In late 2022, Netflix audiences were made privy to what will likely be the last live-action performance from the always excellent Christina Applegate, with the third and final season of Dead to Me’s ode to friendship being filmed after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. But if the stars can ever align just right — presumably to spell out “NO MA’AM” — Applegate could one day soon return to the role that made her a household name, Kelly Bundy, in the form of the previously announced Married…with Children animated spinoff. While not much has been mentioned in recent months, she offered a brief update on the project while also reflecting on the less-than-savory way the character was sexualized as a teenager.
As reported back in May 2022, Sony Pictures Television was deep in the development process for an animated take on the belovedly crass Fox sitcom Married…with Children, which has long been considered one of TV’s most offensive shows. And while it seemed like more big announcements would be on the horizon, Christina Applegate shared an update with Vanity Fair that made it sound like none of the stars have been brought in for voicework or script readings. In her words:
I can’t really say much, but all I know is that all four of us are attached to it. It’s not in our hands now, so we’re just kind of waiting.
I’m definitely not trying to play doomsayer here, since “no news” can absolutely equal “fantastic news” in the current-day entertainment industry. If she, Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal and David Faustino are all still attached to the revival, that means the revival hasn’t been shitcanned due to reversal of decisions at the studio. There are plenty of reasons why Married…with Children’s animated return could be taking a while to come together, and I’d imagine the scripting and story-crafting process is part of it, since it’s no doubt a challenge to bring the show’s purposefully problematic characters back in ways that don’t feel extremely awkward by today’s social standards. (And it’s probably even harder now that the WGA writers strike is happening.)
Making the show animated was a way to not only showcase the Bundy family in a more ageless fashion, but also a way to adhere to the busy schedules of co-leads Ed O’Neill, who is set to play former L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling in The Sterling Affairs, and Katey Sagal, who recurs on The Conners and is also reprising Leela in the upcoming Futurama revival (an offer she was quick to say “yes” to). As Dead to Me fans saw in the final season, Sagal and Applegate reunited on screen, though not as mother and daughter. Of course, that just made for an even bigger urge to see their former on-screen relationship return in any form.
Christina Applegate On Teen Kelly Bundy's Sexualization
One can easily assume that the animated Married...with Children will stand shoulder to shoulder with other taut-and-tawdry adult animated series such as Archer and BoJack Horseman, with plenty of sex-injused jokes aimed at Peg and Kelly Bundy. (Sorry, Bud.) Applegate's sitcom character was often written as a walking stereotype, as was the standard for Fox in those early days, with the actress' talent transcending such generalizations even in the earliest seasons. Even so, Kelly Bundy was more seen as a TV hottie than Applegate was seen as a comedy pro, and she said the sexualized attention given to Kelly during her teen years was frustrating, and is indeed "pretty gross" in retrospect. Here's how she put it:
I was never on the receiving end of any kind of lasciviousness from anyone before [Married…with Children] because I was wearing bells around my ankles and moccasins and wearing patchouli. I was a gross little hippie kid. Looking back on it in hindsight, it’s pretty gross. Yeah, that part of it kind of sucked. Men had posters of this little 17-year-old, with me holding pearls. Like, who let me do that? I didn’t even know what the connotation was.
As it went far too often for TV stars, Married...with Children's smash success for such a long stretch had a direct effect on Christina Applegate's career outside of the sitcom world, though not in a good way. The Anchorman vet claimed that she had "billions" of examples where she auditioned for things, was told she knocked them out of the park, and then still failed to land the roles because of the Kelly Bundy stigma. We got Don't Tell Mom [The Babysitter's Dead] out of it, which can't be denied, but that should have been one of at least a dozen mega-memorable big screen roles for Applegate through the '90s.
While we obviously can't go back and change all that mess, here's hoping the progress on the animated revival goes quickly and gives Christina Applegate lots of laughs and love from her former co-stars as she continues to adjust to life with MS.
Fans waiting for new Bundy adventures, to use that word very lightly, can watch all eleven seasons of the show with a Hulu subscription.
