Sanford and Son Was Even More Interesting Behind The Scenes

Sanford and Son Was a Spin-Off

While Sanford and Son stands completely on its own, few people know that the popular American sitcom was actually a spin-off of a BBC Television program called Steptoe and Son. The character archetypes in both shows are very similar.

Steptoe and Son focused on the inter-generational conflict of Albert Steptoe, a “dirty old man” who is set in his ways, and his 37-year-old son Harold, who is filled with social aspirations. Like Sanford and Son, this BBC sitcom attained great popularity in its own country. The show was also remade in Sweden as Albert & Herbert and in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon.