‘All in the Family’ Live: Fans Weigh in on Jamie Foxx, His Busted Line and More

ABC’s live recreation of All In The Family and The Jeffersons episodes was definitely not taped in advance as Jamie Foxx flubbed a line late in the special. He recovered from his mistake like a pro, but the mistake did not go unnoticed by viewers.

The special, Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons,’ aired Wednesday night, with Foxx starring as George Jefferson. He brought a little of his In Living Color experience to the table, as he made a speech to Anthony Anderson’s Uncle Henry.

In the middle of the speech, Foxx lost track of where he was, tripping over his words.

“It’s live,” Foxx said, turning to the audience. “Everyone sitting at home thinking their TV just messed up.”

Foxx held on for a long pause as the audience laughed, before he finally turned away from Anderson. He eventually went back to his spot and finally got the line out, before he looked back at the audience for their approval.

The mistake had fans laughing at home, especially after ABC shared a clip of Foxx’s mistake on Twitter. One person pointed out that Woody Harrelson, who was playing Archie Bunker, was laughing so hard he had to turn his back to the camera.

“I love watching everyone’s expressions in the background — Marisa Tomei looked like she was really trying to stay in character as Edith,” one person wrote.

“You guys did AMAZING at these, really enjoyed watching last night!” another person wrote.

“This was pretty damn awesome! Way to go ABC!” another viewer wrote.

“I was impressed with the All In The Family recreation. However, [Foxx] ruined the last scene, not because he flubbed but that he didn’t just start over, as if that’s how the scene was supposed to go. This isn’t In Living Color!” another fan wrote.

“I have to say, I thought they did a pretty good job of the live broadcast of All In The Family. That old 1973 script still had some relevant things to say; good casting, and I loved Jamie Foxx flubbing his lines,” another fan wrote. “When is the live Maude show?”

The special also featured performances from Marisa Tomei, Sean Hayes, Ellie Kemper, Kerry Washington, Wanda Sykes, Will Ferrell, Justina Machado, Ike Barinholtz, Amber Stevens West, Stephen Tobolowsky and Jackee Harry. Jimmy Kimmell hosted the production with producer Norman Lear.

“They have said over and over again that these two shows were meant for the ’70s and would not work today,” Lear said when the broadcast was first announced last month. “We disagree with them and are here to prove, with two great casts depicting All in the Family and The Jeffersons, the timelessness of human nature. I cannot wait to see what these glorious performers make in our time of these indelible characters, and I couldn’t be more grateful for Jimmy Kimmel, Sony and ABC for their collective willingness to conceive and pursue this never-been-done-before event.”

Photo credit: ABC/Eric McCandless