WebThis spinoff from "All in the Family" is about literal upward mobility - African- American couple George and Louise Jefferson move into a swanky high-rise building. The show was a spinoff from "All in the Family." Gloria was created by Joe Gannon, Patt Shea and Harriett Weiss, developed by Dan Guntzelman and Steve Marshall; all episodes were directed by Dan Claver. As noted by The Wall Street Journal, that backstory went back to the Jefferson family's roots in Alabama as sharecroppers, a detail that spoke volumes about George Jefferson's obsession with wealth, status, and the visual signs of both. More importantly, as one of the writers on the show, Jay Moriarty, told The Hollywood Times, Archie Bunker's bigotry is "pure prejudice" while George Jefferson's bigotry is a reaction to that prejudice. Lear created this series, which had an inventive concept: an African-American family moves into the house formerly occupied by Archie Bunker. [49] Marla Gibbs reprised her role as Florence Johnston. The Black experience wasn't portrayed muchor at allon television prior to the 1970s. All In The Family(19711979 205 episodes plus two un-aired pilots). The song was co-written by Ja'Net DuBois, who portrayed Willona on Norman Lear's other show, Good Times, and Jeff Barry. Happy Daysalso had five spin-offs between 1976 and 1979. The Jeffersons ended up lasting 11 seasons, beating All In The Family's 9 seasons. Most television is ephemeral. As noted by BET, The Jeffersons was a consistently high-rated showonly the second sitcom with a majority Black cast to land in the Top Five of the Nielsen Ratings, in fact. [38] The show's ratings for the following two seasons placed it in the Top 30, but during the 197778 and 197879 seasons (the show's fourth and fifth seasons), it fell out of the top 30, ranking 52nd in Season 4 and 49th in Season 5. Henry Jefferson was never seen again. Archie Bunkers Place(19791983 97 episodes). Yes, Scream VI Marketing Is Behind the Creepy Ghostface Sightings Causing Scares Across the U.S. David Oyelowo, Taylor Sheridan's 'Bass Reeves' Series at Paramount+ Casts King Richard Star Demi Singleton (EXCLUSIVE), Star Trek: Discovery to End With Season 5, Paramount+ Pushes Premiere to 2024. Members of the Black Panther Party set up a meeting with Lear to discuss Good Times. You would be, too, if your neighbor was Archie Bunker. [23] Bentley also had a bad back, and frequently needed George to walk on it. As noted by BET, The Jeffersons was a consistently high-rated showonly the second sitcom with a majority Black cast to land in the Top Five of the Nielsen Ratings, in fact. But we dont have those fights on704 Hauser. NEXT:Younger & 9 Other Shows Or Movies That Couldn't Have Existed Before Social Media, All In The Family And Its 7 Spin-offs, In Chronological Order, shows and movies turn 50 years old in 2021, 10 Sitcom Characters With Supernatural Abilities, Ranked By Power, Mike is usually portrayed as being liberal. And as The New York Daily news reports, it was the first time in American television history that an interracial marriage was depicted in a regular series with the characters of Helen and Tom Willis. WebSynopsis. Lead actors Rolle and John Amos felt a huge responsibility for that. OConnor didnt like it either, apparently. Russell) who dated the girl down the block (Maura Tierney). In 1975, Norman Lear was possibly the most powerful man working in television. As noted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, this began to change in the 1970s, especially with the work of Norman Lear. This ill-advised spinoff featured Struthers returning as the title character, now a single mom raising her son Joey (Christian Jacobs) after Mike left her and moved to a commune with one of his students. Sherman Hemsley even appeared in the premiere. Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs) worked for the Jefferson family on their show, but Checking In focused on her life as the executive housekeeper of the St. Frederick Hotel in New York City. Evans [13] Per an article in the May 8, 1985, Los Angeles Times, the series was cancelled by announcement at the CBS network "upfront" presentation the day before, nearly two months before the airing of the final episode. ", "The Jeffersons 'The Complete 8th Season' Getting a DVD Release this Summer", "Isabel Sanford, Emmy-Winning Actress Who Created "Weezie" Jefferson on TV and Stage, Dead at 86", "See the star-studded 'All in the Family/The Jeffersons' live cast get into character", The Interviews: An Oral History of Television, Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons, The 200th Episode Celebration of All in the Family, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Jeffersons&oldid=1141363779, Television series by Sony Pictures Television, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2022, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles needing additional references from January 