The show’s ratings were declining and ABC was desperate for Sherwood Schwartz to save the show. So, they recommended (or rather, demanded) that Schwartz introduce a new young character in hopes that he’d be the savior of the show and prevent the show from plummeting all together. So, the four-eyed blonde cousin Oliver was introduced during the last season to save the show.
The term “Cousin Oliver” has since stuck in Hollywood and it’s used to describe a character that is introduced to salvage a dying show. Unfortunately, cousin Oliver had no honorable moments and he didn’t impact the series at all. Fans felt that the character was unnecessary, but clearly, the producers didn’t have a choice at that point.
Not an Immediate Success
Although 'The Brady Bunch' would become a widely successful show and one of the most popular American sitcoms, when it was initially released, it wasn’t a big hit. Because the ratings were disappointingly low, the show was renewed for only thirteen episodes at a time. During the five years that the show was aired, it never made it to the top 30 of the Nielsen ratings. By the time the show reached its final season, it finally gained the rights to release an entire season at once.
The show didn’t gain popularity and its iconic status until years later when reruns were shown on TV, especially during after-school hours when children could tune in. The show’s director, Schwartz says that the show gained its iconic status despite low ratings because children could relate to the show.
Low Pay
Due to the show’s low ratings, the actors’ salaries were nowhere near the $1 million per episode paychecks of stars nowadays, like on 'The Big Bang Theory'.
Not only was their pay low, but apparently they even had to pay to park their cars on the ABC lot while filming. Talk about cheap, ABC!
No Farting!
It has been joked about that the Bradys didn’t have digestive systems because a toilet is never seen in the show, although the bathroom is frequently shown. While the Bradys were a very wholesome and pure family, of course they needed to go #2 sometimes, just like the rest of us less than perfect families. Despite this, no scenes depict a toilet. Apparently, ABC didn’t want a toilet filmed in the show.
Showing a John would have been a violation of regulations. We are talking about the early 70s after all, when censorship was much different than it is now. On a side note, the eight-member family shared one bathroom. So, maybe they didn’t have digestive systems after all, if that was the case…
Tiger’s Doghouse Stays
It’s either the adored family dog, Tiger, or his doghouse that stays. Well, apparently, producers chose the doghouse. Tiger was tragically killed off the show in a car accident. While producers never introduced another dog to replace him, they chose to keep his doghouse in the backyard of the Brady’s house.
Perhaps to commemorate the life of Tiger? Not exactly… the doghouse was meant to cover up a spot on the Astroturf where a studio light had fallen and burned the ground.