Maude was a sitcom with topical storylines created by producer Norman Lear. The program was a spin-off of All In the Family, on which Beatrice Arthur had made two appearances as the character of Maude, Edith Bunker's cousin.The show revolves around Maude Findlay, a very outspoken middle-class woman who wears her liberal politics on her sleeve and shares her home in suburban Tuckahoe, N.Y., with fourth husband Walter; her divorced daughter, Carol; and Carol's adolescent son, Phillip. Walter and Maude's best friends are next-door neighbors Dr. Arthur and Vivian Harmon. Among the domestic help that Maude helps "liberate" during the run of the show are Florida Evans and Mrs. Nell Naugatuck.