Jimmy Kimmel finds 'All in the Family' 'more relevant' than ever

May 22 (UPI) -- Jimmy Kimmel has said that classic television shows All in the Family and The Jeffersons are more relevant than ever.

The late night host's comments come before ABC's Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons special airs on Wednesday. The live rendition will recreate one episode from each series using a star-studded cast that includes Woody Harrelson as Archie Bunker and Jamie Foxx as George Jefferson.

"These shows are even more relevant now than they were. People forget that they were controversial and maybe if we had social media back then these shows wouldn't have survived. Or maybe they would have been even bigger then they were," Kimmel, who is hosting and executive producing the project with Norman Lear, said in a new video.

Lear was behind All in the Family which ran from 1971 to 1979 and its spinoff The Jeffersons which ran from 1975 to 1985.

"When I was watching a run-through of The Jeffersons, I heard dialogue that I couldn't believe came out of the 1970s because it could be the language of today," Lear said in the clip.

Marisa Tomei as Edith Bunker, Wanda Sykes as Louise Jefferson, Will Ferrell, Kerry Washington, Ellie Kemper, Ike Barinholtz, Sean Hayes and Anthony Anderson are also set to star on the 90-minute live special which will air at 8 p.m. ET.