After receiving a commitment for 13 weeks of television shows from ABC in 1968, Schwartz hired film and television director John Rich to direct the pilot, then called "The Brady Brood," cast the six children from 264 interviews during that summer, and hired the actors to play the mother, father, and housekeeper roles. As the sets were built on Paramount Television stage 5, adjacent to the stage where "H.R. Pufnstuf" was filmed by Sid and Marty Krofft, who later produced "The Brady Bunch Hour", the production crew prepared the back yard of a home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, as the exterior location for the chaotic backyard wedding scene. Filming of the pilot began on Friday, October 4, 1968, and lasted eight days.