40 Years Ago Today: NBC Launched A Sci-Fi Sitcom Unlike Anything Else On TV

In September 1986, critics weren't sure what NBC was doing with its upcoming sitcom "ALF." The Florida Times-Union described the new series as "ridiculous" and predicted it would fail, while the Potomac News wrote that its lead alien character was "not cute enough to sustain the comedy." 

"ALF" was certainly an unusual proposition: a live-action sitcom about an ordinary family suddenly visited by an alien. Unlike the kindly E.T., ALF was, as The Des Moines Register put it, a "crabby, cranky, cantankerous and conniving" monster. The series preceded even weirder puppet-based sitcoms like "Dinosaurs," but in 1986, there was little else on television quite like it. 

Making its eventual success even more remarkable was the difficult production. To accommodate the puppet, the set had to be raised four feet above the ground with trap doors cut into the stage. ALF was voiced and operated by puppeteer Paul Fusco, while 33-inch-tall actor Michu Meszaros wore a costume for full-body shots. The elaborate setup made "ALF" unusually time-consuming and expensive to produce, meaning the strange new sitcom needed viewers to embrace it quickly.

Sure enough, "ALF" became a hit, with NBC adding two extra episodes to Season 1 and quickly renewing it for a second season. Although the character was popular with kids, puppeteer Paul Fusco told The Tampa Tribune that the show's appeal extended to all ages. "Sure, children like the character, but there are jokes that go right over their heads," he said. Fusco added of ALF, "He says things we're all thinking but never have the nerve to say. He can get away with it because he's an alien." 

The character remained popular enough that Warner Bros. even attempted a revival in 2018. Its original run was cancelled after four seasons, however, largely due to declining ratings, and the difficult production had worn on the cast. "It was a technical nightmare," Anne Schedeen, who played Kate and passed away in June 2026, told People in a 2000 interview. "Extremely slow, hot, and tedious. If you had a scene with ALF, it took centuries." 

Max Wright, who played family patriarch Willie, was able to appreciate the series more fully years after it ended. "It doesn't matter what I felt or what the days were like," he said. "'ALF' brought people a lot of joy. They adored it."