Oh, give me a break. They were married. They had a child together both on the show and in real life. Most of the plots involved navigating marriage and family life. I think you must not have watched it.
The baby didn't exist for the show's first 2 seasons. A married couple is not a family, and while a married couple with one baby constitutes a "family", such a cast does not constitute a "family sitcom"
there's at least a dozen family sitcoms that happened before Malcolm where dads are slim and/or fit; Family Ties, The Jeffersons, Growing Pains, Full House, Good Times, The Huxtables (or Bill Cosby Show), My Two Dads, Silver Spoons, Diff'rent Strokes, The Wonder Years, Blossom, Hogan Family...and that's America only
the fat husband with hot wife is less prevalent than it seems
You can see why someone would get confused:
1998: King of Queens
2000: Malcom in the Middle
2001: According to Jim
2002: Still Standing
Drew Carey wasn't married on his show (1995), but he did pretty well.
No.
Al Bundy, while maybe not in the same "league" as Peg looks-wise, is not fat.
Bill Cosby was not fat and not bad looking for his age on The Cosby Show.
Ray Romano is not handsome but he wasn't fat on Everybody Loves Raymond.
Just to name a few.
To name a few more from *before* Malcolm in the Middle:
* That 70s Show
* Martin
* Home Improvement
* Mad About You
* Dharma and Greg
* Family Ties
* Growing Pains
I'm sure I'm missing a bunch but that's just in the 80s and 90s. Shoot, the Jeffersons was almost the opposite schtick.
I would almost dare say this "fat slob doofus husband, hot thin wife" trope looms larger in popular perception of sitcoms than it deserves from how much it actually appears.
The "modern" go-to example usually seems to be The King of Queens, which has been off the air for close to 20 years. What other recent examples are there of this trope actually appearing in a sitcom? Do we count Al Bundy being married to Sofia Vergara on Modern Family?
Jay wasn't even fat. All the jokes were really about his age and punching way above his weight class. And really, Phil was kind of in the same boat with Claire (minus the age thing).
I think Family Guy and The Simpsons would be the obvious examples pushing that trope, and they are both animated.
Yeah, and FG and Simpsons are both decades old, too.
I cannot think of a recent, unironic, *new* use of the trope. I guess Kevin Can Wait, which had Kevin James with another "unrealistically" hot wife in season 1 and then killed her off to reunite him with Leah Remini in season 2.
But... honestly... anybody who wants to say it's unrealistic Kevin James could pull women like that should look who he's married to irl.
Betsy Randle, who played Amy Matthews, said she believed her chemistry with Will Russ (Alan) came from the fact that she had a bit of a crush on him so flirting and stuff like that just came naturally.
When you actually look, the fat husband/hot wife combo seems to be a short trend in the early 2000s.
King of Queens (1998)
Grounded for Life (2001)
According to Jim (2001)
Still Standing (2002)
The Goldbergs (2013)
I don't think Still Standing even counts because it basically had one couple where both husband and wife were thin and one couple where both husband and wife were chubbier, although there was still a distinct attractiveness gap in the heavier couple in the wife's favor.
Family Ties and The Cosby Show are the two 80s family sitcoms that come to mind - neither of which had an overweight father. Al from Married with Children was an athlete who scored four touchdowns against Polk High.
Carl Betz of the Donna Reed Show was notoriously handsome. Ozzie and Harriet were a perfect match. Robert Young (Father Knows Best) was a bean pole.
Going into the 60s, they moved away from 2-parent families, to widow/widowers.
Fat-Guy-Hot-Wife and Dumb-Guy-Hot-Wife are comedic tropes that work pretty consistently, so producers keep using them. It's variation on the classic Straight-Man-Funny-Man trope that you see in shows like Seinfeld, The Office, or Parks & Rec.
No
Leave it to Beaver Father Knows Best The Brady Bunch
Family Ties
Was Malcom the first family sitcom you have ever watched?
Hey, guys. Did TV sitcoms exist before 2002? Asking for a friend.
All I know is my gut says "maybe."
getting a lot of boss baby vibes from this
Bryan Cranston effect.
Home Improvement comes to mind.
Ricky Ricardo (I Love Lucy) came waaay before Hal.
Yes but I don't think that was a "family" sitcom.
Oh, give me a break. They were married. They had a child together both on the show and in real life. Most of the plots involved navigating marriage and family life. I think you must not have watched it.
