The Osbornes Rocked So The Kardashians Could Keep Up

In 2001, Rod Aissa was 1 of a fistful of MTV executives having luncheon pinch Sharon Osbourne astatine a edifice successful Santa Monica, California, to talk a imaginable collaboration pinch her family. Osbourne apologized for arriving late, blamed it connected her husband’s antics and instantly launched into a dizzying play-by-play of her home’s hijinks that had everyone laughing — hard.

“We are over-the-top and crazy, and there’s a batch of cursing and fighting and dogs everywhere,” Aissa recalled her saying then, “but there’s truthful overmuch emotion successful our family.”

That family, of course, besides includes Ozzy Osbourne, nan dense metallic fable and Black Sabbath beforehand man who accidentally became a pioneer successful reality television, acknowledgment to nan early aughts arena “The Osbournes.” With nan news that Ozzy died Tuesday astatine 76, fans flooded societal media pinch footage of nan Prince of Darkness’ theatrical performances, arsenic good arsenic clips of him chasing his elusive feline done his backyard and unapologetically marveling at the assembly of a Chipotle burrito.

Before “The Osbournes” premiered successful 2002, Ozzy Osbourne was known for pioneering dense metallic and popularizing “many of its over-the-top stereotypes: overindulgence, a disregard for obeying rules, a benignant of cartoonish, perpetual adolescence,” said Craig Marks, euphony journalist and executive editor of HITS magazine. “To different hard-rock musicians especially, he was a unit of nature, personification whose appetite for narcotics was practically heroic.”

Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly connected "The Osbournes" play 1 successful 2002.Michael Yarish / MTV / Getty Images

But it was nan family astir nan rocker that piqued nan liking of MTV executives, including Aissa, and led to nan creation of a bid that launched an full tv subgenre, while introducing him to a caller procreation who were excessively young to acquisition Black Sabbath’s heyday. A standout 2000 section of “MTV Cribs” — successful which teens Jack and Kelly Osbourne springiness MTV a circuit of their location — had offered a glimpse into nan chaotic but charming dynamics. It besides presented Ozzy’s various paradoxes: primitively from working-class Birmingham, England, and now moving into a brand-new Beverly Hills mansion; singing astir decease and nan occult onstage and conscionable trying to watch nan History Channel astatine home.

“We knew we had lightning successful a vessel because this family, pinch their emotion and dysfunction, represented truthful galore of america successful nan world,” Aissa continued. “And it was going to beryllium thing typical because of Ozzy — his consciousness of joke and his deficiency of inhibition to opportunity thing aliases behave a definite way. You could ne'er book him aliases inquire him to do thing twice, because that wasn’t who he was. You couldn’t moreover inquire Ozzy to locomotion done a doorway doubly because nan camera wasn’t ready. He’d conscionable say, ‘F--- off!’”

Countless hours of footage complete 3 years captured nan family’s mundane rhythms — tending to their galore pets, gathering pinch celebrated friends and butting heads pinch neighbors — arsenic good arsenic their much awesome moments, for illustration Sharon’s crab diagnosis, Ozzy’s near-fatal quad motorcycle accident, and nan kids’ struggles pinch substances and newfound fame. It was each edited together for illustration an American sitcom, complete pinch nostalgic graphics, upbeat needle drops and a crooner screen of Ozzy’s deed “Crazy Train” arsenic its taxable song.

“I had to watch nan first section pinch Ozzy, and it was nan longest 22 minutes of my life,” Aissa said pinch a laugh. Afterward, “Ozzy didn’t opportunity a connection aliases laughter aliases anything; I thought he hated it. He stood up and said to me, ‘I emotion them truthful much. Do not f--- this up.’”

Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne and Jack Osbourne connected March 4, 2003.Steve Granitz / WireImage file

“He didn’t emotion it, but he loved being astatine location pinch nan family, and [the show] gave them each a logic to beryllium together and really connect,” he added. “At that constituent successful his profession — platinum records everywhere, sold-out worldwide tours, a signaling workplace successful his location — Ozzy didn’t request this show, and he had nary existent liking successful it. But arsenic nan episodes aired, and arsenic group started talking to him astir what a existent family they are, he started really appreciating what it was they were doing.”

The show’s March 2002 premiere was an instant hit. It became some MTV’s highest-rated bid to day and nan most-watched show connected immoderate cablegram channel; its first play went connected to triumph nan Emmy Award for champion reality program. And its taste effect was global, fixed nan network’s indisputable taste standing.

“MTV was still nan be-all end-all for younker civilization erstwhile ‘The Osbournes’ debuted,” said Marks, who besides co-wrote nan book “I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of nan Music Video Revolution.” “Social media didn’t really beryllium yet — Myspace would motorboat successful 2003 — and ‘MTV Cribs,’ arguably nan network’s first ‘celebrity’ reality show, started successful 2000 and was a hit. But thing compared to nan cataclysm of ‘The Osbournes.’”

Jack, Sharon, Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne astatine nan Scream Awards connected Oct. 18, 2008, successful Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello / AP file

In those days, unscripted shows were conscionable emerging, particularly those featuring nan rich | and famous. But nan early 2000s were besides nan tallness of mag tabloids and personage obsession, said Colette Shade, writer of nan book “Y2K: How nan 2000s Became Everything (Essays connected nan Future That Never Was).” The Osbournes and their bumbling patriarch simply arrived astatine nan correct moment.

“People enjoyed nan truth that it was this behind-the-curtain look, and that he came disconnected successful nan show arsenic conscionable shuffling astir befuddled by various aspects of modern life, successful an endearing and silly measurement that’s very different from his nationalist persona,” Shade said. “Ozzy was known successful a definite measurement by boomers, but arsenic nan aged feline from ‘The Osbournes,’ he was capable to link pinch a caller assemblage of millennials without moreover trying.”

After nan show’s run, each family personnel became a standalone TV personality: Sharon arsenic an author, reality title judge and talk show host; Kelly arsenic a commentator connected E!’s “Fashion Police”; and Jack arsenic a recreation newsman and docuseries shaper (including shows pinch Ozzy and Sharon).

Though “The Osbournes” only ran for 4 seasons complete 3 years, its effect continues. The bid cemented MTV arsenic a hub for zeitgeisty unscripted programming, pinch “Punk’d,” “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica” and “Laguna Beach” premiering successful nan years that followed. Networks tried to capitalize connected unexpected juxtaposition of nan mean and nan ostentatious, for illustration Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s labor-centric “The Simple Life” and nan Playboy Mansion-set “The Girls Next Door.”

Numerous copycat projects — starring Hulk Hogan, Gene Simmons, Terry Bradshaw, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Sylvester Stallone, Alec Baldwin, nan Kardashians and much — person since attempted to replicate Ozzy’s singular “celebrity astatine home” charisma.

“It was an highly successful show that was brand-new and comparatively inexpensive to produce,” Shade said. “They created this full caller publicity instrumentality for celebrities to burnish their image and revive their careers, and it’s go its ain class of reality show that’s benignant of played out. People now spot it arsenic much of a building than possibly they did astatine nan time.”

That’s because, backmost then, it really wasn’t. Unlike today’s unscripted titles — oftentimes pinch prespecified storylines, setup scenes, talking-head interviews and individual branding plans — “The Osbournes” was built pinch small strategy and nary existent expectations. “To beryllium honest, we didn’t really cognize what we were doing yet, because nary 1 had done it before,” Aissa admitted pinch a laugh.

“We didn’t group retired to make reality television; we conscionable group retired to make television,” he continued. “They weren’t trying to beryllium reality stars. They were conscionable being their authentic selves, interacting pinch each different arsenic if they didn’t spot nan cameras. It was arsenic if they didn’t care, and I deliberation that was a large portion of nan magic.”