Sanford and Son (Seasons 1–6)

Sanford and Son (1972–1977) is NBC's landmark comedy series — all six seasons available to watch online on iFILM. Adapted from the British show Steptoe and Son and produced by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear, it became one of the first Black-led sitcoms to dominate American primetime, running 136 episodes and routinely finishing among the week's top-rated programmes.

Redd Foxx plays Fred Sanford, a junk dealer in the Watts neighbourhood of Los Angeles who is simultaneously the shrewdest and laziest man in the yard. His son Lamont, played by Demond Wilson, has been trying to move them both forward for years. Fred's response to any inconvenient plan is some combination of feigned heart attack, invented obligation and selective memory. Foxx was already a stand-up legend when the show launched, and it shows — he plays the audience as naturally as he plays the scene.

The series holds up because the characters are real enough to argue with. Fred is genuinely difficult, Lamont is genuinely tired, and the affection underneath their bickering is never stated out loud. Stream all seasons of Sanford and Son online on iFILM.