[drjimmy]

Family Ties became a hit simply because it accidentally made fun of kooky liberals.

As with those who claim All in the Family "accidentally" made fun of kooky liberals (Meathead and Gloria, primarily), there was nothing accidental about it. The creators/writers/producers of these shows wanted the largest audience possible, so they put out a product that both liberals and conservatives would watch, while still tipping the scale toward liberalism.

Note that I used the past tense. In today's much more fractured television landscape, it is all about audience segmentation, so appealing to demographic slices (and their purchasing power) is what matters on TV today.

[Borges]

It’s good dramatic art to see the flaws (and virtues)in every character. BTW Goldberg created a show called ‘Brooklyn Bridge’ (set in the early 1960s) which was wonderful and would certainly appeal to conservatives. It lasted barely two years.