Modern TV is obsessed with polish. Dark lighting. Complicated timelines. Morally ambiguous antiheroes. Sanford and Son was none of that. It was loud, colorful, and unapologetically working-class. And in its simplicity, it did something most modern shows can’t: it made poor Black life look… joyful.
The Rare Sitcom That Wasn’t About Climbing Out of Poverty
Most TV shows about poor characters focus on “escaping” — winning the lottery, moving to the suburbs, finally getting a “real” job. But Sanford and Son wasn’t about escaping poverty. It was about surviving it with dignity.
Fred didn’t want a better zip code. He wanted a good sandwich, a beer, and to keep his damn couch. That kind of contentment — defiant contentment — is revolutionary in an era of hustle culture.
Why Prestige TV Fails Working-Class Black Characters
Look around: where are the working-class Black families in today’s prestige TV? HBO, Netflix, Hulu — they’re full of billionaires, spies, lawyers, and scammers. But where’s the plumber? The housekeeper? The junk dealer?
Sanford and Son was imperfect, but it saw people no one else did. It gave them a laugh track. It gave them depth. And that still matters.
A Blueprint for the Next Generation
It’s time someone rebooted the Sanford and Son spirit — not as a glossy remake, but as a new show with the same bones: joy in struggle, humor in survival, and characters who live in the margins without begging for our pity.
We don’t need another antihero in a penthouse. We need a Fred Sanford in a world of iPhones and eviction notices. A Lamont trying to balance rent and dreams. We need to laugh again — not at the elite, but with the people just trying to get by.
