When “Married… with Children” first aired in 1987, the television landscape was dominated by wholesome family comedies such as “The Cosby Show,” “Family Ties,” and “Diff’rent Strokes.” At the time, it seemed every sitcom pitch involved a harmonious household, complete with a mom, dad, and a houseful of kids who invariably learned meaningful life lessons at each episode’s conclusion. Fortunately for creators Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt, the fledgling Fox network sought to carve out a niche with bold, boundary-pushing content tailored for a younger audience. This led Moye and Leavitt to craft a series about a dysfunctional family that thrived on conflict and discontent, a concept that captivated viewers for 11 seasons.

The series was set in Chicago and revolved around Al Bundy (Ed O’Neill), a hapless women’s shoe salesman, his indolent stay-at-home wife Peg (Katey Sagal), their ditzy daughter Kelly (Christina Applegate), their libidinous son Bud (David Faustino), and the family dog, Buck. Their refined neighbors, Steve and Marcy Rhoades (David Garrison and Amanda Bearse), are appalled by the Bundys’ outrageous antics, though Marcy’s second husband, Jefferson D’Arcy (Ted McGinley), frequently joins Al in his schemes. 

Though its original run concluded in 1997, “Married… with Children” continues to entertain through syndication and streaming services, inviting new audiences to enjoy its irreverent jokes and sardonic humor. Let’s take a look at what the cast is up to today and delve into their lives post-“Married… with Children.”

Born to a working class family of steelworkers in Youngstown, Ohio, Ed O’Neill pursued a football career before turning to acting (mirroring Al Bundy’s trajectory from high school football star to … er … shoe salesman). He made appearances in movies like William Friedkin’s “Cruising” before playing Popeye Doyle in the planned TV adaptation of Friedkin’s “The French Connection.” His work as a dramatic actor made him an odd choice for the role of Al Bundy, especially considering he was spotted by the show’s casting director while playing Lennie in a stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.” Yet it’s that background that made him the perfect choice to play the miserable, pessimistic Bundy patriarch.

O’Neill acted in several films during the run of “Married… with Children,” most notably “Wayne’s World,” “Dutch,” and “Blue Chips.” Post-“Married,” he sought to shake his Al Bundy persona by playing Joe Friday on “Dragnet” and Governor Eric Baker on “The West Wing.” He also became a favorite of David Milch, starring in his shows “Big Apple” and “John from Cincinnati,” as well as David Mamet, appearing in “The Spanish Prisoner” and “Spartan.” 

Yet it was his (at first reluctant) return to network TV comedy with “Modern Family” that forever changed his onscreen persona. The role of Jay Pritchett, a late-middle-aged businessman navigating a second marriage with a younger woman (Sofía Vergara) and her son (Rico Rodriguez), earned O’Neill three Emmy nominations and four SAG ensemble wins. Since then, he’s played Donald Sterling in the limited series “Clipped” and provided voices for “Wreck-It Ralph” and “Finding Dory.”

Before turning to acting, Katey Sagal had a robust musical career, working as a backup singer for Bette Midler as one of the Hartlettes. Her acting career began in earnest with a stint on Mary Tyler Moore’s short-lived sitcom, “Mary,” and it wasn’t long before she landed the role of Peg Bundy, the lazy, sex-starved housewife who is allergic to housework. 

Her distinctive voice, first put to good use on the children’s cartoon “Recess,” later led to her being cast as alien spaceship captain Turanga Leela on Matt Groening’s “Futurama,” which aired for nine seasons across three different networks between 1999 and 2024. While making memorable appearances on “That ’70s Show” and “Lost,” she returned to network comedy with the family sitcom “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter,” which was cut short after the untimely death of Sagal’s onscreen husband, John Ritter.

Sagal’s career took a dramatic turn with “Sons of Anarchy,” which was created by her husband, Kurt Sutter. The role of Gemma Teller Morrow, the tough-as-nails matriarch of a California biker gang, won Segal a Golden Globe for best actress in a TV drama. Since then, she’s reunited with her “8 Simple Rules” daughter Kaley Cuoco for “The Big Bang Theory,” playing Penny’s mother, and appeared on “Dead to Me” alongside Christina Applegate. Most recently, she starred in “The Connors” as Louise Goldufski, who starts dating Dan Connor (John Goodman) after Roseanne dies (ironic, considering Roseanne, who was fired from her own show after controversial tweets, was the first choice to play Peg Bundy).

