Brady Bunch Revival Killed Because of Susan Olsen's Hate Speech, Not Trump

Cindy Brady actress Susan Olsen recently claimed on the “Walk Away Campaign” podcast (via Vanity Fair) that CBS is not considering a revival of “The Brady Bunch” due to her support of Donald Trump and her controversial stance on important issues like Covid vaccines and Co. has destroyed the LGBTQ+ community – but that's not the whole story, insiders note. For one thing, the show was filmed at CBS Studios and hadn't even been pitched to networks or streamers yet. More importantly, sources indicate that it was dropped due to hate speech from Olsen, including homophobic slurs, which had previously gotten her fired from a radio gig.

The updated Brady Project was considered two years ago, but it's unclear if a script was even written. The project never got past this initial stage when Olsen's behavior prevented it from moving forward. The series would have started with the Brady Bunch kids as adults. Olsen's Cindy, the youngest Brady sibling, would become a libertarian podcaster, the actor revealed.

“I had a phone call with my [TV] Siblings and my agent,” Olsen said on the podcast. “Everyone said, 'We're sorry, but they just won't budge. They just won't have you there.' I thought, 'Wow, I've been canceled.' A role I've played for over 50 years that I can't play now because I'm too dangerous. I thought, 'Okay guys, good luck, I hope you can sell it.'”

CBS Studios declined to comment. According to Olsen, she was in talks about reviving “Brady Bunch” for about a year. She was reportedly questioned about her politics during the series' early development by the revival's showrunner and the son of Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of the original Brady Bunch. The actress was fired from the radio show Two Chicks Talkin' Politics back in 2016 after expressing anti-LGBTQ views on social media; She later reportedly responded to a guest (who had criticized her on social media) by sending him a text message full of insults and hate speech.

Olsen played the role of Cindy Brady throughout the run of The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969 to 1974. She also appeared in the animated spin-off “The Brady Kids,” as well as the 1976 “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour” TV movie “The Brady Girls Get Married” and the 1990s “The Bradys.”

According to Vanity Fair's summary of Olsen's interview: “According to Olsen, the revival would catapult the Brady Bunch family into the modern era. One of Jan's children would be trans, and one of the Bradys would have a black spouse. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Olsen disagreed. “So I said, 'Come on, let's not be so obvious.' Let's make this black spouse someone who has a really close relationship with another Brady, and that's how this Brady met her. Give them a foundation so that this is not a symbolic position.'”

Olsen continued that the “Brady Bunch” revival series is now “dead in the water.” Listen to the actor's full interview on the Walk Away Campaign podcast here.