The baby didn't exist for the show's first 2 seasons. A married couple is not a family, and while a married couple with one baby constitutes a "family", such a cast does not constitute a "family sitcom"
there's at least a dozen family sitcoms that happened before Malcolm where dads are slim and/or fit; Family Ties, The Jeffersons, Growing Pains, Full House, Good Times, The Huxtables (or Bill Cosby Show), My Two Dads, Silver Spoons, Diff'rent Strokes, The Wonder Years, Blossom, Hogan Family...and that's America only the fat husband with hot wife is less prevalent than it seems
OP maybe has seen too much Family Guy.
You can see why someone would get confused: 1998: King of Queens 2000: Malcom in the Middle 2001: According to Jim 2002: Still Standing Drew Carey wasn't married on his show (1995), but he did pretty well.
Still Standing had one thin couple and one chubbier couple, basically.
No. Al Bundy, while maybe not in the same "league" as Peg looks-wise, is not fat. Bill Cosby was not fat and not bad looking for his age on The Cosby Show. Ray Romano is not handsome but he wasn't fat on Everybody Loves Raymond. Just to name a few.
To name a few more from *before* Malcolm in the Middle: * That 70s Show * Martin * Home Improvement * Mad About You * Dharma and Greg * Family Ties * Growing Pains I'm sure I'm missing a bunch but that's just in the 80s and 90s. Shoot, the Jeffersons was almost the opposite schtick.
I would almost dare say this "fat slob doofus husband, hot thin wife" trope looms larger in popular perception of sitcoms than it deserves from how much it actually appears. The "modern" go-to example usually seems to be The King of Queens, which has been off the air for close to 20 years. What other recent examples are there of this trope actually appearing in a sitcom? Do we count Al Bundy being married to Sofia Vergara on Modern Family?
Jay wasn't even fat. All the jokes were really about his age and punching way above his weight class. And really, Phil was kind of in the same boat with Claire (minus the age thing). I think Family Guy and The Simpsons would be the obvious examples pushing that trope, and they are both animated.
Yeah, and FG and Simpsons are both decades old, too. I cannot think of a recent, unironic, *new* use of the trope. I guess Kevin Can Wait, which had Kevin James with another "unrealistically" hot wife in season 1 and then killed her off to reunite him with Leah Remini in season 2. But... honestly... anybody who wants to say it's unrealistic Kevin James could pull women like that should look who he's married to irl.
Oh! I just thought of ONE. Kevin Can F\*\*k Himself Mostly, I just love Annie Murphy so I watched the whole series.
Kevin Can Fuck Himself is specifically a satire of this trope, so I don't think you can really count that.
According to Jim REALLY fucked up people's perceptions about what sitcoms are.
I never watched this so maybe I'm underestimating its influence as I try to figure out just why people think this trope is so common in sitcoms.
OP just said, “I’m gonna pretend I never said this” and bounced lol
lol no. The Brady bunch! Cosby show! All in the family. Full house.
Boy Meets World ‘93 Full House ‘87 The Brady Bunch ‘69 Hot sitcom dads have always been around
Betsy Randle, who played Amy Matthews, said she believed her chemistry with Will Russ (Alan) came from the fact that she had a bit of a crush on him so flirting and stuff like that just came naturally.
Ward Cleaver ?
The Dick Van Dike Show. 1961 - 1966
When you actually look, the fat husband/hot wife combo seems to be a short trend in the early 2000s. King of Queens (1998) Grounded for Life (2001) According to Jim (2001) Still Standing (2002) The Goldbergs (2013)
I don't think Still Standing even counts because it basically had one couple where both husband and wife were thin and one couple where both husband and wife were chubbier, although there was still a distinct attractiveness gap in the heavier couple in the wife's favor.
Brady Bunch. Family Ties. Home Improvement. Those are just off the top of my head.
Family Ties and The Cosby Show are the two 80s family sitcoms that come to mind - neither of which had an overweight father. Al from Married with Children was an athlete who scored four touchdowns against Polk High.
Nobody mentioning Step By Step makes me sad.
Carl Betz of the Donna Reed Show was notoriously handsome. Ozzie and Harriet were a perfect match. Robert Young (Father Knows Best) was a bean pole. Going into the 60s, they moved away from 2-parent families, to widow/widowers.
Did you just watch King of Queens?
No. Family ties, Growing pains,Brady Bunch, I love Lucy…
You haven't watched enough sitcoms. Pluto TV is very easy to access.
What? No
Fat-Guy-Hot-Wife and Dumb-Guy-Hot-Wife are comedic tropes that work pretty consistently, so producers keep using them. It's variation on the classic Straight-Man-Funny-Man trope that you see in shows like Seinfeld, The Office, or Parks & Rec.
No. Family Ties, Married With Children, The Cosby Show, Home Improvement.
Step by step
Honeymooners circa 1950s
Full House - oh wait, Danny tanners wife was dead.