by Julie, swinging into fall in Somerville
On Monday night my sister texted me. “Remember to watch the Brady Bunch show on HGTV!”
Apparently we weren’t the only people of a certain age texting each other reminders. The debut of the Very Brady Renovation series broke rating records for HGTV.
Some of you may be asking what I’m talking about it. Others may be asking why I’m talking about it on the Wickeds blog.
First things first. The Brady Bunch debuted on September 26, 1969. Fifty years, can you believe that? But I digress. The Brady house was a real house in California, at least from the outside. From the inside, it was all a set. Still, when the house went on the market in 2018, there was a bidding war. HGTV won.
Now, I’ll admit that I am an HGTV fan. But I had no idea what they were going to do with the house. And I certainly had no idea that they had such fabulous plans. The Property Brothers are hosting a renovation series to make the actual house, inside and out, match the set. And, drum roll, all six of the actors who played the Brady kids are going to be participating.
I watched the debut and I loved it. I can, and do, sing the entire theme song. I’ll admit it, I got teary when they did flashbacks to the series. I was little (2nd grade) when the Brady Bunch debuted, but it was a HUGE part of my childhood in the initial run and in reruns. I bought my sister the DVDs, so the show is part of my nieces’ lives as well.
Now, what does that have to do with the Wickeds? Well, the books I write are cozies. And The Brady Bunch is pretty cozy, though there aren’t any crimes to be solved. Though how great would that have been? If Mike was a gumshoe rather than an architect? Carol as a supersleuth? Alice helping to clean up the crime scenes?
I dream of creating characters that folks get misty when they revisit them. Though books and TV shows are different, I know that I’m thrilled when I find a new-to-me Poirot or a new-to-me series with a deep backlist.
I also create a world that exists only in imaginations. Goosebush, MA and the folks in the town are a heightened reality that I wish I could create. How fabulous is it that they are making the Brady house real? The details they are bringing in are amazing.
Friends, am I the only person who watched the series debut? Any other Brady Bunch fans out there?
Here’s a behind the scenes from Episode 1:
