Maude (1972–1978) User Reviews (35)

Beatrice Arthur's Show

[DKosty123 · 6/10 · 17 December 2006]

This show centered around Bea Arthur's Maude character. This is without a doubt the highlight of Bea's career. She took Maude & developed her into a larger than life liberated woman.

Bill Macy & Adrienne Barbeau are strong support, & this show dealt with women's liberation which was taboo on TV until this show. People forget that even in the early 1970's, employers still discriminated against women in the workplace. The major ones try to cover it up now, but those women who lived then know better.

This show was not always as well done as All in the Family, but was very socially relevant in its time. Another well produced Norman Lear sit-com.

"........And then there's Maude"

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 18 July 2016]

Bea Arthur's outsize personality so well used in Golden Girls got a start as Edith Bunker's cousin Maude visiting Archie and Edith in All In the Family. Maude proved so popular and such a worthy adversary for Archie that Norman Lear gave Arthur her own show and the title role in same. It ran for six seasons. In the 70s Norman Lear could practically do no wrong.

Maude was a liberated woman, liberated in fact from three previous husbands before settling down and marrying Bill Macy. The family also had Adrienne Barbeau living with them and her son as well. Barbeau was Maude's daughter by marriage number 2.

Maude's hero was Eleanor Roosevelt and like Eleanor she lived in upstate New York in the rich suburb of Tuckahoe. From there she debated and worked for various liberal causes always indulged in by her husband. She didn't need Archie Bunker to debate her issues, she had wealthy Repubican doctor Conrad Bain next door. Bain had a lot more education than Archie did and he was a more formidable adversary.

I always liked Bill Macy in this show. The ever patient Walter Findlay who decided that the other three husbands had it wrong and he should just go with the flow. He did, but he also said some wise things every so often that brought up his outspoken wife very short.

Bea Arthur bought some real life into this character. She and Macy were a matched pair. And Maude was wonderful viewing.

And Then There's Maude

[kellielulu · 7/10 · 6 July 2022]

I love Maude on All In The Family no one zings Archie like Maude until Irene Lorenzo made her debut. Maude is still funny and I grew up watching her but overall I think All In The Family and Bea's later show The Golden Girls are better and funnier . The characters are funnier. It's funny because Bea was cast mates again with one of her Maude co star later on GG but Blanche was a better written character and Rue McClennahan was funnier on The Golden Girls. Maude as a show covered topics that even other Norman Lear shows didn't especially on the topic of marriage and sex . I think it was ground breaking and topics covered now has Maude and All In The Family that made it possible to cover them now. Some topics like abortion though networks have grown timid. I think it's mainly two issues that I find Maude lacking that the others had . The characters around Maude are not as consistent as the other shows. The other thing is Maude often doesn't seem as independent as I remembered and she's too desperate for Walter who doesn't seem worth it to me. The best of Maude though is still remarkable television.

Then There's Maude!

[Sylviastel · 10/10 · 1 April 2007]

Unfortunately, I never saw Maude until I got the DVD first season of her show. It appeared nowhere in syndication maybe because it was too controversial and might offend too many people. Compared to other shows today, Maude is quite mainstream and ahead of it's time. I loved Beatrice Arthur in this role of Maude, forget Dorothy Zbornak. Bea plays a terrific Maude Findlay, the cousin of dimwitted Edith Bunker, from All in the Family. Anyway, the casting of Bill Macy as Maude's fourth husband is genius. They work so well together. Adrienne Barbeau is terrific as her divorced daughter, Carol. Of course, we never see Philip, the eight year old dimwitted grandson. Then there is the supporting cast which is stellar like Conrad Bain as the conservative Republican right wing doctor neighbor and friend to Walter's character and Esther Rolle who plays the African American maid, Florida Evans who is fawned over by Maude's character in the beginning that she doesn't get much work done. Don't forget Rue McClanahan as dimwitted Vivian and friend of Maude. I can't help but like Maude. For all things that she gets wrong, she gets a lot of it right. Today's television writers and developers should learn from the sitcom master, Norman Lear, that a great show like Maude's can be both controversial and funny and genius too. Most sitcoms today lack the balance between left and right. Lear's sitcoms provided both sets of opinions without winning the battle. I'm sure if the sitcom people today would watch, they might learn something about developing quality sitcoms. Remember it's not quantity but quality and it's a shame. They think we want to see beautiful people like Friends in sitcoms with minor problems and the same point of view.

