Couples The Best TV Shows About Blended Families  

Ranker TV
1.4k votes 321 voters 34.2k views 26 items

List Rules TV series that include step-parents, step-children, foster kids, and other alternative families

List of the best television shows that feature blended families. The theme of many of the top television shows through the generations is that family is not just the group you’re born into. Today, many TV shows feature characters who consider their friends and coworkers to be their family,while others show a tight bond with their makeshift families. No matter what the genre or content of the show, most shows heavily feature the idea of family. However it’s much rarer for a show to feature a blended family, which is essentially two or more familial groups that come together to form one big family. The infrequent television trope began with The Brady Bunch, a family of six step brothers and sisters who viewed the world in their own, naïve way.

Throughout the years on television the idea of the blended family has popped up in new and interesting ways. Often these shows feature step parents getting to know their new children, such as Step by Step, while others feature adopted children, like Diff’rent Strokes and Webster. Families like the one in Full House began with friendships who became actual family,while others like Modern Family include step-families and adopted families.

What shows best showcase blended families? The shows on this list are known to have people who may not have started off life as family, but became close through blended circumstances.

list ordered by

1
107 41
Full House is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Bob Saget, John Stamos, Dave Coulier Full House is an American sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show chronicles a widowed father, who enlists his best friend and his brother-in-law to help raise his three daughters. It ...more

2
104 44
Modern Family is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen Modern Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009, which follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family, all of whom live in suburban Los Angeles. ...more

3
84 38
The Brady Bunch is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that originally aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with ...more

4
82 37
Drake & Josh is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Drake Bell, Josh Peck, Miranda Cosgrove Drake and Josh are two guys with different personalities. REALLY different. Going to the same school is about the only thing they have in common. But that's about to change--in a BIG way. See, ...more

5
64 30
The Fosters is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, Hayden Byerly The Fosters is an American family drama television series that airs on the ABC Family network in the United States and ABC Spark in Canada. The series follows the lives of the titular Foster ...more

6
45 23
Sister, Sister is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jackée Harry Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom starring identical twins Tia and Tamera Mowry. It aired from 1994 to 1999. The premise of the show was that the girls were separated and adopted ...more

7
46 27
Step by Step is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Patrick Duffy, Suzanne Somers, Brandon Call Step by Step is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons, originally running on ABC as part of its TGIF Friday night lineup from September 20, 1991, to August 15, 1997, and ...more

8
50 35
Life with Derek is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Michael Seater, Ashley Leggat, Jordan Todosey Life with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005, and ...more

9
33 20
Sabrina, The Teenage Witch (19... is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Don Messick, Larry Storch, Howard Morris Sabrina the Teenage Witch is an American low-budget animated sitcom television series produced by Filmation that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1974. A spinoff of The Archie Comedy Hour, the show ...more

10
34 21
Diff'rent Strokes is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman ...more

11
34 24
Gossip Girl is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ...more

12
41 32
Dog With a Blog is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
G. Hannelius, Blake Michael, Francesca Capaldi Dog with a Blog is an American television sitcom that premiered on Disney Channel on October 12, 2012. It stars G. Hannelius, Blake Michael, Francesca Capaldi, Stephen Full, Regan Burns, and ...more

13
35 28
Two and a Half Men is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Jon Cryer, Ashton Kutcher, Angus T. Jones Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that began broadcast on CBS on September 22, 2003 and ended on February 19, 2015 after twelve seasons. Originally starring Charlie Sheen, Jon ...more

14
39 37
Glee is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that aired on the Fox network in the United States from May 19, 2009, to March 20, 2015. It focuses on the fictitious William McKinley ...more

15
16 13
Instant Mom is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
trenyce-williams added Tylen Jacob Williams Instant Mom is an American sitcom developed by Howard Michael Gould and starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict as a stepmother of three children alongside her husband. The series airs on Nickelodeon and ...more

16
12 12
ALF is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Steve Willow added Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros, Paul Fusco, Max Wright I think Alf was adopted. ALF is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 22, 1986 to March 24, 1990. It was the first television series to be presented in Dolby Surround sound system. The title character is ...more

17
0 0
Here and Now is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Holly Hunter, Tim Robbins, Jerrika Hinton Here and Now (HBO, 2018) is an American television drama series created by Alan Ball. A multi-racial family made up of husband (Tim Robbins), wife (Holly Hunter), three adopted children from ...more

18
0 0
This Is Us is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown This Is Us (NBC, 2016) is an American television series created by Dan Fogelman. Follows a unique ensemble, as their paths cross and their life stories interwine, from sharing the same birthday, ...more

19
0 0
Punky Brewster is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Soleil Moon Frye, George Gaynes, Cherie Johnson Punky Brewster is an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent. The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984 to September 7, 1986 and again in first-run ...more

20
0 0
Shameless is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Emmy Rossum, William H. Macy, Ethan Cutkosky Shameless is an American television comedy-drama which airs on Showtime. This remake of the award-winning British series is set in Chicago's Canaryville neighborhood on the South Side, although ...more

21
0 0
My Three Sons is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Fred MacMurray, Stanley Livingston, Don Grady My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of widower and ...more

22
0 0
The New Normal is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Justin Bartha, Andrew Rannells, Georgia King The New Normal is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 10, 2012 to April 2, 2013. The series was created and principally written by Ryan Murphy and Ali Adler. The storyline ...more

23
20 24
My Two Dads is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Paul Reiser, Greg Evigan, Staci Keanan My Two Dads is an American sitcom that starred Staci Keanan, Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan. It aired on NBC from 1987 to 1990 and was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with ...more

24
20 25
Webster is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Susan Clark, Alex Karras, Emmanuel Lewis Webster is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 16, 1983 until May 8, 1987, and in first-run syndication from September 21, 1987 until March 10, 1989. The series was ...more

25
9 18
Aliens in the Family is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Chris Marquette, Joey Mazzarino, Michael Gilden Aliens in the Family is an American sci-fi/fantasy sitcom that aired on ABC, conceived as part of its TGIF lineup.

26
7 21
Something So Right is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best TV Shows About Blended Families
Leslie Bibb, Kevin Nealon, Mel Harris Something So Right is an American television situation comedy which ran on two different networks during its time on the air, and in reruns on the USA Network for a number of years after its ...more