'Brady Bunch' Mom Florence Henderson Was in Talks for Wild Reboot Before Her Death
- Producer Lloyd Schwartz confirmed that there were serious talks for a Brady Bunch reboot where 80-year-old Carol Brady would be dating men decades younger than her, including one of her son Greg's friends.
The Brady Bunch was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1970s, spawning multiple spinoffs, including The Brady Bunch Hour and The Brady Brides , as well as the popular 1980s TV movie A Very Brady Christmas. There was even a Brady drama series in 1990.
But there was one reboot idea that never came to fruition—and it would have shown a beloved Brady family member looking for love in a surprising new way.
In an interview shared by Woman's World , producer Lloyd Schwartz confirmed that Florence Henderson, who played matriarch Carol Brady in the original series, was in serious talks for a reboot in which her 80-year-old character was dating men decades younger than her. Not only that, but one of the younger guys was her son Greg's ( Barry Williams) friend.
"We had talked to CBS about it, and I think we were going to go through Adam Sandler 'scompany," Schwartz said. "I had read in the paper—or maybe online—that Florence was dating men in their 50s while she was in her 80s. So, I thought, 'Wouldn't that be interesting?' In the show we were developing, Mike Brady had passed away, and Carol ends up marrying one of Greg's friends. I called her and said, 'I'm going to take a page out of your life here.' She was entirely in favor of it."
Schwartz added that the show would have been "a cougar situation" for Carol, but with "the added complexity of marrying her son's best friend —which could have been dynamite."
He also envisioned filming in front of a studio audience, unlike the original Brady series 40 years earlier. "A three-camera show would've been fantastic for her," the producer said of Henderson.
The concept of a single or remarried Carol Brady wasn't far-fetched, given that Robert Reed, who played her husband, Mike Brady, on The Brady Bunch , died at age 59 in 1992. In real life, Henderson's husband, John Kappas, died in 2002.
RELATED: Robert Reed's Daughter, Who Appeared on 'The Brady Bunch,' Dies at 69
Florence Henderson talked about the Carol Brady reboot months before her death
Henderson herself teased the reboot idea in February 2016 while chatting with The Insider With Yahoo . "I got a call from our creator Sherwood Schwartz, his son, saying one of the networks was interested in doing a series with Carol Brady," Henderson revealed, noting that the potential show would be about a "now older and single" Carol Brady. "We'll see what happens," she said at the time.
Sadly, Henderson died suddenly in November 2016 at age 82, before the reboot idea was finalized. Three days before her death, fans saw her looking gorgeous in the audience during a live Dancing With the Stars taping, in support of her Brady Bunch daughter, Maureen McCormick.
RELATED: Maureen McCormick's Husband Had No Idea She Was Famous
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
