Revisiting The Osbournes over 20 years later, the enchantment of the groundbreaking actuality present is instantly clear. Starring the late Ozzy Osbourne, his spouse Sharon, and youngsters Kelly and Jack, the MTV sequence positioned itself as a household sitcom with out a script, instantly discovering the humor in a barely middle-aged rock star and his household behaving… similar to peculiar individuals.
They weren’t, in fact, “peculiar” individuals, however for a similar motive that tabloid followers spark to “they’re similar to us!” picture spreads, The Osbournes discovered actual energy in depicting the trivial moments of this household’s day, Ozzy’s off-the-cuff asides serving as the proper punchlines. The primary season particularly saved issues comparatively grounded, with Ozzy’s rock star life mixing into household squabbles and tending to the household’s huge menagerie of pets. (Should you’ve ever needed to see a bulldog defecate on digicam, then Season 1, Episode 2 is ready for you.)
And whereas the storytelling had a documentary really feel, the traditional tropes have been there: The rebellious but loving children, the hard-working mother together with her personal quirks, and the foolish, exasperated father determine. The opening titles play like several sitcom, with Lewis Lamedica masking Ozzy’s “Loopy Practice” prefer it’s an outdated Sinatra normal — not dissimilar from the traditional sitcom Married With Kids’s use of “Love and Marriage.” And whereas Sharon’s first billed, the credit finish with “and Ozzy Osbourne as ‘The Dad’” — bringing him right into a proud custom going again to the times of Archie Bunker and Carl Winslow. Dads who didn’t at all times know finest, however cared sufficient to attempt.
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A 2022 oral historical past for The Ringer breaks down how the present’s producers labored exhausting to present the sequence an natural really feel, embedding themselves within the household dwelling throughout filming, and rejecting the thought of talking-head interviews. As a substitute, particularly throughout the first season, Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack simply interacted with one another just like the cameras weren’t there, and the outcome was the kind of unfiltered, if perhaps often staged, entry we’ve come to crave from the well-known. Nothing makes a person extra relatable than watching him cuss out his canine for consuming a sofa cushion.
Later seasons would focus extra on the best way that the household’s lives have been modified by their newfound fame, creating a real ouroboros of stardom. On the time The Osbournes premiered, popular culture was already beginning to create new personalities out of nowhere — there have at all times been individuals who grew to become well-known with out truly doing a lot to earn that fame, however actuality TV was simply changing into an instrument for that type of success.
Whereas his members of the family grew to become family names off The Osbournes, Ozzy remained comparatively himself, casually ambling round the home in sweatpants. In a 2012 interview, the rock star mentioned that he was not sober throughout the present’s three years of filming, one thing that’s not not apparent on display. His mellow vibe, although, solely contributes to the elemental energy of seeing somebody so well-known for his heavy metallic antics on stage be himself behind the scenes, doing his finest to guardian his children and marveling on the magic of a Chipotle burrito.
One of many nice moments on The Osbournes was Ozzy watching his burrito get made at Chipotle in sheer reverence.
It was like he was witnessing Michelangelo sculpt David proper in entrance of him. pic.twitter.com/RbqosxaLXp
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) July 22, 2025
The Osbournes wasn’t only a game-changer for Ozzy’s public notion — it basically helped create a whole sub-genre of actuality tv, one which might go on to imagine a worldwide curiosity within the lives of different well-known households, wealthy housewives, and individuals who work on boats. In the meantime, Sharon discovered herself with an ongoing profession as a TV persona and Kelly received to discover each music and internet hosting (she’ll be on Fox quickly because the host of competitors sequence LEGO Masters Jr.).
Jack additionally continued making actuality TV to today, typically exhibits involving his mother and father — as only one latest instance, the 2020 Journey Channel sequence The Osbournes Need to Imagine featured Jack, Sharon, and Ozzy watching paranormal movies collectively. Each seasons are streaming now on HBO Max. Doing The Osbournes as a teen, Jack informed The Ringer, “unlocked a tremendous life, and I’ve been so blessed to have had a digicam in my home for a few years. I’ve been in a position to have a profession in tv for 20 years now simply type of rolling from one mission to the following and touring all around the world and making actually enjoyable TV exhibits. So it was all value it ultimately.”
The Osbournes can’t be thought-about a really genuine portrait of this household — the style ought to by no means be thought-about a mirror — and usually actuality tv has contributed no scarcity of negativity to the world. However in its finest moments, it finds a approach to seize the shared experiences all of us people face now and again. I’ll by no means know what it’s like to carry a stadium of metallic followers within the palm of my hand, however I can watch Ozzy sigh over a beloved pet’s mess and suppose to myself, “yeah, man, been there.”
We’d be mourning Ozzy’s music at present, it doesn’t matter what. The Osbournes ensured that we additionally bear in mind the person.
The Osbournes is streaming now on Prime Video, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.