'Brady Bunch' cast hangs wood paneling and beaded curtains to remake TV home

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) – A renovation of the house seen in classic TV show “The Brady Bunch” meticulously replicates the famous wood-paneled living room, the orange and green kitchen and even Greg’s groovy attic, actors from the series said on Thursday.

Cast members who played the six Brady children reunited to remake the home for a series called “A Very Brady Renovation,” which will debut on Discovery Inc’s HGTV network in September.

HGTV bought the house outside of Los Angeles that was used for exterior shots of the Brady family home. The network’s celebrity design experts worked with the actors to make the interior look like it did on TV. In real life, the inside shots were filmed miles away on Hollywood soundstages.

“It is almost a perfect replication, from fabrics to carpeting, to furniture, to decorating,” Barry Williams, who played oldest brother Greg, said at a Television Critics Association meeting where networks preview upcoming shows.

The authenticity extended all the way to “the fake grass in the back yard,” he said.

Williams worked on recreating the attic that teenage Greg had decked out in 1970s style. “Yes, the beaded curtains are there!” he said.

“The Brady Bunch” originally aired from 1969 to 1974 on the ABC network and still runs in syndication. One of the first shows to focus on a non-traditional family, it centered around a widowed father of three boys who married a single mother with three daughters and served up invariably cheery storylines.

Renovators on the HGTV show added 2,000-square feet of space to the home evoke the original design and include everything from the kids’ shared bathroom to architect Mike’s den and housekeeper Alice’s little-seen bedroom.

Each cast member was given a different room to work on and took part in everything from demolition to installing cabinets and hanging artwork.

Christopher Knight, who played middle brother Peter, said he asked to work on the kitchen in part because of his famous “porkchops and applesauce” line in one episode. “I had to be close to the food,” he joked.

HGTV has not divulged what will happen to the home after the series ends. Because it sits in a residential area, it cannot be opened to tours as a commercial museum, cast members said.

All of the actors said they welcomed the chance to help preserve a piece of TV history.

When the house came up for sale in 2018, Susan Olsen, who played youngest daughter Cindy, said she “worried the wrecking ball might come to it.”

“It would kind of be like wrecking the American family,” she said.

Maureen McCormick, who portrayed eldest daughter Marcia, added: “I had such an affinity for this house. In some sort of way, I’m a fan of it just like America loves it.”