Controversy---Thou Name Was the 1970s.

[tfrizzell · 19 December 2003]

The controversy of "All in the Family" continued with this original spin-off. The titled character (Beatrice Arthur), Archie Bunker's (Carroll O'Connor) cousin, was everything that the aforementioned was not. She was a wildly independent feminist who was on her fourth marriage (with appliance store owner Bill Macy) and cut others with a dry wit that was quietly malicious, but admittedly hilarious at the same time. Adrienne Barbeau was a dominant fixture as Arthur's daughter and neighbors Rue McClanahan and Conrad Bain just added to the overall adequacy the show had. "Maude" was in constant scrutiny. One episode dealt with the freedom of choice issue (a woman's right to have an abortion) and that definitely remains the most fiery and politically-incorrect (especially for the time period) episode of the series' seven-year run from 1972 to 1978. Never did reach as high as "All in the Family", but was a legitimate envelope-pusher that still strikes a nerve in many conservative circles. Good series overall. 4 stars out of 5.

Decent Show.

[njpaul-00633 · 7/10 · 10 September 2021]

Maude is a good show especially in the first 3 seasons. It list some steam later on. Regardless still not better than the show it came from All In The Family.

And Then There's Liberation!!!

[dataconflossmoor · 10/10 · 8 January 2004]

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, television showed a housewife burning a chocolate soufflé, at the end of the Vietnam War, MAUDE WAS HAVING AN ABORTION!!!!....The television portrayal of women who played the maternal figures was always one whereby everybody else in the household could have problems, but, she could not!! The role of the mother in the early TV sitcoms was such where she was branded "Miss Perfect Homemaker". Maude was the New York suburban housewife who broke the mold to all of that by giving a pejorative spin to so many of the politically liberal philosophies which prevailed during the 1970's ...While Alice Kramden ("Honeymooners") and Edith Bunker ("All in the Family") established ground-rules on the perfect mother and wife not being so perfect, it only went so far, and was attributed to a lack of adequate household income... Maude was different in that, she, herself, was the culprit to domestic upheaval, and that, she ,alone, was anything but perfect!!!...Maude was the lousy Long Island Liberal.. Have at least twenty percent of the guests at your party be African American...The maid is not inferior to me...She is to have lunch in the dining room...THAT'S AN ORDER!!..My daughter can have casual sex in my house, just to prove that I'm a modern mother....All of these socio-political actions were disconcerting qualities of successful liberalism...The ultimate compliment being...Maude is just like Jane Fonda or Barbara Walters!!!... One of the most scathing indictments of Maude was that she used minorities as objects of tokenism to nurture her seemingly egalitarian beliefs!! Arguments in the Findlay home would linger into the wee hours of the night, and would ultimately translate to Maude basically saying "I need to assuage my guilt!!" The television show "Maude" was WAY!!!! ahead of it's time, and was an accurate depiction of the increasingly emerging, yet typically atypical upper middle class domicile of the seventies...Social hang-ups and affluent facades made the perception of lace curtain living a precarious panacea!! Regardless of any political party affiliation with anyone on this show, anguish stemming from unrealistic expectations always seemed to rear it's ugly head!! A largess of emotional afflictions with the characters on "Maude" were always related to instinctive reactions!! Modern problems were perpetually subjected to the trials and tribulations of egregious human errors!! The transition in the overall American value system is what compounded the day to day domestic dilemmas in Maude's family life!! This show is one of my favorite situation comedies of all time!! Up until 1972, no TV show possessed such acrimonious and such witty dialog like "Maude" did in the whole history of television!! I wish more shows could be so realistic about attitudes and quirky lifestyles!!! Having the same producers as the show "The Honeymooners", it does not surprise me. The talent for articulating abominable human behavior in both these shows was simply amazing!! The series, "Maude" encompassed a bevy of recognizable flaws and executive class frailties which made it extraordinarily humorous!! Quasi affluent families in America are not stilted, "Maude" was one of the first television shows to point this out!! Objectionable humor is often times a necessary metamorphosis in small screen entertainment!! While some may protest to this technique, it signifies a very healthy element of realism in a television show to bring out household peculiarity concerning skeletons in the closet to everybody's immediate attention!! After "Maude", suburban New York will never be the same!!

