After being filmed before a live studio audience for eight seasons, All in the Family chose to forgo the audience for its ninth and final season.
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The show's creator Norman Lear, however, didn't want to resort to a laugh track for the final season. The phoniness of canned laughter was what made him choose to buck Hollywood conventions and go with a live audience to begin with. How would he get real reactions without a live audience?
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The answer was found on another Norman Lear program- One Day at a Time. All in the Family would borrow their live audience by showing a videotape of a previously filmed All in the Family episode to an audience that had just watched a live One Day at a Time filming. Their reactions were recorded and added to the All in the Family episode in post-production.