704 Hauser

Lore & Background

704 Hauser was created by Norman Lear as a spin-off of All in the Family, the final of several such spin-offs. It aired on CBS from April 11 to May 9, 1994. The series centers on the Cumberbatch family, a black family who moves into the former Queens home of Archie Bunker after Bunker sold the house at 704 Hauser Street. John Amos stars as Ernie Cumberbatch, with Lynnie Godfrey as his wife Rose. The show features a reversal of the original All in the Family formula: Ernie and Rose are working class Democrats, while their son Goodie is a conservative activist and his girlfriend Cherlyn Markowitz, played by Maura Tierney, is white and Jewish. Casey Siemaszko appears as Joey Stivic, Archie's grandson, in the first episode, and CBS anchor Bob Schieffer appears as himself in the first episode.

Reader's Guide

704 Hauser is significant as the final spin-off of the landmark series All in the Family, attempting to update the original's formula for the 1990s by reversing political roles within a black family. Norman Lear created the series amid the rise of conservative talk radio, particularly Rush Limbaugh, and intended it to be even more explicitly political than its predecessor. The show attracted middling ratings and was canceled after five episodes, with one episode remaining unaired. In his memoir, Lear alleged that Rush Limbaugh was an expected fan and had him on his show to promote 704 Hauser, but there is no record of Lear ever appearing on either the radio or television versions of The Rush Limbaugh Show. The pilot episode was later included as a bonus feature on the All in the Family: The Complete Series DVD box set released by Shout! Factory on October 30, 2012. Its legacy lies in its brief attempt to revisit the cultural conversation of All in the Family from a new perspective.

Did You Know?

• 704 Hauser is the final of several spin-offs of All in the Family.
• The series aired only five episodes on CBS from April 11 to May 9, 1994, with one episode remaining unaired.
• John Amos, who stars as Ernie Cumberbatch, was a veteran of the earlier Lear sitcom Good Times.
• Norman Lear alleged that Rush Limbaugh was an expected fan of the show, but there is no record of Lear appearing on The Rush Limbaugh Show.

Creation Amid a Polarized Media Landscape

Norman Lear conceived 704 Hauser during a period when conservative talk radio was surging in American popularity, with Rush Limbaugh emerging as a particularly prominent voice. Rather than simply repeating the social commentary that defined All in the Family, Lear deliberately crafted this final spin-off in the franchise to be even more overtly political, believing the cultural moment demanded a fresh confrontation with the era's dividing issues. The premise was straightforward yet pointed: the Cumberbatch family, a Black household, moves into the very Queens house at 704 Hauser Street that Archie Bunker had occupied and subsequently sold. By placing a new family in the same address, Lear created a symbolic handoff that allowed the show to interrogate the same neighborhoods, prejudices, and political tensions through an updated lens. The series premiered on CBS on April 11, 1994, and ran through May 9 of that year. Lear's intent was clear—this was not a nostalgic callback but a pointed, contemporary statement aimed squarely at the political currents of the mid-nineties.

A Reversed Formula and a Diverse Cast

The show's central conceit inverted the political dynamics that made All in the Family a cultural touchstone. Here, the parents—Ernie and Rose Cumberbatch, portrayed by John Amos and Lynnie Godfrey—were working-class Democrats, while their son Goodie, played by T.E. Russell, was a conservative activist. Adding another layer of complexity, Goodie's girlfriend Cherlyn Markowitz, brought to life by Maura Tierney, was white and Jewish. John Amos brought deep franchise pedigree to the role, having previously starred in Good Times, which was itself a spin-off of Maude, another offshoot of All in the Family. The first episode also wove in familiar faces from the broader Lear universe: Casey Siemaszko, who played Joey Stivic (Archie's grandson) in the original series, reprised the role, and CBS anchor Bob Schieffer appeared as himself. This ensemble approach gave the show a layered, multi-generational feel, with each character representing a different political and cultural perspective within a single household and social circle.

A Five-Episode Run and the Limbaugh Controversy

Despite its ambitious premise, 704 Hauser struggled to find a strong audience, drawing what can only be described as middling ratings. CBS pulled the plug after just five episodes had aired, leaving one additional episode that never reached viewers. The show's brief existence was further complicated by a dispute involving Rush Limbaugh. In his memoir Even This I Get To Experience, Norman Lear claimed that Limbaugh had been an anticipated supporter of the series and had invited him onto his radio program to help promote it. However, no verifiable record exists of Lear ever appearing on either the radio or television iterations of The Rush Limbaugh Show, casting doubt on the accuracy of that recollection. The combination of modest viewership, the abrupt cancellation, and the unresolved question of whether Limbaugh's involvement was genuine or misremembered left 704 Hauser as a footnote in television history—a show that arrived at a politically charged moment but failed to sustain momentum beyond its initial weeks on the air.

Franchise Legacy and the Pilot's Afterlife

As the last of several spin-offs branching from All in the Family, 704 Hauser occupies a unique position at the tail end of one of television's most prolific franchise trees. The show's pilot episode, titled "Meet the Cumberbatchs," found a second life when Shout! Factory released the All in the Family: The Complete Series DVD box set on October 30, 2012, including it as a bonus feature for collectors and fans of the broader franchise. This inclusion ensured that at least one piece of the short-lived series remained accessible to audiences decades after its brief CBS run. The very concept of the show—a new family inheriting the Bunker house at 704 Hauser Street in Queens—served as a narrative bridge connecting generations of Lear's work, from the original series through Maude, Good Times, and finally this 1994 entry. Though it never achieved the cultural footprint of its predecessors, the pilot's preservation on home video keeps the experiment alive for those curious about where the All in the Family legacy ultimately led.