Maude- Edith Bunker's Liberal Cousin ****

[edwagreen · 9/10 · 18 November 2007]

Lady Godiva was a freedom rider...

And when the country was falling apart, Betsy Ross had it all sewn up...and then there's Maude (repeat,) right on Maude.

That was part of the opening theme song of this very popular show of the 1970s brought about by Beatrice Arthur visiting Archie and Edith Bunker's home on "All in the Family." Go know that Edith and Maude were cousins. The hilarity broke loose when Maude's liberal views were tested with Archie's ultra-conservative leanings. Arthur was such a success on the show that she was given her own show "Maude."

While Maude is very liberal, the film showed that her home was anything but functional. I guess that the same can be said about any liberal or conservative.

The show was highlighted by another great supporting cast with Bill Macy and Adrienne Barbeau as husband and daughter to Maude, respectively.

Pass the damn Tylenol!

[unclediss · 5/10 · 5 March 2019]

I really want to like this forward-thinking show from legendary TV creator Normal Lear, but the more episodes I've consumed in syndication lately, the more irritated I am getting. There's so much bickering and yelling over one another on this show that it's giving me mad anxiety.

I've barely made it through the 4th season and I am just about ready to tap out. Their British maid Mrs. Naugatuck is especially unbearable and quite possibly one of the worst casting decisions in all of television. Most shows tend to get better in their 3rd and 4th seasons as they continue to hone their craft, but this show appears to have gotten worse as it goes on. At least Adrienne Barbeau's career was launched with this series, but even here she's given little to do and reduced to jokes about her ample bosoms. Mind you, they are real and they are spectacular, but I doubt that's enough to keep me watching.

Maybe if I keep the headache medicine handy I can hang in there and finish the series, but it seems unlikely. There's plenty of other programming out there that won't drive me batty from marital bickering.

Bea Arthur lives on...

[somuchstreaming · 10/10 · 9 August 2021]

As a child of the 1990s, obviously I know Bea Arthur for her wonderful work on "The Golden Girls." However, I am so happy I've had the opportunity to watch "Maude" in my adulthood. I think Norman Lear had a way of tackling issues that were controversial w/o creating a divide. Divorce, abortion, politics (opposing views) were huge back then and this show was brilliant.

Oddly enough, it seems people were much more open minded and willing to see other points of view back in the 70s!

Now, in 2021, everyone thinks they are right and we refuse to open ourselves up to new information. We refuse to change our hearts and minds.

Love to everyone in the 60s and 70s that were willing to have those hard conversations and face those controversial issues to help move this nation forward.

Just a cheap "All In The Family"

[philhayes80 · 5/10 · 24 August 2018]

I think that after 6 years of watching Maude that it was AiTF but with Bea Arthur as Archie. Nothing bad against this show because it did the unthinkable in 1972 and ended on a strange note in 78

The Other Side of All in the Family...

[MattWard · 14 January 2001]

"Maude" was a chance for the people of "All in the Family" to tackle the female side of the issues... by creating a powerful, subtle and humorous woman that had just as strong views as Archie Bunker.

Bea Arthur has since become well known for her humor and the looks at the camera... she was the perfect choice for Maude... noone else could have pulled it off.

Throughout the years "Maude" tackled many issues and caused controversial uproars, just as it's parent show "All in the Family" did.

When naming a list of the most memorable shows, "Maude" should be listed at the top... although it hasn't earned the respect as it should have now.

If you get a chance to watch this series... do it...

Funny as heck but so loud.

