Editing The Brady Bunch (section)

==Premise==
Mike Brady ([[Robert Reed]]), a widowed [[architect]] with three sons—Greg ([[Barry Williams (actor)|Barry Williams]]), Peter ([[Christopher Knight (actor)|Christopher Knight]]), and Bobby ([[Mike Lookinland]])—marries Carol Martin ([[Florence Henderson]]), who herself has three daughters: Marcia ([[Maureen McCormick]]), Jan ([[Eve Plumb]]), and Cindy ([[Susan Olsen]]). Mike and Carol adopt each other's children and Carol and her daughters take the Brady surname. Included in the blended family are Mike's live-in [[Housekeeper (domestic worker)|housekeeper]], Alice Nelson ([[Ann B. Davis]]), and the boys' dog, Tiger. (In the pilot episode, the girls also have a pet: a cat named Fluffy who never appears in any other episodes). The setting is a large two-story house designed by Mike, located in a Los Angeles suburb.<ref name="BB">{{Cite web |title=Brady Bunch synopsis |url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/thebradybunch.html |access-date=2014-06-01 |website=Sitcoms Online}}</ref>  The show never addressed what happened to Carol's first husband.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abc7ny.com/florence-henderson-carol-brady-the-bunch-what-happened-to-bradys-first-husband/720576/|title=Florence Henderson reveals what really happened to Carol Brady's first husband|website=ABC7 New York}}</ref> In April 2025, Brady Bunch stars Christopher Knight, Barry Williams and Susan Olsen stated that while show creator [[Sherwood Schwartz]] always intended for Carol to be divorced from her first husband, ABC preferred for her to be widowed due to more conservative American stance on marriage at the time the first episode aired in 1969, which would play a lead role in producing a compromise which resulted in not revealing the first husband's fate on the show.<ref name=carolfirstmarriageissue /> However, other factors also prevented Carol from being revealed as being divorced on the show as well, such as the potential portrayal of both [[Child custody|custody arrangement]] and explanations for the divorce, with Mike, who even was able to adopt Carol's daughters, always being portrayed as the only father Carol's daughters accepted.<ref name=carolfirstmarriageissue>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/why-the-brady-bunch-never-explained-what-happened-to-carols-first-husband-11719745|title=Why The Brady Bunch Never Explained What Happened to Carol’s First Husband|first=Victoria|last=Edel|publisher=People|date=April 22, 2025|accessdate=May 20, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/brady-bunch-kids-reveal-why-fate-carol-first-husband-never-mentioned|title=‘Brady Bunch’ kids reveal why the fate of Carol's first husband was never mentioned|first=Brie|last=Stimson|publisher=Fox News|date=April 26, 2025|accessdate=May 20, 2025}}</ref>

In the first season, awkward adjustments, accommodations, gender rivalries, and resentments inherent in blended families dominate the storylines. In an early episode, Carol tells Bobby that the only "steps" in their household lead to the second floor (in other words, that the Bradys are not a "stepfamily", only "a family"). Thereafter, episodes focus on typical teen and [[Preadolescence|preteen]] concerns such as [[sibling rivalry]], [[puppy love]], [[self-image]], character building, responsibility, [[dating]], [[School grades (US)|school grades]] and getting along in social company. Noticeably absent is any [[Political criticism|political commentary]], especially regarding the [[Vietnam War]], which was being waged at its largest extent during the height of the series;<ref>History Channel, "The Social History of Television" (Aug 2013){{full citation needed|date=March 2022}}</ref>