Family Affair

Bill Davis is a prosperous, single civil engineer whose orderly life in a Manhattan luxury apartment gets turned upside down when he becomes the guardian of his brother's three children. Rather than living with their extended family, teenage Cissy and the young twins, Jody and Buffy, move into his world, bringing chaos, laughter, and unexpected tenderness. Bill leans on his English manservant Mr. Giles French to help run the household, and French has to adapt to childcare and domestic crises as much as Bill does. The show focuses on how this unlikely household adjusts, learns to care for one another, and balances adult responsibilities with childlike mischief.

Created by Don Fedderson and Edmund L. Hartmann, Family Affair premiered on CBS on September 12, 1966 and ran until September 9, 1971, totaling 138 episodes. Don Fedderson produced the series, which featured Brian Keith, Sebastian Cabot, Kathy Garver, Anissa Jones, and Johnny Whitaker.

The series turned its child actors into recognizable faces on television, and Mr. French became an instantly memorable supporting character, often referenced when sitcoms needed a refined, old-world caretaker. The show's setup, with a bachelor taking in orphaned children, showed up in later TV comedies and pop culture nods, and lines and situations from the series pop up in retrospectives about 1960s television family shows.

Critics and viewers rarely agreed completely about Family Affair. Audiences embraced the warmth and predictable humor, reflected in steady ratings and a devoted fan base, while some critics found the tone overly sentimental. Its main themes are family formed by choice rather than blood, role reversal between adults and children, and class contrasts between Bill's upscale life and the messy needs of a household with kids. Contemporary viewer scores sit around a midrange rating, suggesting the show remains pleasant and nostalgic more than cutting edge.