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Florence Henderson on why the Bradys couldn't have babies
Should Carol Brady have had more children? Here’s what Florence Henderson had to say!
When a series is doing well in the ratings, it’s rare to change the formula and format. Why mess with a good thing? That was the case with The Brady Bunch. As the children grew older, the family dynamic mostly stayed the same.
However, occasionally there were exceptions. For example, I Love Lucy broke new ground by showing a pregnant woman on screen, a bold and unprecedented move at the time. It was a reminder that sometimes shaking up the family‑style formula can bring fresh energy to a series.
The Bradys became America’s favorite family, and most viewers could see themselves in at least one member of the cast — whether it was Alice, Carol Brady or one of the kids. The power of The Brady Bunch was giving families an idealistic family to aspire to.
They had a good formula, but the question was, should The Brady Bunch switch it up?
According to a 1971 interview with The Central New Jersey, Florence Henderson, who played Carol Brady, was originally supposed to have not just one baby, but two! The producers wanted her to have twins to join the already large Brady family.
"I wasn’t so crazy about the idea," Henderson said. "Then they made some audience reaction tests. The surprising thing was that audience reaction to a larger family was very cool. I think that all the aspects of the population explosion and environmental pollution have affected audiences’ reactions."
"Anyway, Carol Brady is not going to have twins, not even one baby, this season," Henderson continued.
Because audiences were lukewarm on the idea of Carol Brady having twins, her character would go on to never have another baby on the show — probably a wise decision with so many people already under one roof.
The audience reaction to a larger Brady family was unexpected, especially compared with a few years earlier on My Three Sons, when one of the sons, Robbie Douglas, did have children of his own. His wife, Katie Miller Douglas (played by Tina Cole), gave birth to triplets — Robbie Jr., Steve II and Charley — late in the series’ run.That addition didn’t hurt the ratings at all.
Public concern about the environment was a major factor in some shifting attitudes in the early 1970s, according to Henderson. She looked forward to seeing where TV would be years to come and what adjustments other famous sitcoms would have to make.
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