Yup, exactly. I was too young to watch the original broadcasts, but when the oldest son was dying from AIDS around 2000, the producers re-visited the Loud family to chronicle the final days of Lance's life. PBS ran the entire original series just before they showed the the episode that dealt with Lance's passing.
I remember Pat (the mom) confronting her husband (Bill) about his philandering that culminated in her asking for a divorce...while the cameras rolled. Talk about cringe.
An American Family was considered the first reality show. Who could anticipate the genre would become drivel as Jersey Shore and My 600 Pound Life.