Yeah, a lot of the family oriented sitcoms of the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s tackled social issues. Family Ties was notorious for it. All In The Family. The Jeffersons. Roseanne. Diff'rent Strokes (which The Facts of Life is a spinoff of). Shit, M*A*S*H. Growing Pains. Webster (which is about interracial adoption, if you haven't seen it), when it wasn't just focused on Emmanuel Lewis being goofy. I'm sure there's a lot of others.
It's pretty amazing to compare it to the drek that counts as sitcoms today. From a writing standpoint, the most popular sitcoms, like Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, etc. can't hold a candle to the older shows. At least they tried to have a purpose beyond lazy (and often misogynistic) hijinks. Even the fluffier shows of the day, like Cheers or Three's Company, exhibited far more wit and charm.
It's pretty amazing to compare it to the drek that counts as sitcoms today. From a writing standpoint, the most popular sitcoms, like Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, etc. can't hold a candle to the older shows. At least they tried to have a purpose beyond lazy (and often misogynistic) hijinks. Even the fluffier shows of the day, like Cheers or Three's Company, exhibited far more wit and charm.