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Ebonie Smith as Jessica Jefferson (season 11), Moriarty, Jay (2020). The characters of Lionel and Jenny were written out by stating that they had marital problems, the result of which became a two-part episode storyline as the series' eighth-season premiere. WebIn 1975, George Jefferson was eager to move out of Queens. Lyle throws a party at the hotel, but his high school rival (now a pro football coach) and his team decide to crash it. It was a sort-of spin-off of The Jeffersons, as it featured Lynne Moody as Nurse Julie Williams, the niece of George and Louis Jefferson. What is the chronological order of these Norman Lear shows? After 25 episodes, Lear had finally found someone who could go toe-to-toe withCarroll OConnors Archie. [3] At the beginning of The Jeffersons, he was operating five stores throughout New York City, with another two opening during the following seasons. Sherman Hemsley was nominated for Best Actor in 1984. 8 in the summer of 1980. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Cully was written out in season 4 due to her death in 1978, from lung cancer. released season 7 on DVD in Region 1. Early seasons of the show used racial epithets for both Black and white characters fairly often, but as time went on Hemsley thought his character should be evolving and stop using expressions like "honky." Archie Bunker's Placestarted out with both Archie and Edith, but Jean Stapleton left the show and was killed off shortly after the series began. The final spin-off of this world of Norman Lear shows is704 Hauser. Similar to its parent sitcom, All in the Family, the Jeffersons explored controversial issues such as alcoholism, racism, suicide, being transgender, and much more, certainly making it one of the most importantsitcoms of all time. See Amos in the episodeA Visit From Lena Horne(January 12, 1973) and DuBois inSanford And Son And Sister Makes Three(December 1, 1972). On May 22, 2019, ABC broadcast Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lears All in the Family and The Jeffersons, produced by Lear and Jimmy Kimmel and starring Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, Kerry Washington, Ellie Kemper. Archie Bunker's Place extended Archie's role to over twelve years on television. You might think this classic situation comedy is a relic of the 1970s, and in some ways you'd be right. It was funny and entertaining. Fame10 notes that executives worried depicting an interracial kiss would lead to violenceand, worse, to affiliate stations dropping the show. This spin-off of The Jeffersons came out about 8 years before Marla Gibbs' second series, "227." WebFor her full interview, see http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/isabel-sanford The ninth season feels more like the first ofArchie Bunkers Place, with the introduction of Stephanie (nine-year-oldDanielle Brisebois), less screen time for Jean Stapleton as Edith, and a greater reliance on the bar. All In The Familydirectly spun off five situation comedies between 1972 and 1994. It took until 1975 until television finally gave Black audiences a family that looked like them and that wasn't struggling. For the American Horror Story episode, see, The 200th Episode Celebration of All in the Family, Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Checking_In&oldid=1126465217, 1980s American workplace comedy television series, Television series by Sony Pictures Television, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. This CBS spin-off of "All in the Family" featured an African-American couple, George and Louise, who rose from their humble beginnings and moved into an expensive high rise. It was a sort-of spin-off of The Jeffersons, as it featured Lynne Moody as Nurse Julie Williams, the niece of George and Louis Jefferson. [1] The Jeffersons is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history,[2] the second-longest-running series with a primarily African American cast by episode count behind Tyler Perry's House of Payne[1][3] and the first to prominently feature a married interracial couple. Here are the shows that make up the Archie Bunker Extended Universe a.k.a. Over the course of its 11-year run, the series was almost always one of the most-watched on television. Oddly, whenGood Timesbegan in February of 1974, no mention was made of Maude or how the Evanses got from New York to the Chicago. Web3. Checking In lasted only four episodes, after which Florence returned to The Jeffersons with the story that the hotel had burned down in a fire. [46], Isabel Sanford was nominated for seven consecutive Best Actress Emmys, from 1979 until 1985. CBS was nervous,Rob Reiner(Mike aka Meathead) told PBS in 2016. With the series' cultural relevance and fandom, it'sno surprise All in the Family,TheJeffersons, andGood Timeswere also revived for a live performance special in 2019. For airdates and times, visit theAll In The Familyshow page. Lear originally intended