Buzz and Sonya were written out of “Mama’s Family” after the first season. They were sent to live with relatives and were not featured in subsequent seasons.
Initially, Buzz Harper (played by Eric Brown) and Sonya Harper (played by Karin Argoud) were the teenage grandchildren of Thelma Harper (played by Vicki Lawrence), living with her as part of the extended family dynamic that the show centered around. “Mama’s Family” began as a series of comedy sketches on “The Carol Burnett Show” before being spun off into its own television series.
The show’s first season aired on NBC from 1983 to 1984, but it was canceled due to low ratings. When “Mama’s Family” was revived in first-run syndication in 1986, it underwent significant changes. Among these changes was the decision to focus more on the character of Thelma Harper and her immediate interactions with her sister Fran, played by Rue McClanahan, and her two adult children, Vinton (Ken Berry) and Naomi (Dorothy Lyman).
As a result of this shift in focus, Buzz and Sonya’s characters were dropped from the show. The storyline explained that they had moved away to live with their parents, who had been working in Saudi Arabia. This allowed the show to concentrate on the comedic dynamics of the remaining characters without the need to integrate storylines for the teenage grandchildren. The revamped show proved to be more popular and continued for several more seasons, ending its run in 1990.