[johnsokw · 10/10 · 24 February 2019]

Many feel compelled to emphasize the topical themes addressed over its 6 yr run, but I view those just as the basis on which great Catskills type comedy was built. Fine by me. If I want the news I'll watch 60 minutes. People claim it was daring to feature controversial plots, but I bet others before would have done that if conditions had permitted. I can't pinpoint the style elements and humor that links I Love Lucy, Dick Van Dyke and other CBS comedies, but Maude also has it. When it's corny, it's sophisticated corn. When it almost gets too sappy and serious like a Facts of Life episode or a Golden Girls social justice episode (ugh the worst thing a comedy can do) someone cracks a joke to break the tension (Thank goodness) to remind us this is a sit-com not a grim play. I love the show, but I wish the people in charge had toned down/reduced the ear=splitting yelling by the Findlays. It got old and is puzzling why it was allowed to endure. Bea Arthur brought her lungs to Golden Girls too so maybe the sforzando style is her trademark.

One of the funniest women of all time

[danicanau · 10/10 · 15 August 2018]

Maude is an all-time favourite of mine, which has finally made it on to DVD after many years of waiting. I used to love watching with my mother. It was an amazing bonding experience to laugh in unison with these colourful characters, and we discovered our similar sense of humour. As with so many shows with headlining female characters, this show is not only a stand out model of its time, it tackles the human condition with the perfect balance of heart and humour. A stellar cast with the inimitable Bea Arthur as Maude, this is a superbly crafted comedy which deals with all kinds of matters in life in with wit and wisdom. A great dose of 70's fun and style.

Maude Is One of a Kind

[SoSingular · 10/10 · 16 April 2007]

One thing that I disagree with is that Maude was like All in the Family, although perhaps an upsides down All in the Family in that Maude was liberal and Archie was conservative. This show was, truly, one of a kind. It is true that both shows discussed real issues of the times, but both settings are entirely different, Maude and Carol are women and the dominant characters, and the texture of the film is entirely different. It is a sophisticated classic that deserves to be thought of independently for its own guts, comedic genius, and point of view. It had a lot of great stories to tell, and it had the guts to tell it to the whole world

Vicious Hag on Steroids

[Johnny_West · 1/10 · 25 April 2020]

Bea Arthur played Maude. She had been in the Marines during World War II, and always had issues due to hating men, and hating the U.S.A. Typical of any Norman Lear sit-com, Maude was angry at America.

Her husband was played with Bill Macy, as the wimpy and alcoholic Walter Findlay. Walter was the punching bag for Maude's hatred of men and Americans. Walter was symbolic of everything that was wrong with American men.

Conrad Bain played Maude's friend, Dr. Arthur Harmon. Bain was there to provide the intellectual perspective that agreed with Maude. He was the voice of liberal intellectuals who hated America too. Bain verified Maude's hatred of American society. He also seemed to be having an affair with Maude. On more than a few episodes, Walter accused Dr. Harmon and Maude of having an affair.

Rue McClanahan played Maude's friend, Vivian Cavender Harmon. Later on she would star on Golden Girls with Bea Arthur.

Adrienne Barbeau rounded out the cast as Maude's ultra-liberal, man-crushing daughter. She was the perfect Frankenstein Monster of women's lib. Created by Maude to hate American culture, and men. Barbeau managed to be even more angry at America than Maude. Whenever Barbeau was on the show hating on the USA, it was Maude that was the voice of reason, trying to talk her down.

This show is incredibly ridiculous to watch. It has not aged well. Most of the things that Maude is upset about are long gone into history. Maude is as dated as Bea Arthur. Gone and forgotten.

After All Of These Years, I Finely Binged The Seasons!

[kevinleenorwood · 9/10 · 20 February 2022]

This show is extremely funny. It pits man vs. Woman, liberal vs. Conservative and Maude is at the center of it all. The jokes are great, but Bea Authur has a superior talent in her execution. If you liked any of the 70's sitcoms and haven't seen this one, what are you waiting for? You are in for a real treat!

Maude is no All in The Family

[vitoscotti · 4/10 · 30 September 2021]

I've watched Maude now & then years ago. Thought I'd try watching the whole series. I only lasted 8 episodes. Bea Arthur's Maude is so vile, the show is only watchable in small doses. Maude has no depth. All shouting, tantrums, and dominating screen time. Archie Bunker at least has some good qualities. Shame Adrienne Barbeau wasn't highlighted more. I think Norman Lear went too far making Maude unlikable.

