David Faustino’s Blog
Why Our Table Reads Were Chaotic in the Best Possible Way
Most sitcom table reads are calm. Ours were a comedy demolition derby. Here’s how reading scripts for the first time shaped the episodes you love.
The Prop Department: Unsung Heroes of the Bundy Universe
The Bundy household wasn’t messy by accident. It was engineered by a prop department that turned chaos into comedy, one broken shoe at a time.
Costumes and Wardrobe: How Clothing Shaped the Comedy
Every outfit on our show told a joke before a single line was delivered. Peg’s heels, Kelly’s danger zone, Bud’s too-tight sweaters. Wardrobe was comedy.
The Directors Who Let Us Go Wild (And Why It Worked)
Most sitcom directors demanded precision. Ours demanded chaos. Here’s why that trust changed everything about how we performed.
“An evening with the Bundy’s”: the first live on-stage Bundy reunion.
Hello all, so glad you’re a part of this community! I just wanted to write a quick blog about our recent Bundy reunion at the Wiltern Theatre here in Los Angeles on January 28th! What an adventure it was! My producing partner Ben Brucato and I had been discussing some sort of reunion for the…
The Writers’ Room: Where the Real Madness Lived
The craziest ideas on our show didn’t come from some Hollywood formula. They came from a room full of fearless writers who Bundy-fied everything they’d ever lived through.
How Grandmaster B Was Born (The Real Story)
Grandmaster B wasn’t cooked up in a writers’ room. I invented him between takes, messing around with a tough-guy alter ego. The writers heard it and said ‘that’s going in.’ Here’s the real story behind Bud’s ridiculous rapper persona and why playing him was the most fun of my entire run.
The Real Story Behind Buck: The Original Bundy Dog
Buck wasn’t just the family dog. He was a cast member. Played by a Briard named Michael who hit marks better than some humans (not naming names), Buck became the silent witness to Bundy chaos. Tired eyes, low ears, permanently exhausted. He wasn’t a pet. He was the Bundy spirit animal.
Lucky the Dog: How the Reincarnation Twist Happened
When Buck retired, the writers couldn’t just swap in another dog and hope nobody noticed. The solution was peak Bundy: Buck would be reincarnated. Here’s how Lucky became a continuation instead of a replacement.
How Marcy Evolved From Uptight Neighbor to Fan Favorite
Marcy started out as Season 1’s straight-laced voice of responsibility. Amanda Bearse refused to let her stay that way, turning Marcy into one of the show’s sharpest comedic weapons and Al Bundy’s most legendary sparring partner.
Jefferson vs. Steve: Two Neighbors, Two Completely Different Worlds
Fans ask all the time which neighbor was better, Steve Rhoades or Jefferson D’Arcy. That’s the wrong question. They represented two completely different comedic philosophies, and the show needed both.
The pilot that almost never aired (and why)
The first pilot of Married… with Children is a piece of lost TV history. Most fans don’t know that the very first version of the show – filmed with a different Kelly and Bud – never aired. It exists, but it lives in the vault for a reason. When you create a sitcom, you don’t…
Why the Bundys lived in Chicago (and not Los Angeles)
A question I get a lot is: “Why Chicago?” Why didn’t the Bundys live in L.A. like every other sitcom family, or New York, or any of the big TV cities? There’s a good reason – and it says everything about the show’s tone. Michael Moye and Ron Leavitt were very deliberate about the setting.…
How Fox’s risky gamble turned into a TV revolution
To understand the rise of Married… with Children, you have to understand Fox in 1987. This wasn’t the Fox you know today. It wasn’t a major network. It wasn’t known for hits. It was an underdog – scrappy, new, and desperate to make noise in a TV landscape dominated by ABC, NBC, and CBS. They…
The real story behind recasting Kelly and Bud
A lot of fans don’t know this, but during the very first pilot – before the show ever aired – Kelly and Bud Bundy were played by completely different actors. That’s right. There exists a version of Married… with Children out there in the universe with a different Bundy brother and sister. The original actors…