Whatever Happened To: The Cast Of "The Brady Bunch"

Here's The Story... OK, well if you don't know it by now, you clearly don't heart Hollywood.

On September 26, 1969, ABC introduced us all to "a Lovely Lady and a Man Named Brady" and The Brady Bunch became one of our most popular tv sitcoms of all times.

Now 50 years later, the series is just as popular as ever. Unless you have living under a rock you have seen HGTV’s perfectly-timed limited series, A Very Brady Renovation which has the fake Brady Family playing their real-life selves, turning their fake family house into a real home. #Meta.  

We here at #IHeartHollood here love to write about the Brady's and you can click HERE to see all our past articles.

Whether you were a Brady fan or not, you can certainly appreciate how many Brady spinoffs there were (not counting The Brady Bunch Movie and its sequels). Let's take a look:

The Brady Kids on Mystery Island (ABC, 1972):

The premiere episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie find the Brady kids entering a balloon race but end up accidentally going on a mysterious island. They meet some strange people there along with a magical myna bird named Marlon and twin pandas named Ping and Pong, and even though they have a fun time with them, they have to find out a way to get home.  This cartoon served as a pilot for The Brady Kids. 

The Brady Kids (ABC, 1972-73) ­­

The animated series had the Brady kids forming a pop group and go on adventures with their newfound friends: two pandas, a shaggy dog, and a magical bird.

The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (ABC, 1976-77)

The original cast (minus Eve Plumb, whose Jan was played by Geri Reischel) reprised their roles for this variety show where The Brady family sings, dances, and performs comedy skits. We wrote about it HERE.

The Brady Girls Get Married (1981, NBC)

This TV movie was the first real reunion and brought the entire Brady clan—including all original cast members—home for Marcia and Jan’s double wedding.

The Brady Brides (NBC, 1981)

The spinoff of The Brady Girls Get Married followed the lives of Marcia, Jan and their new husbands. The girls find a house that they have always wanted but have to convince the guys that it's a good idea to move in together

A Very Brady Christmas (CBS, 1988)

This TV movie reunited the growing family (Susan Olsen wasn’t able to return, so Jennifer Runyon played Cindy), and introduced more serious storylines for many of the characters. Rest assured, it ended with the family singing Christmas carols. Ratings were high enough to inspire another series.

The Bradys (CBS, 1990)

Olsen returned for this spinoff series, but Maureen McCormick didn’t (Marcia was played by Leah Ayres). More dramedy than comedy, this series saw Mike entering politics, Bobby temporarily paralyzed in a race car accident, alcoholism, and infertility.

Bradymania: A Very Brady Special (ABC, 1993)

The TV special hosted by Florence Henderson included memorable clips, interviews with cast members, and reflected on the impact the original series had on pop culture.

Brady Bunch Home Movies (CBS, 1995)

Early on during the original series’ run, Robert Reed gave each cast member a home movie camera. This special boasted behind-the-scenes and archival footage of the cast at work and at play.

Growing Up Brady (NBC, 2000)

Based on Barry Williams’ 1992 autobiography of the same name, this TV movie focused on his memories from when the series was in production. Adam Brody played Williams, Kaley Cuoco played McCormick, and Mike Lookinland (the original Bobby) played a camera operator while his young son, Scott, played him.

A Very Brady Renovation (HGTV, 2019)

Last year HGTV purchased the home familiar to millions as the exterior of the Brady house. This year they renovated it so the interior resembled the show’s original sets. All six Brady “kids” accepted the challenge to appear on the show, as themselves, alongside Property Brothers’ Jonathan and Drew Scott who led the project.

So there has been a Brady show on ABC, CBS, NBC, HGTV and in Syndication... plus two feature films and a TV movie sequel to those two films.

 Pretty impressive. So whatever happened with the orignal Brady kids?

The Brady Bunch is still on the air 50 years after its premiere, both with repeats and new shows. No other TV series in the history of television has accomplished this..and that is why we will always ❤️the Brady Bunch.