One TV institute that no execs are disparaging these days is the revival series, with former hits like Coach, The X-Files and Twin Peaks gearing up for new lives on the small screen. Married…With Children star David Faustino has been talking about a Bud Bundy-based spinoff for a while now, recently saying that conversations with Fox were happening. The network quickly claimed those comments were premature, but it’s very possible they will be sped up soon, as Katey Sagal has made it clear she’s absolutely game to return to the iconic role of Peg Bundy. Yes, ma’am!
Sagal shared her enthusiasm for the potential project while at this year’s TCA press event, and also seemed to confirm that her fictional significant other has also thrown his hat into the ring.
David approached me and I said, ‘Anything, absolutely.’ I think all three of us – Ed [O’Neill], Christina [Applegate] and myself – all told David yes. It’s not really a reboot. It’s a continuation I think of Bud Bundy’s story.
Sagal’s agreement was insinuated by Faustino and Applegate when they were recently asked about it, but it’s always better to actually hear it from Sagal herself. And while the busy schedules of the actors would almost necessarily limit their roles to cameos or single-episode appearances, the prospect of seeing O’Neill and Sagal together again as Al and Peg Bundy makes me want to open up my own shoe store in celebration. (That could be a tad too complicated.)
It’s been over 18 years since the Bundy family graced our TV screens for the show’s original run, and Fox’s flip-flopping with the time slot meant that it was canceled without a planned-out series finale that provided any sense of closure for either the Bundys or the fans. And although Sagal likes to move from one original project to the next without a lot of looking back, it’s that open ending that seems to be a motivating factor in her returning to this world. Here’s how she put it, according to SlashFilm.
I’m always for an original idea. I suppose there’s a certain value in rebooting some of that but I’m not quite sure what it is. If you actually have a story to tell about those people…The only reason a Married…With Children reboot might make sense to me is it never really ended. So it might be nice to see it end.
When asked where she thinks the Bundys are now, she said they were “in a trailer somewhere,” and said that she didn’t think Peggy would have changed at all since she was last seen, and that she “would probably have to wear that hair.” That’s one of the most memorable wigs in TV history, so changing it would almost be blasphemy.
Sagal, who is also down for more Futurama episodes should someone ever ask for them, will soon be seen opposite her husband Kurt Sutter in his new FX drama The Bastard Executioner. If only we could get Bud Bundy to grab a sword and pop up in that show at some point.