for George to appear in the first season of the series, however, Hemsley was starring in the Broadway musical Purlie at the time, and Lear decided to postpone introduction of the character until Hemsley was available. All Rights Reserved. Your subscription to our list has been confirmed. WebThe Jeffersons: Created by Norman Lear, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. As he had done with Bea Arthur onAll In The Family, Lear immediately recognized a breakout character and quickly began developing a spinoff for Florida with writersEric Monte(Cooley High) andMike Evans(Lionel onAll In The Family). There was one episode that was actually sort of scary, involving a flute-playing ghost that haunted one of the rooms in the old hotel. As reported by New Ravel, network executives weren't happy about taking things that far, and pressured the producers to remove the scene. Other failed spin-off attempts were Gloria in the 1982-1983 season and 704 Hauser in 1994. But white audiences could feel good about being more racially sensitive and evolved than Bunker, whereas George Jefferson's upward mobility could be seen as threatening. See production, box office & company info, Metromedia Square - 5746 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. The conversation resonated with Lear, and he began to conceive of The Jeffersons as an effort to show a Black family having real economic success and living the American Dream. Sherman Hemsley even appeared in the premiere. Which makes it curious that its network, CBS, treated it as if the show was in trouble. But as BET notes, The Jeffersons was a real departure not only because it was just the second African-American sitcom to hit the top five in ratings, or because Isabel Sanford was just the second Black actress to win an Emmy Award for Best Actress. As with Maude and Good Times , the main character of the new series was a maid on her previous series. Over the course of its 11-year run, the series was almost always one of the most-watched on television. Weve both mellowed. Lear called the704 Hausercharacters "responsible" and explained they knew what they were talking about in arguments. WebChecking In is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of The Jeffersons that aired for four episodes on CBS from April 9 to April 30, 1981. The series was centered on the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence, who takes a job as cleaning management at a hotel. The Jeffersons spawned the television show Checking In. This show followed the Jeffersons maid Florence Johnston as she worked at a hotel in Manhattan. She reprised her role several times onArchie Bunker's Placeand then took center stage onGloria, the last series to focus on a member of the Bunker family. The third episode, "Whose Side Are You On? That's exactly what happened withGood Times. WebThe Jeffersons: Created by Norman Lear, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West. Gibbs then returned to her regular role on The Jeffersons and it was explained that the St. Frederick Hotel had burned down. [8] Damon Evans's last episode was "Lionel Gets the Business". WebThe Jeffersons: Created by Norman Lear, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West. Lear agreed to let OConnor continue the series without him, but under one condition: he couldnt call itAll In The Family. The Jeffersons had one spin-off, titled Checking In. Another interesting connection of the sitcom universe is that Mike Evans (who played Lionel Jefferson on All in the FamilyandThe Jeffersons) createdGood Timeswith Eric Monte. As noted by BET, The Jeffersons was a consistently high-rated showonly the second sitcom with a majority Black cast to land in the Top Five of the Nielsen Ratings, in fact. The epithets nigger and honky were used occasionally, especially during the earlier seasons.[2][4]. Affluent and successful, the Jeffersons still had to deal with race, prejudice, and economic pressures, and the show represented a more nuanced and more complex view of the Black American experience. All in the Familyis famous for its prejudiced patriarch, Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor). George is an obstreperous, often rude guy who thinks his wealth should get him anywhere he wants to go. The pilot even has the series signature catchphrase, God will get you for that, Walter, which Maude uses to express her displeasure with husband Walter (Bill Macy), owner of an appliance shop. Dont miss on getTV: Everything, but especially the first episodeMeet The Bunkers(airdate January 12, 1971) and the lastToo Good Edith(April 8, 1979). Even though it flopped,704 Hauserhas a special place in the heart of many Norman Lear fans. Ratings for the first season were poor, and the network didnt exactly shout about it from the antenna-covered rooftops. Dont miss on getTV:Lionel Moves Into The Neighborhood(March 2, 1971) for Sanfords first appearance,Henrys Farewell(October 20, 1973) for Hemsleys debut,Lionels Engagement(February 9, 1974) for Mother Jeffersons (Zara Cully) and the Willis familys (played by different actors) first appearances, andThe Jeffersons Move Up(January 11, 1975) for the backdoor pilot. Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs) worked for the Jefferson family on their show, but Checking In focused on her life as the executive housekeeper of the St. Frederick Hotel in New York City. Sherman Hemsley even appeared in the premiere. Marla Gibbs was the breakout star onThe Jeffersonsas Florence, George and Louises maid, so it made perfect sense to spin her off. Just fifteen months after Hemsley debuted onAll In The Family, George and Wheezy moved on up from Queens to the East Side of Manhattan. The episode, the eighth of the series, centers on Louise, her son Lionel, and her husband George moving next door to Archie and Edith Bunker in the working-class section of Queens. Situation comediesaka "sitcoms"aren't always noted for their complex writing and deeply-imagined characters. Variety said it underscored that sitcoms this year are treading more realistic areas than the dramatic series., Also in the second season, Maude decided to have an abortion. Theres certainly no human alive who believesArchie Bunkers Placeis better thanAll In The Family,and theres probably a few of us who would rather it didnt exist at all. As progressive as it was when it came to race relations, it hedged its bets in many ways. The Jeffersons spawned the television show Checking In. This show followed the Jeffersons maid Florence Johnston as she worked at a hotel in Manhattan. Mike Evans would leave The Jeffersons to work behind the camera for another show in the All in the Family family tree Good Times. As of 2022[update], the members still alive from the main cast include Marla Gibbs, Berlinda Tolbert, and Damon Evans. Norman Lear's 1975 spinoff of All in the Family remains a unique show. Gloria and Mike are no longer together, so Gloria and her son, Joey, leave California and go home to New York. Back in 1975, issues like these were much more shockingas noted by The Hollywood Times, interracial marriage had only become legal throughout the country in 1967! On their own show, the Jeffersons interact with new friends and neighbors while inhabiting a new lifestyle. The show was a spin-off ofThe Jeffersons. For other uses, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of awards and nominations received by The Jeffersons, "The Jeffersons: A look at life on black America's new 'Striver's Row', "Sherman Hemsley dies: Watch George Jefferson at his finest", "The Jeffersons and Happy Days and Valerie Bertinelli Bio", "Tyler Perry's House of Payne: Paying Homage to Sherman Hemsley", "Are Any of 'The Jeffersons' Cast Members Still Alive Today? Edith's death in the context of the spin-offmade Archie a widow, and though he missed Edith terribly, he continued on with his pub and focused on taking care of Edith's young relative, Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois). Thanks to Lear and his characters, 70s TV audiences saw and heard things they never had before in primetime. One of the reasons The Jeffersons remains a pop culture powerhouse when many contemporary TV shows have faded from our collective memory is the theme song. It took until 1975 until television finally gave Black audiences a family that looked like them and that wasn't struggling. The series is bookended in a very creative way. John Amos (who played James Evans onGood Times) is the father, Ernie Cumberbatch. Marla Gibbs portrayed the role of Florence Johnston, the Jeffersons' back-talking, tough, wisecracking, and devoutly religious housekeeper. As with Maude and Good Times , the main character of the new series was a maid on her previous series. But the real reason was more pragmatic: Norman Lear had created the character for Sherman Hemsley, but Hemsley was under contract for the play Purlie and refused to break his contract. Ned Wertimer played their tip-hungry doorman, Ralph Hart, throughout the series. Every time you see a Black man on the tube, he is dirt poor, wears shit clothes, cant afford nothing," Lear recalled in his autobiography. ", "How 'All in the Family' Spawned the Most Spinoffs of Any Sitcom", "All in the Family Season 5, Episode 16 The Jeffersons Move Up", "Actor Paul Benedict, 70, Leaves the Stage", "Zara Cully: Known for Role as 'Mother Jefferson' on the Jeffersons", "Ned Wertimer, character actor known as 'The Jeffersons' doorman, dies at 89", "The Jeffersons Season 10 Episode 16: My Guy, George", https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/78-OCR/1978-05-01-BC-OCR-Page-0036.pdf, https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-18-OCR-Page-0056.pdf#search=%22rounding%20up%20the%20ratings%22, "The Norman Lear Experience: His Shows, His Honesty and One Thing He Wanted to Do", "Mill Creek Entertainment Signs Deals With Sony Pictures Home Entertainment To Expand