HBO's one-hour follow-up to the famed PBS documentary series,"An American Family" (1973), is a ten-year update on the Loud family and their reflections on becoming overnight media celebrities. Filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond had remained friends with family members and knew the celebrity experience and the effects of divorce had changed them in many ways. The Raymonds filmed family members discussing their reactions to these events, intercutting the new footage with scenes from the 1973 PBS series. Although this HBO production was seen on HBO in 1983, it was not aired on PBS until 1991.

A documentary. that is a follow-up of sorts to "American Family, An" (1973) , follows the life of Lance Loud, the son of the Loud family who came out on air, unprecedented on broadcast television. The show documents his life since til his death of AIDS and Hepatitis C in December of 2001.

In 1973, The WNET Group's groundbreaking documentary series, "An American Family," chronicled the real-life events of the William C. Loud family of Santa Barbara, California. Public television viewers watched the Loud family's daily lives unfold, including the family's divorce and son Lance's coming out, making the series a cultural watershed moment.