Is it a coincidence that The Munsters and The Addams Family both started in the same week?
The TV shows from the 60's of The Addams Family and The Munsters have similar macabre themes and characters.
We know that the Addams family was originally a cartoon in The New Yorker by Charles Addams.
Intriguingly enough - both shows started in the same week in September 1964.
My question is: Is it a coincidence that the Munsters and the Addams family both started in the same week?
Best Answer
No.
CBS knew that that Addams family, already established through cartoons, was readily primed for a TV adaptation, and decided to create a property out of it without the rights to its characters.
When ABC found out this was going to happen, they readily greenlit a series for the actual Addams family to finally be translated onto the screen. If it weren't for CBS' eagerness to make the show, the Addams family itself may never have been made.
The Addams family was well established, and as it's script was written by Nat Perrin (Who wrote for the Marx Brothers) CBS understood what tone the show would be in, and tried to replicate it.
Despite the Addams family being the progenitor, the Munsters actually received better ratings.
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The Addams Family Vs. The Munsters
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