IT’S LOVE THAT COUNTS: THE HISTORY OF SINGLE PARENTS, BLENDED FAMILIES, AND ADOPTION IN PRIME-TIME AMERICAN DOMESTIC SITCOMS BETWEEN 1955 AND 1990

“It’s Love That Counts” examines the history of single parents, blended families, and families formed through adoption in American prime-time domestic sitcoms between 1955 and 1990. This dissertation is highly interdisciplinary drawing on Social History, Cultural History, American Studies, as well as Media Studies. Despite the long runs or iconic status of the many series included in this dissertation, no one until now thought that these sitcoms comprised a unique subgenre with a history worth exploring. This dissertation demonstrates how larger societal trends, such as changing gender roles and the growing frequency of divorce and single parenthood, have been reflected within television shows. Studying series with non-nuclear families as the central figures allows for a more comprehensive look at attitudes towards single parents, whether due to the death of a spouse or divorce, families formed through adoption, or families formed through second marriages. The dissertation also covers the ways in which sitcoms reflected changing attitudes toward the proper roles of men and women within the domestic sphere. “It’s Love That Counts” compares plotlines unique to non-nuclear families that have been featured on different shows in multiple decades and eras and how the storylines changed over time. The way networks viewed the audience also evolved over time, which led to dramatic changes in programming. Because children were often part of the target audience, their reactions, emotions, fears, and concerns were frequently central to an episode’s plot. At first, the networks saw children as an important part of the audience when sitcoms were aimed at the entire family. Later, some sitcoms were specifically targeted to younger viewers. This dissertation traces how larger cultural trends, especially changing gender roles, were reflected within the episodes, using textual analysis to examine episodes of each series as well as mass- market publications, especially newspapers and magazines. The emergence of new plotlines often reflected mainstream acceptance of an issue. Analyzing how the plotlines developed over time reveals important shifts within the television industry, in society, and culture at large, as the family underwent profound changes between the 1950s and the 1990s.