Series Description:

This TV show was a 60 minute musical/variety/comedy series on ABC starring the cast of the original "Brady Bunch". The actual idea was that the Bradys were hired by ABC to star in their own variety program. They moved from their home on "The Brady Bunch" to a home on the beach in southern California. There were segments of them performing musical numbers, segments of them behind the scenes, and segments of their non-working lives similar to what they did on "The Brady Bunch".

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour Cast:

Brady Bunch Variety Hour Trivia:

"The cast's" appearance on "Donny and Marie" got huge Nielsen ratings and Fred Silverman (Then President of ABC) decided to develop a new variety series. Paramount Studios who owned the rights to the Brady Bunch name reluctantly agreed as they felt it might stimulate viewers to watch the original "Brady Bunch" series reruns. Sherwood Schwartz who owned the copyright as creator of the original agreed because he didn't want to be the cause of the cast not getting a new series.

Craig Nelson, in his book, "Bad Tv" named this series "The worst variety show in the history of television. The July 20-26 issue of TV Guide ranked it as the #4 worst program of all time! Remember the "Brady Bunch" when they always said that Marcia was the pretty one and Jan was the smart one? Well, Eve Plumb who played Jan was the only Brady Bunch cast member to turn down this series so that must be true! The Brady Bunch Hour was pretty nastily spoofed on episode #178 of "The Simpsons" titled, "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" and on episode #53 of "That 70s Show" titled, "Red Sees Red". No episode has ever been rerun on US network television.

All of the actors who played the kids hated this series but surprisingly, Florence Henderson and Robert Reed both said that this was their favorite "Brady" series!

One "exciting" part of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour was when the "Water Follies" would do synchronized swimming in the Brady's pool while the Bradys did their singing and dancing routines. (Somebody wake me up please). The women known as the "Water Follie" were also called "The Kroffette Dancers" while performing out of the water. (Good deal ... 2 acts ... one paycheck).

The living room set in the pilot was different from both the one on the original "Brady Bunch" program and the one in the other Brady Bunch Hour episodes.

One confusing part of this show was that there were sketches that appeared as if the cast was all back on the original series. These sketches has no apparent connection with this new series. Then they'd have a sketch about life behind the scenes of the current show. There was no good transition from one sketch to the other.

One very noticeable difference between this show and the original "Brady Bunch" is the role of Carol played by Florence Henderson. On the original Brady Bunch series, Carol pretty much ran the household and the children's lives and her husband made all of the big decisions. In this series, Carol takes over and mostly "rules the roost". Her husband Mike played by Robert Reed usually condescends to her wishes! Times do change don't they?

You may also want to check out these other "Brady" TV series' pages: "The Brady Bunch (1969)","The Brady Kids (1972 - Animated)", "The Brady Brides (1981)", and "The Bradys (1990)".

Episodes List With Original Air Dates And Guests

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour TV Special (Pilot)

The First and Only Season

1. Episode 1 (1/23/1977)
   Guests: Lee Majors, Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Kaptain Kool and the Kongs.
   
2. Episode 2 (2/27/1977)
   Guests: Milton Berle and Tina Turner.
   
3. Episode 3 (3/4/1977)
   Guests: Vincent Price, H.R. Pufnstuf and Kiki Bird.
   
4. Episode 4 (3/21/1977)
   Guests: Charo and The Hudson Brothers.
   
5. Episode 5 (3/28/1977)
   Guests: Rich Little, Edgar Bergen and Melanie.
   
6. Episode 6 (4/4/1977)
   Guests: Redd Foxx, Robert Heyges and The Ohio Players.
   
7. Episode 7 (4/24/1977)
   Guests: The What's Happenin' Kids and Rick Dees
   
8. Episode 8 (5/25/1977)
   Guests: Paul Williams and Lynn Anderson.