The Addams Family were a perplexingly macabre and wealthy family who lived on North Cemetary Ridge whohe family members included rather odd individuals. Gomez was the head of the house and had rather destructive instincts. His wife Morticia was the beautiful but somber lady of the house. Their children were the not-quite-right son Pugsley and morose daughter Wednesday. Grandmama was the family witch who notorious for casting spells on other family members. Uncle Fester was Gomez's wacky older brother who was always seemed to cause trouble. Lurch, their butler, was a seven-foot-tall warmed-over Frankenstein monster whose dialogue usually consisted solely of two words, "You rang?". Other recurring characters were Cousin Itt and Thing, a disembodied hand who was always willing to help out.

The Addams Family was sophisticated and wickedly funny for its time. As Gomez notes at one point, "There's a touch of madness" in the Addams household, where "every day is Halloween." Bear rugs growl, a disembodied hand, Thing, delivers the mail, and a torture rack is good for what ails you. The children, Wednesday and older brother Pugsley, enjoy such hobbies as playing autopsy or exploding model trains. Gomez and Morticia were one of television's most passionate couples, with Gomez being driven to arm-kissing ecstasy whenever Morticia spoke French. Each episode opened with one of the most famous snap-happy theme songs of all time. Who could ever forget the opening verse 'They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together ooky... The Addams Family!'