The sitcom for every generation of women

[Nermal-3 · 1 June 1999]

I love Bea Arthur and this show is the only one that tops "The Golden Girls." The show was controversial, but greatly written, and carried it off with fantastic acting! Norman Lear is a television dynasty within himself. I wish I could have been old enough in the seventies to appreciate the first run of these episodes...however, I can deal with the re-runs just fine!

Just Amazing

[velial-ve · 10/10 · 25 June 2016]

The series ended the year I was born... I have no idea where I discover "Maude" As was never aired the Greek TV of course I knew Bea Arthur From golden girls Such an excellent script Bea Arthur was Amazing If she didn't won an Emmy was a terrible mistake by the "elders " of TV And a show almost 40 years after is so fresh so forward It's like was written yesterday Of course was the decade of feminism and with a political correct agenda But still I think it's a Gem of American television which I adore

Since I was 10 I was trying not to read the subtitles and when I was going to my English lessons my teacher was astonished Cuz I knew words where after Cambridge certificate and proficiency hardly knew!

Cringe

[ThunderKing6 · 1/10 · 13 October 2021]

A 70s cringefest. This show made me feel sick. Something just wasn't right. When I look at this show, I don't feel too good and want to turn to ash.

70s shows are usually good. This one was not good. I'm not sure if cringe was a 70s word, but it fits this show perfectly.

Last Words: Maude stay away, you look like a...40+ years is not enough.

General unhappiness that is always blamed on others

[ronnybee2112 · 3/10 · 24 May 2023]

This TV show can indeed be called quite a many things,but subtle and pleasant are neither of them.

This series showcases the dynamics of a rather miserable and shallow,man-hating,'battle-axe' character named Maude,along with the various interactions amongst Maude,her friends, neighbors,and co-workers.

Many of the social issues and points brought up in the show are indeed important. The problem is all in the silly,one-sided presentations of these issues.

Most of the situations are forced or exaggerated,some are silly,many are ridiculous,most don't ring true,but no matter what,there always seems to be some sort of a problem,and someone (or everyone) is unhappy. According to Maude,none of the seemingly endless problems are ever Maude's fault in any way.

Almost all of the problems are blamed on 3rd parties or trusty strawmen such as 'the patriarchy','society',or 'the system' and so-forth,because Maude and company are always presented as the blameless and hapless victims of a bad and corrupt system.

The dynamics of this show make the whole series seem like no more than a gloomy and rather depressing slog towards the next problem or set of problems.

Watching Maude is almost like being stuck with a crabby substitute-teacher in elementary school.

The overall mood is unhappy and grim,making the entire show a real bummer. A real drag.

Overall it is an unhappy old tv show about unhappy old people,and nobody needs to watch a tv show to see unhappy people today.

The show could have/would have been a lot more enjoyable,more likeable and more realistic if only Maude would engage in just the slightest of introspection and even just occasionally accepted some responsibility for the endless unnecessary turmoil that surrounds her like a black cloud. What a stone-cold drag !

3/10.

Maude Rules!

[raysond · 13 September 2002]

I only got the chance to catch seldom episodes when it ran recently on Nick's TV Land,but I wanted to see more,but before I could seen them they took it right off the air. When CBS premiered this spin off from "All In The Family" in September of 1972,no one had the slightest idea that it would last until April of 1978 where it ran for an astounding six years.

"Maude" gave people a chance for the people of "All In The Family" to tackle the female side of issues..by creating a powerful,subtle and holds no punches as well as humorous and full of fight woman that had just as stronger views as Archie Bunker--who else couldn't keep her mouth shut! She spoke her mind on things and her her political views were extremely rare to boot! However,Maude's household was full of surprises cause you never know what can you expect especially the occurrences happening at the Findlay's. In other words,in Maude's house she didn't take no crap from any sucker cause she was the total boss of the dome! Tough-spirited yet gullible. Bill Macy was the perfect husband Walter who was an salesmen played it to the hilt! Also rounding out the cast were there next door neighbors--the nutty and slightly unpredictable Harmon's played by Rue McClanahan and Conrad Bain,and the Findley's daughter Carol played by Adrienne Barbeau and their housekeeper played by two different actresses(Seasons 1-2 played by Esther Rolle who played Florida who after this had a spin off from Maude as well called "Good Times")and Carol's son(from a previous marriage) and Maude's nephew Phillip(played by two different actors especially one of them who played the first Phillip went to star opposite Linda Lavin's son onanother CBS series "Alice").

