The Tragic Reason An Entire Season Of ‘Married… With Children’ Was Changed

UPDATED 3/22/2023

One of the best television sitcoms to air was Married… with Children, which was on the air from 1987 to 1997. It’s considered one of the best out there due to the dysfunctionality of the on-air family and how they were never once depicted as a perfect, happy family. There were definitely some issues along the way!

The premiere episode of season six is one episode that will always tug at the heartstrings of fans of the show. This episode was when the Bundy family friends, Jefferson and Marcy, tell them that they are expecting a child. This is when Peggy reveals she is also pregnant and Al becomes completely distraught at this discovery.

Why an entire season of ‘Married… with Children’ was changed

Despite Al’s freakout about the sudden pregnancy of Peggy, most of his worries being about money and general support, the season was incredibly funny and made many fans laugh. Then, at the end of the 11 episodes, Al realizes that it was all a dream and the last few episodes in the season were also just a dream.

RELATED: Which Is Ed O’Neill’s Best: ‘Married… With Children’ Or ‘Modern Family’?

The last few episodes were written as just a dream to signify that Peggy and Marcy were no longer pregnant. However, there was a reason for this sudden change in the plot.

The directors and producers made this change out of consideration for the actress of Peggy, Katey Sagal. Sagal was pregnant for the majority of the season but unfortunately lost her baby to stillbirth at 8 months in. Sagal was taking the loss incredibly hard, she revealed while on The View.

“This is what they say about stillbirth, that 60 percent of it is God’s will and there’s no medical reason – and that’s what I was told,” she says, “And I just couldn’t let go of the control of somehow, [the notion that] I had done something wrong.”

The show decided to make Peggy’s pregnancy a dream due to the fact that it could’ve been incredibly traumatic for Sagal to interact with an infant on the show while also dealing with the loss of her own child.

After this tragic loss, Sagal would go on to have two more children within her time on Married… with Children, and a third after the show ended. None of these pregnancies were written into the show. “I wouldn’t have the three I have if I hadn’t had her,” Sagal recalls about her children.

While it’s incredibly unfortunate and tragic what happened with Sagal’s first pregnancy, it’s very heartwarming to hear that her directors and producers took such good care of her in such a difficult time.

Please SHARE this article if you remember watching Married… with Children! Check out the video below of some of the funniest scenes from the pregnancy reveal episode.

FAQs

Why was an episode of Married… with Children banned?

Some episodes of Married… with Children contained censor notes explaining that some content in the episode could be deemed “too graphic” and that viewers should watch at their own risk. Their episode “I’ll See You in Court” contained a total of 15 and Fox refused to air the episode.

When did the Married… with Children theme change?

The original opening theme song for Married… with Children was “Love and Marriage” sung by Frank Sinatra. It was then omitted by Sony in North America beginning with the third season onward due to music licensing issues.

What is the funniest episode of Married… with Children?

A list detailing the top 10 best episodes of Married… with Children notes “You Better Shop Around” (S5E21/22) as the best episode of the show. In the episode, the Bundys move into a grocery store after Al’s WWII-era air conditioner causes a blackout in their neighborhood.