Fox News Host Laura Ingraham Doubts ‘All In The Family’ & ‘Jeffersons’ Recreations Will Work
By now you’ve probably heard All in the Family and The Jeffersons are returning to TV.
Earlier this week, ABC announced Norman Lear, who created the two sitcoms, is teaming up with Jimmy Kimmel for a live primetime special featuring re-creations of the iconic 1970s series.
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The two will host and executive produce the one-night-only tribute, which is set to air next month. It will feature Woody Harrelson playing Archie Bunker, with Marisa Tomei as his long-suffering wife Edith in the recreation of All In The Family. Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes will take on the roles of George and Louise Jefferson in The Jeffersons.
Following the announcement, Fox News host Laura Ingraham and contributor Raymond Arroyo discussed the special during the “Friday Follies” segment last night on The Ingraham Angle.
[Watch the video above at the 4:35 mark]
Ingraham applauded the all-star casting, but said she thinks it’s a bad idea to tinker with greatness.
“I don’t like tinkering with the best and those shows were among the best television shows ever produced,” she said.
Arroyo added that he interviewed Carroll O’Connor, who played Archie Bunker, just before the actor died in 2001.
After tossing to a clip of O’Connor discussing his iconic role, Arroyo said he thinks the country has become too politically correct for a character like Archie Bunker to work.
“I think we’re afraid of this material today, and I doubt if an actor is going to play him through. I think they’ll comment on him, which will not work,” he stated.
Related Story: Jimmy Kimmel Re-Creates Norman Lear’s ‘All In The Family,’ ‘The Jeffersons’ Episodes For Live ABC Primetime Special
Lear has apparently heard it all before, and addressed naysayers who think it’s wrong to bring back All in the Family and its spinoff.
“We disagree with them and are here to prove, with two great casts depicting of All In The Family and The Jeffersons, the timelessness of human nature,” Lear said in a statement earlier this week, adding, “I cannot wait to see what these glorious performers make in our time of these indelible characters.”
Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All In The Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’ is being produced by Smoking Baby Productions, ACT III Productions, Gary Sanchez Productions and Sony Pictures Television. The special, directed by James Burrows, will feature an original episode from each comedy.
It’s scheduled air on Wednesday, May 22, 8-9:30 PM ET.
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