ERIN BURRELL is a PhD researcher at Massey University focussed on creating a framework for increasing diversity in the workplace. Her research interests include intersectional feminism, norms of social power and exchange, pop culture storytelling, equity and social justice advocacy. She can be reached at E.Burrell@massey.ac.nz. Popular Culture Studies Journal Vol. 9, No. 1, Copyright © 2021 25 Race, Class, and Rosey the Robot: Critical Study of The Jetsons ERIN BURRELL The Jetsons is an animated sitcom representing a middle-class patriarchal family set in space in the year 2062. Following in the footsteps of family-friendly viewing such as Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963) and Hanna-Barbera’s own The Flintstones (1960-1966), The Jetsons offered a futuristic take on a near-perfect nuclear family. The Jetsons centers on a family headed by a “male breadwinner” and “Happy housewife heroine” that Betty Friedan credits to creators of women’s media in the 1950s and 60s (23). Packed with conservative white American perspectives and values, the show is set in the suburbs of intergalactic Orbit City and features husband George, wife Jane, teenage daughter Judy, and prodigy son Elroy (Coyle and Mesker 15). The cast is complemented by secondary characters that include George’s boss Cosmo Spacely, the owner of Spacely Sprockets, and Rosey the robot maid. The only element that seemed to be missing from the earliest episodes was a family pet, which was rectified with the addition of Astro the dog early in the first season (“The coming of Astro”). The first season (S1) aired on Sunday nights September 1962 - March 1963, (Coyle and Mesker) and was one of the first shows to debut in color on ABC (Jay). Despite early cancellation the show landed deeply in the pop culture cannon through syndication and experienced renewed interest when it was brought back in the 1980s for two additional seasons (S2-3). Today, The Jetsons continues to reach new audiences with video and digital releases serving to revitalize the program. In this essay, S2-3 will be combined and used as a comparative analysis against the S1 given the difference of political climate and social values. By “reading the film” (Geiger and Rutsky 3) through a contemporary lens I identify innovative creation mechanisms and a familiar use of sitcom tropes issues coupled with time-bound values of gender, class, and the labors of humans, machines and robots. This essay explores a culturally problematic show camouflaged as brightly colored sitcom escapism while also celebrating some of