Norman Lear created a series of shows in the 1970s and 1980s that dealt with the social and political climate of the era through comedy. However, many exhausted their shelf life and as social attitudes and political struggles were erased by the crack epidemic and AIDS, Lear lost his political comedy power on the networks. By the early 1980s he wasn't even allowed to be over his own show's scripts anymore, which is why many of his shows ended and/or took a weird tone unrealistic to their humble beginnings.
So here is the list of his shows and how they interconnect to each other (for those that don't know).
Sanford and Son (American adaptation of Steptoe and Son, starring Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, Whitman Mayo, Lawanda Page).
Sanford Arms (Spinoff of Sanford and Son as a result of Wilson and Foxx walking out of Sanford and Son holding out for a salary equal to that of Carroll O'Conner on All in the Family, another Lear show. This show was comprised of ALL supporting characters of Sanford and Son - Aunt Esther, Grady, Rollo, Leroy and Skillet, Bubba, and Julio (until he left for Barney Miller) who were running Fred's apartment which was named the 'Sanford Arms')
Grady (Spinoff of Sanford and Son where Grady moves in with his daughter who divorced to help her raise her teenage son, played by Haywood Nelson who went on to What's Happening)
Sanford (Revival Spinoff of Sanford and Son, where Lamont has married and is gone, and now Fred is engaged to Eve and takes in Cal, a truck driver. Aunt Esther is still on this show)
All In The Family (Show featuring Archie and Edith Bunker, their daughter Gloria and son in law Mike as the principal cast. Many supporting characters and guest stars would subsequently get their own show).
The Jeffersons (Show featuring George and Louise Jefferson, who moved on up to a penthouse on w.75th in NYC; next door neighbors to the Bunkers and the first black family to move in their neighborhood)
Check It Out (Show featuring the Jefferson's maid Florence Johnston, who left their employ to be a manager of maids at a hotel in Manhattan)
Maude (Show featuring Maude Findley, who was Edith's liberal political cousin from Evanston, IL.)
Good Times (Show featuring Florida Evans and the struggles of her family living in the projects of Chicago, IL. Florida was Maude's maid; her husband James (then called Henry on Maude) was featured on Maude).
Gloria (Show featuring Gloria Stivic, now divorced from Mike, raising their son Joey alone in Arizona where she is a vet assistant).
One Day At A Time (Show featuring Barney's cousin Ann Romano moving to Annapolis to raise her two daughters as a divorced single mother. Barney was a good friend of Archie Bunker on All in the Family)
Archie Bunker's Place (Archie buys a neighborhood pub and the show is set around his life after the death of Edith (Jean Stapleton left the show right after this one started and eventually they killed her off).
704 Hauser Street (Show featuring a black family now living in Archie's house, who's patriarch share the same views as Archie on race relations. The irony of this show is that John Amos, who played on Good Times as James Evans and was killed off that show, plays the father here).
Norman Lear was BUSY.
