporting each other through emotionally uncertain times whenever they need a helping hand.

Perhaps the most famous TV family of the 1970s (perhaps even of all time), the titular Bradys of The Brady Bunch existed as a wholesome caricature of the average American family. Addressing plenty of poignant issues related to age, adolescence, and unreciprocated romantic feelings, the Bradys took every chance they could to come to one another’s aid. Lending a shoulder to cry on and some cathartic words of wisdom whenever their family members needed it most, the Bradys served as the perfect model family in the latter half of the 20th century–a family we could all learn from and emulate in our average household relationships.