With Father’s Day approaching on Sunday, now is a good time to look back at some of the small-screen patriarchs who taught us life’s lessons between commercial breaks. From gruff blue-collar icons to thousandaires of the day, these five 1970s TV dads balanced humor, heart, and hard-won wisdom.
Sit on the couch and unwind with five TV Dads from the 1970s that you can stream today!
Archie Bunker – All in the Family
- Original Run: 1971–1979
- Seasons: 9
- Episodes: 205
- Where to Watch: Prime Video | Pluto TV | Tubi
“Those Were the Days” was the opening theme to one of the most pivotal shows of the 1970s, All in the Family, starring Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker. The Norman Lear-produced sitcom created one of TV’s most outspoken father figures and one of the greatest TV characters of all time. Bunker was a blue-collar everyman and often clashed with his wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton), and his daughter and son-in-law, in a show that was afraid to be controversial and explore issues of its time. All in the Family was a huge success during its original run and still runs in syndication, and even went on to spawn five spin-offs.
Phillip Drummond – Diff’rent Strokes
- Original Run: 1978–1986
- Seasons: 8
- Episodes: 189
- Where to Watch: Tubi
Diff’rent Strokes was the sitcom that pioneered the “very special episodes,” and had the world asking, “What you talkin’ about Willis?” Conrad Bain starred as Phillip Drummond, who had a big heart that bridged the worlds of his adoptive sons Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis Jackson (Todd Bridges) and his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato). The show challenged the tropes of the time and proved that family is more than just blood while turning Plato, Coleman, and Bridges into household names.
George Jefferson – The Jeffersons
As the longest-running spin-off of Norman Lear’s All in the Family, The Jeffersons was led by Sherman Hemsley’s portrayal of George Jefferson, a self-made Black businessman with a larger-than-life personality. Always dressed in sharp suits with even sharper and witty comebacks, Jefferson was also a loving father to his son Lionel (Mike Evans/Damon Evans). Known for its unforgettable “Movin’ On Up” theme song and its tackling of serious issues, The Jeffersons continues to air in syndication, 50 years after its premiere episode.
Mike Brady – The Brady Bunch
- Original Run: 1969–1974
- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 117
- Where to Watch: Paramount+ | Pluto TV
Robert Reed’s Mike Brady was the classic TV dad who has been duplicated across pop culture since The Brady Bunch first premiered on the small screen in 1969. The widowed architect was the father of three sons, and then met his wife Carol Brady (5 Timeless TV Moms), the mother of three daughters, and the couple would go on to create a blended family that became a cultural phenomenon. The Brady Bunch still airs in syndication over 50 years later, and Mike’s legacy as a father who balanced his career with fatherhood has become the archetype for many TV dads.
Fred Sanford – Sanford & Son
- Original Run: 1972–1977
- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 136
- Where to Watch: Prime Video | Peacock | DIRECTV | Philo | Tubi | Pluto TV
One of the most popular shows of the 1970s, Sanford & Son, starred Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford and was a huge hit for NBC. Based on the British Sitcom, Steptoe and Son, Foxx shone as the cantankerous scrap-yard owner whose feigned heart attacks, making “I’m coming to join you, Elizabeth!” an instant catchphrase. Fred’s bickering with his son Lamont (Demond Wilson) helped Sanford & Son peak at No. 2 in the ratings, right behind Bunker’s All in the Family, and turned the show into a classic that still airs in syndication to this day.