One can only imagine how things would have turned out had the original pilot for “Married… with Children” aired with Tina Caspary and Hunter Carson as Kelly and Bud Bundy. When it came time to recast Kelly, the producers found Christina Applegate, who at 15 years old was already a veteran actress with roles in “Days of Our Lives,” “Silver Spoons,” and “Family Ties” on her resume. 

The role of promiscuous, ditzy Kelly Bundy made Applegate a star, and during its run she starred in such films as “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead,” “Mars Attacks!,” and “Nowhere.” After “Married… with Children” ended in 1997, she landed the lead role on the short-lived sitcom “Jesse.” Applegate’s television career remained robust into the 21st century, beginning with an Emmy win in 2003 for playing Rachel Green’s (Jennifer Aniston) sister Amy on “Friends” (she earned a second nomination for the show the following year). She returned to the Emmy race as an amnesiac on “Samantha Who?” and a widowed suburbanite on “Dead to Me,” opposite Linda Cardellini. 

She also appeared in several movies during this time, most notably “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy,” “Hall Pass,” and “Bad Moms,” and earned a Tony nomination playing Charity Hope Valentine in the 2005 revival of “Sweet Charity.” Applegate’s career tragically slowed in recent years following her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, which made filming the final season of “Dead to Me” in 2021 difficult. She announced in 2023 that she would likely stop acting on camera due to her illness, although she planned to pursue voice-over work.

Luckily for David Faustino, the creators of “Married… with Children” decided to recast the role of Bud Bundy, who was played by Hunter Carson in the original pilot. Faustino was just 13 years old when he started playing the bratty younger brother who morphs into a sex-crazed adolescent, and by the time he landed the role, he had already acted in “Little House on the Prairie,” “The Love Boat,” and “Family Ties.” 

Throughout the 11-season run of “Married,” Faustino also played Bud Bundy on the sitcoms “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” and “Top of the Heap,” one of three failed “Married… with Children” spinoffs (along with “Radio Free Trumaine” and “Enemies”). He also popped up on “Blossom” (playing himself), “Burke’s Law,” and “MADtv.” Additionally, Faustino tried to launch a music career with the rap album “Balistyx” (parodied on “Married… with Children” with Bud’s alter ego, Grandmaster B).

Post-“Married… with Children,” Faustino popped up on co-star Christina Applegate’s short-lived sitcom “Jesse,” and landed guest spots on “Nash Bridges,” “The X-Files,” and “The Bernie Mac Show.” After competing on the reality TV series “Celebrity Boot Camp,” Faustino jumped into the booming world of internet TV with “Star-ving,” playing a version of himself as a struggling actor trying to make it in Hollywood. His “Married… with Children” family — Applegate, Ed O’Neill, and Katey Sagal — appeared throughout its 12-episode run. Faustino also played himself on two episodes of “Entourage,” and has also shown up on “Bones,” “Robot Chicken,” and “Modern Family,” the latter reuniting him with O’Neill.

Before “Married… with Children,” horror movies fans would remember Amanda Bearse from her breakout role in “Fright Night,” in which she played a suburban teen who’s seduced by a charming vampire (Chris Sarandon) that moves next door to her boyfriend. From there, she was cast as Marcy Rhoades, a feminist yuppie who lives across the street from the Bundys with her husband, Steve. A friend to Peg and an enemy to Al, she’s left on her own when Steve abandons her, later remarrying the playboy Jefferson D’Arcy after a one-night stand (and changing her name to Marcy D’Arcy). 

Bearse made headlines in 1993 when she came out of the closet as gay, paving the way for other television stars to live their truth in the public eye. During this time, she appeared in the violent road movie “The Doom Generation,” directed by New Queer Cinema icon Gregg Araki. 

While on “Married… with Children,” Bearse discovered a talent for directing and helmed 31 episodes of the show. After “Married… with Children” ended its run, she became a prolific sitcom director, with credits such as “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Dharma and Greg,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Reba,” “George Lopez,” and “Jesse,” the latter starring Christina Applegate. She also showed a skill for sketch comedy with “MADtv” and “The Big Gay Sketch Show.” Although she seldom appeared on-camera during this time, she’s returned to acting in recent years with roles in “Anger Management,” “Smothered,” and the movie “Bros.”

