Carroll O'Connor and series writer/producer Fred Rubin wanted to do an episode in which Archie Bunker had a reunion with his old Army buddies in Foggia, Italy, where the character had served. O'Connor, who had lived in Italy for many years, wanted to film the episode on location in Italy. However, CBS never accepted the story idea.
Contrary to popular belief, the episode where Archie and Stephanie mourn Edith's passing was not the series premiere. Edith was phased out over the course of the first season (Jean Stapleton's decision), making occasional and brief appearances, like a guest star. The episode everyone remembers was the second season premiere.
Like the final season of All in the Family (1971), the series was not taped in front of a live audience. Completed episodes were shown to the studio audiences for One Day at a Time (1975) and their laughter was recorded and edited into the episodes.
This series did not have an appropriate closure due to the show having been abruptly cancelled, without the actors even being informed. As a result, Carroll O'Connor vowed to never work on a show with CBS again. However, after he had starred in the NBC series In the Heat of the Night (1988) for four years, that show moved to CBS. O'Connor remained with it until its cancellation three years later in 1994.
With ratings falling short of being in the top ten the first two seasons, both Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers were offered returning roles beginning with season three (as Martin Balsam had departed the series). While Struthers accepted, Reiner did not. In an interview, Reiner claimed that he and Struthers were offered a lot of money - which he didn't have at the time - to return, but he had a lot of things going on at that time, including trying to get This Is Spinal Tap (1984) off the ground. This led to Gloria's homecoming as a divorced single mother in season 3. Without Reiner, Struthers - instead of joining this show - was given her own series, the short-lived Gloria (1982).