Brady Brides, The (NBC 1981, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb)

The Brady Brides was a followup to the original, successful TV series The Brady Bunch. In the first three parts, older sisters Marcia and Jan accept marriage proposals, decide on a double wedding — with Jan and her fiance, Philip Covington III, deciding on a traditional wedding, while Marcia and her fiance, Wally Logan, choose a more contemporary wedding — and after the usual Brady problems, get married.

The first three episodes consist of the the televsion movie, “The Brady Girls Get Married,” suitably split into the 30-minute segments. It was originally scheduled to air on February 6, 1981, as a two-hour movie but was re-edited as three 30-minute segments of a new series, the first of which aired on February 6. The three segments were then re-edited into a 90-minute TV movie that aired October 27, 1981.

The final seven episodes are purpose made for the series, showing the girls’ home life, where, to save money, the couples agree to share a house. This series is a little racy by Brady Bunch standards but still tame compared to most shows on the air at the time.

Both daughters and their husbands had entered the working world. Marcia is a fashion designer. Jan is an architect, like her father; Wally works as a marketer for a toy company; and Philip is a professor of biochemistry at a local college.

The pair also had Alice their old family housekeeper to fall back on for advice.

production details
USA / NBC / 10×30 minute episodes / Broadcast 6 February – 17 April 1981 Fridays at 8.30pm

cast
MAUREEN McCORMICK as Marcia Brady Logan
EVE PLUMB as Joan Brady Covington
JERRY HOUSER as Wally Logan
RON KUHLMAN as Philip Covington III
ANN B. DAVIS as Alice Nelson
KELAND LOVE as Harry
FLORENCE HENDERSON as Carol Brady