When David Garrison decided to leave “Married… with Children,” the door was opened for Ted McGinley to take over as Jefferson D’Arcy, a devil-may-care “pretty boy” who marries Marcy after a wild night of passion. Jefferson became an ally to Al Bundy, joining him at the nudie bar and helping him with his various schemes. The role was a perfect fit for McGinley, who played the lead bully in “Revenge of the Nerds” and had recurring parts on “Happy Days,” “Dynasty,” and “The Love Boat.” He made several appearances in films and television while on “Married… with Children,” including “Wayne’s World 2” opposite Ed O’Neill and “The John Larroquette Show.”

After “Married… with Children” left the airwaves in 1997, McGinley became a favorite of Aaron Sorkin’s, popping up on “Sports Night” and “The West Wing.” He also starred as Charlie Shanowski, husband to Faith Ford’s Hope Shanowski, on the sitcom “Hope and Faith,” which ran for three seasons. Following guest spots on “Mad Men,” “Castle,” and “Mom,” McGinley landed the role of Derek, helpful husband to Christa Miller’s Liz, on “Shrinking,” for which he earned a SAG ensemble nomination. 

McGinley has also teased his reputation as “the patron saint of shark-jumping,” referencing the moment when a failing TV show tries to renew interest through desperate measures (coined for the “Happy Days” episode where Fonzie literally jumps over a shark while water-skiing). Considering McGinley earned fame by replacing a departing cast member on various TV shows (including “Married… with Children”), it’s a fitting moniker.

David Garrison appeared in the first four seasons of “Married… with Children” as Steve Rhoades, a successful banker who moves across the street from the Bundys with his wife, Marcy. Although he had previous TV roles on “Remington Steele” and “It’s Your Move” (co-starring a young Jason Bateman), Garrison was primarily a theater actor before becoming a foil (and later pal) of Al Bundy’s. 

His Broadway credits prior to “Married… with Children” included a Tony-nominated performance in the musical “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” and “Torch Song Trilogy.” Yearning to return to the stage, Garrison left “Married” after four years, although he returned as a guest star a handful of times (one appearance, in the Season 9 episode “Radio Free Trumaine,” was a backdoor pilot for an abortive spinoff set to star Garrison as a college dean).

Garrison had a robust stage career after leaving “Married… with Children,” most notably playing the Wizard in the original U.S. tour of “Wicked.” He also appeared onstage in “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Bells Are Ringing,” and the stage adaptation of “Dead Poets Society.” He never left the small screen behind completely, and his prolific TV credits post-“Married” include “Murder She Wrote,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “The Practice,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “The West Wing,” “Law and Order,” “The Good Wife,” “30 Rock,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

Of the many recurring characters that popped up on “Married… with Children,” the most prominent was Harold Sylvester, who played Al’s divorced shoe store co-worker Griff. A member of “NO MA’AM” (National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood), which also included Jefferson D’Arcy, Bob Rooney (E. E. Bell), and Ike (Tom McCleister), Griff is an unwitting cohort in Al’s many schemes, and often finds himself on the receiving end of vitriol against their boss, Gary (Janet Carroll). 

Sylvester made his first appearance in Season 9, acting in 44 episodes in total. He already had a prolific film and television career by the time he landed the role, giving memorable performances on the big screen in “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Uncommon Valor,” and “Innerspace,” and on the small screen in “Hill Street Blues,” “A Different World,” and “NYPD Blue.” But Griff is the role that made him famous.

After “Married… with Children” aired its final episode in 1997, Sylvester appeared in shows like “Moesha,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” and “CSI: Miami.” Most recently, he had a guest role on “The Pitt” as Willie Alexander. As a producer, Sylvester won a Sports Emmy in 2001 for the documentary “On Hallowed Ground: Streetball Champions of Rucker Park” (which is fitting, considering Sylvester was the first African American to attend Tulane University on an athletic scholarship). He drew upon that experience to write the made-for-TV movie “Passing Glory,” which starred Andre Braugher and was directed by “Hoop Dreams” documentarian Steve James.