Bud & Kelly Were Recast

Christina Applegate and David Faustino were not the original actors to play Kelly and Bud Bundy. In the original unaired pilot episode, the two characters were played by actress Tina Caspary and actor Hunter Carson. Both actors would go on to have mediocre careers in the business.

Nary an Emmy to Go Around

Married… with Children remains the longest-running scripted live-action show in Fox history. Until Baywatch went off the air in 2001, Married… with Children was also the longest-running show to never win an Emmy Award.

Real-Life Parody

Ed O’Neill and David Faustino revealed that some aspects of their real lives were parodied on the show. O’Neill was a former college football player and Faustino had wanted to be a rapper. This little tidbit gave producers the idea to create Faustino’s rapper persona, Grandmaster B.

Hidden Pregnancy

Katey Sagal became pregnant three times during the show’s 10-plus years on the air. The first time came in season six, and the pregnancy was worked into the plot. Sadly, however, it was written out when Sagal had a miscarriage. The second and third pregnancies were in seasons eight/nine and 10, respectively.

Why It Was Cancelled

Ed O’Neill believes the show was cancelled because syndication rights from Sony were so expensive — reportedly $1 million per episode — and stations asked them to stop making new episodes. O’Neill was the only cast member to appear in all 260 episodes, including the “lost episode” and the original unaired pilot.

The Lost Episode

“I’ll See You in Court” was the eighth episode of season three, and was due to air on Feb 19, 1989. It never did and became known as the “lost episode” and never officially aired until 2002 in the United States. The reason? The episode involved the Bundys and the Rhoades being recorded on a motel sex tape.