The Munsters Today

Did You Know?

• The series proved popular with international audiences.
• It premiered in the United Kingdom on Saturday, January 6, 1990, on selected regions of ITV, continuing until June 1996.
• In the United States, reruns aired on digital subchannel Retro Television Network from August 2008 until their distribution agreement with NBCUniversal expired in June 2011.

Plot

The series follows the daily life of a family of benign monsters: married couple Herman Munster and vampire Lily Munster, Lily's vampire father Grandpa, their werewolf son Eddie, and their niece Marilyn, who is the only normal member of the family. The sequel begins with Grandpa creating Sleeping Chambers that induce sleep for a set time. After he sets the dial for 30 minutes, an accident changes it to Forever, and the family sleeps for 22 years. In the 1980s, a man named Mr. Prescott and his assistant explore the house to turn it into a parking lot, unknowingly awakening the Munsters, who then adjust to the current time period.

Production

This color revival starred John Schuck as Herman, Lee Meriwether as Lily, Howard Morton as Grandpa, Hilary Van Dyke as Marilyn, and Jason Marsden as Eddie. It broadcast 72 episodes from October 8, 1988, to May 25, 1991, giving it more first-run episodes than the original series. The pilot explained the 22-year gap by showing the family testing Grandpa's machine in 1966, which allowed sleep without aging, but an accident caused them to sleep until 1988. The series was created after a failed attempt to revive the show with most of the original cast in the 1981 NBC telefilm The Munsters' Revenge.