Television series
Donny & Marie
- Musical
- Light-hearted
- Dip in and out
A 1976 variety show built around siblings Donny and Marie Osmond, mixing pop performances, comedy sketches, and guest stars into a family-friendly weekly spectacle. It's pure 70s entertainment—earnest, energetic, occasionally bizarre. For anyone curious about vintage television charm or the Osmonds' cultural moment.
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The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour1971
The template Donny & Marie followed: married couple hosts, musical numbers, comedy bits, celebrity guests. Essential viewing for understanding the variety show era's DNA.
But The pacing feels slack by modern standards, and the humor relies on impressions and gentle ribbing that hasn't aged as sharply as you'd hope.
The Carol Burnett Show1967
The gold standard of variety comedy. Burnett's ensemble could make sketches sing or bomb spectacularly, with musical production values that still impress. Comedy architecture at its finest.
But It's long—most episodes run 90 minutes. Commitment required. Not every sketch lands, and some topical humor has faded.
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In1967
Fast-paced, anarchic, genuinely funny. Jokes come so fast you can't catch every one. The counterculture answer to stodgy variety shows, but sharper and more inventive.
But The rapid-fire gag format is exhausting if you're tired. Some jokes are just puns. It's resolutely of its era in ways that don't always translate.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Pennies from Heaven1981
Both use the musical number as their narrative spine, but where Donny & Marie treats music as joy, Pennies from Heaven uses it as tragedy—the same structural tool, opposite emotional register.
A completely tonal inversion: a dark British musical about infidelity and desperation set during the Depression. Musical numbers erupt from real pain, not family fun. Shows how far the form can stretch.
But It's bleak and sexual in ways that will disorient anyone expecting light entertainment. Slow. Christopher Walken is in the 1981 remake, which is also strange.
More like this (7)
The Osmonds1972
The Osmonds' first variety show: brighter, more chaotic, with interesting guest chemistry. Shows the family dynamic before Donny & Marie streamlined things.
But Production values are cheaper and wobblier. Pacing is even looser. It exists more as history than entertainment.
The Muppet Show1976
A contemporary alternative that proved variety could be genuinely funny and brilliantly crafted. Jim Henson's show feels effortless where others strain.
But Puppet humor won't appeal to everyone. Early seasons have pacing issues. Some sketches aim for whimsy and miss.
Hee Haw1969
A country-music variety show that understood visual comedy and absurdism. Quick jokes, musical guests, genuine warmth. More inventive than it looks.
But It leans hard into rural stereotypes. Country music isn't everyone's thing. The humor can feel corny even on purpose.
The Hollywood Squares1966
Celebrity tic-tac-toe that became a masterclass in comedians riffing. Quick, clever, endlessly rewatchable. You don't need to care about the game.
But The format repeats. Celebrity culture from 1966 won't resonate if you don't know the guests. It's disposable in the best and worst ways.
Saturday Night Live1975
Live variety comedy that exploded weeks after Donny & Marie premiered. Raw, inconsistent, but attempting something sharper than what came before.
But Early SNL is famously uneven and drags in places. No laughtrack to guide you. The topical humor is dated and sometimes mystifying now.
Singin' in the Rain1952
Both celebrate entertainment as performance and family—but Singin' in the Rain is cinema perfection while Donny & Marie is television chaos. Same DNA, completely different execution.
The blueprint for all entertainment-industry musicals: technically dazzling, funny, generous-hearted. Makes the 70s variety format look lazy by comparison. Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor at their peak.
But It's a Hollywood product through and through, sometimes aggressively so. Modern audiences can find it a touch saccharine. The plot is gossip-column thin.
The Comeback2005
Both traffic in the dream-logic of show business and family dynamics, but The Comeback deconstructs performance through mockumentary honesty rather than celebrating it straightforwardly. A 21st-century autopsy of what Donny & Marie embodied naively.
A mockumentary miniseries where Lisa Kudrow plays an actress trying to revive her career through a reality show. Painfully awkward, hilarious, genuinely moving. Comedy about performance and celebrity delusion.
But The humor relies on secondhand embarrassment. Some will find it unwatchable. It's only six episodes, so light commitment, but very particular in tone.
Recommended by
The Julie Andrews Hour, The Brady Bunch Hour, Marie, Pink Lady and Jeff