One of the best three favorite episodes from the series was the one where Phillip was acting like a real brat. Carol and Walter were fed up with him,but Maude believed there was no such thing as a bad child. THEY WERE WRONG! She showed Phillip who was the boss around here especially when adults are in charge!

The other episode where Phillip had some friends over to the Findley's for a party complete with a live band. What made Maude so angry in that episode was that Phillip was with some friends in the back yard smoking pot while the rest of his friends really trashed the house! But anyway when Maude asked Phillip about the pot,he really gave his mom a hard time and his room and himself was smelling like pot as well and of course lied to her about it,but it was Maude that gave him a wicked back hand across his face for talking back to his mother and to her! In other words,Carol didn't know how to control Phillip when he got older,since she was a divorce parent who never took time out since Phillip's dad was never around,but it was Maude who really gave the kid a good advice and some common sense,and to Carol as well on how to raise her son!

The other episode was when The Harmon's had a special guest in the neighborhood and no one really knew it at first,but the beans leaked out and out of the blue comes the Duke himself---JOHN WAYNE! and also had a musical interlude by no other but Donny Hathaway in a rare TV appearance who also wrote and compose the show's theme song.

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN....MAUDE RULES!!!

God'll Get You For That!

[JWLJN · 30 November 1999]

If you don't watch this show, that is. I must admit, I love All in the Family, however for me this is just a bit better.

Bea Arthur was PERFECT in her role as the tough-spirited yet gullible Maude Findlay. Bill Macy was the perfect husband for her, playing Walter to a T. Conrad Bain and Rue McClanahan were wonderful as well, playing the slightly nutty Harmon's, and watching their relationship develop was a testament as to how the writers could bring two characters believably together. Rounding out the cast were Adrienne Barbeau, and the late Esther Rolle and Hermoine Baddeley.

This show also tackled as many serious subjects as All in the Family. From abortion to alcoholism, Maude and family dealt with it in a fashion that was not only informative but humorous and tasteful as well.

Maudie is back!

RIGHT ON, MAUDE!

[BlackJack_B · 15 October 2001]

Maude is one of my favorite sitcoms off all time. Even though it's pretty dated stuff, it still is uproariously funny. I think the older comedies are funny because they mixed social content with humour better than today's sex-drenched drek.

I read somewhere that Maude Findlay was supposed to be Edith's sister in this spin-off. Although the two are as different as night and day, Maude does sound like Edith when she's irked. Beatrice Arthur plays Maude, a feminist who has been married 4 times and is looking to make her mark in the world. She lives with her 4th husband, Walter (Bill Macy), a man who can deal with her manic depression and mood swings, and her divorced daughter (played by the buxom Adrienne Barbeau) and her son. Also, there are the Harmons, played by Conrad Bain(Arthur) and Rue McClanahan(Vivian).

Maude was always funny because the cast worked brilliantly together, the script-writers had consultation from the great Bobs Weiskopf and Schiller(of I Love Lucy fame), and the shows of the 70's didn't have to worry about being PC, because at the time, people weren't so sensitive about their stereotypes then. It was truly zany, with too many great moments to mention; mine was when The Harmons were having trouble in their young marriage and were relying on sex games to liven it up. One night the Findlay's go out to visit the Harmons, and Vivian is naked, but wrapped up in Saran Wrap. She opened the door thinking it's Arthur, but when its Maude and Walter, she screams and slams the door, and The Findlay's are standing with their backs to the camera for 40 seconds. It was gut-bustingly funny, waiting for their take on what just happened. A true comedy hit of the past.

Of course, who can't forget Maude's trademark line: "God will get you for that!" when Walter or someone else took a good verbal shot at her.