Their Distribution Partnership", "Mill Creek's Re-Releases for Next Month Get Great DVD Package Art", "The Jeffersons CORRECT DATE, Packaging for 'The Complete Series: The Deee-luxe Edition', "Great Extras Revealed for 'The Complete Series: The Deee-luxe Edition', "The Jeffersons Shout! With Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover. The list of firsts achieved by The Jeffersons is impressive. We cant talk about the offspring without a few words about the parent. So when shows like Norman Lear's Good Times hit the airwaves in the early 1970s, it was seen as huge progress. Dont miss on getTV:Archie Gets The Business(October 2, 1977) for the episode where Archie buys the bar from Kelsey (Frank Maxwell) andLittle Miss Bunker(September 24, 1979) for the introduction of Stephanie. With Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover. Lear said Good Times (created by Mike Evans and Eric Monte) was the first full Black family on television, meaning two parents and more than one kid. The Jeffersons had many two-part episodes, either over two consecutive weeks, or aired as an hour-long episode. Communications Company from 19751982 and by Embassy Television from 19821985. A nouveau riche, African-American family who move into a luxury apartment building develop close, if occasionally fractious, relationships with other tenants. When it flopped, Florence returned to work for George and Louise. The Jeffersons (19751984 253 episodes plus pilot on All In The Family) Unlike Arthur and Rolle, who were spun-off quickly, the Jeffersons were on All In The Family for five seasons before they got their own show. [2] Lionel, played by Mike Evans, first appeared in "Meet the Bunkers", the premiere episode of All in the Family.[2]. But just because Lear could push those characters and storylines onto the screen didn't mean everyone was happy about it. Both men are bigoted, and both use sarcasm and insults as weapons. Lionel is introduced in the pilot, and is a core cast member for season one. Sally Struthers was next to get her own show as Gloria Bunker Stivic, Archie and Edith's daughter. For further instructions click the link below to your TV model. In that regard,Good Timesis more like a reboot of Rolle and Amoss characters than a spinoff. WebThis spinoff from "All in the Family" is about literal upward mobility - African- American couple George and Louise Jefferson move into a swanky high-rise building. [9] The Jeffersons also shared continuity with the sitcom E/R, which featured Lynne Moody who made a guest appearance in one episode of The Jeffersons. WebThe Jeffersons had one spin-off, titled Checking In. 1. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. George Jefferson was, in some ways, a black version of the white anti-hero Archie Bunker. Gloria(19821983 21 episodes plus unaired pilot). The misadventures of Florence Johnson, a hotel maid who was previously seen serving the Jeffersons. George is an obstreperous, often rude guy who thinks his wealth should get him anywhere he wants to go. WebSynopsis. I remember watching Checking In in the early 80s and even remember the theme song. Normally successful shows are allowed to develop in a specific time slot in order to become an anchor for the network, but for some reason The Jeffersons was moved around constantly, forcing viewers to seek it out and figure out how to re-arrange their viewing schedules to accommodate it. Sherman Hemsley even appeared in the premiere. Almost as well known, but less controversial was the Nov. 10, 1975, episode of Maude talking to her psychiatrist. The Jeffersons avoided that by making the titular characters move to a different neighborhood. Sherman Hemsley even appeared in the premiere. It only RELATED:10 Sitcom Characters With Supernatural Abilities, Ranked By Power. It was a sort-of spin-off of The Jeffersons, as it featured Lynne Moody as Nurse Julie Williams, the niece of George and Louis Jefferson. [6][20][21] Cully, who had first appeared in the 1974 All in the Family episode "Lionel's Engagement", reprised her role. Louise made friends with Tom and Helen Willis, an interracial couple with two adult children of their own[8] (whom George derided as "zebras"):[1][20] son Allan (played by Andrew Rubin in the first-season finale, and by Jay Hammer throughout season 5), a white-passing college drop-out; and daughter Jenny, an aspiring fashion designer. The location is the only concrete link fromAll in the Familyto the series, but it's a strong one despite the fact that704 Hauserwas only on the air for five episodes. Sign up for the newsletter to get the latest updates about getTV. 1. Other lost, short-lived classics of the late 70s/early 80s I'd like to see--"It's a Living," about the friends who worked on top of the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown LA; "All's Fair," with Bernadette Peters; "On Our Own," with Bess Armstrong; "Best of the West," an amusing big budget comedy/western series.