Sitcom following a successful African-American couple, George and Louise Weezy Jefferson as they move on up from working-class Queens to a ritzy Manhattan apartment. WebThe Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The series endured for nine seasons, but the show we think of when we think ofAll In The Familyreally ended in season 8 when Gloria (Sally Struthers) and her husband Meathead (Reiner) moved to California. Larry Linville(Frank Burns on MASH) plays her manager. And then there's The Jeffersons. ), Dueling Detectives: Kojak and Jim Rockford, getTV talks CASEY JONES and 1950s Westerns An Interview with Toby Roan, 10 Times Farrah Fawcett Was an Undercover Angel on CHARLIES ANGELS, 10 Times HART TO HART Was Relationship Goals, TV Like It Used To Be A Guide to Crimetime on getTV, Christmas with the Evans Family Holiday Episodes of GOOD TIMES, Christmas on getTV 10 Holiday Highlights, Alfonso Ribeiro: 10 Facts About the Star of CATCH 21. 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. 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. The Jeffersons ended up lasting 11 seasons, beating All In The Family's 9 seasons. Gloria works as the assistant to two veterinarians. With Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover. [44] Season 8 was released on August 11, 2015. Marla Gibbs portrayed the role of Florence Johnston, the Jeffersons' back-talking, tough, wisecracking, and devoutly religious housekeeper. All In The Family(19711979 205 episodes plus two un-aired pilots). Lionel is introduced in the pilot, and is a core cast member for season one. Hes mellowed. [37] The most common time slot was on Sunday night. Almost as well known, but less controversial was the Nov. 10, 1975, episode of Maude talking to her psychiatrist. This show wasnt very successful, however. The song also adamantly drew from Black culture, styled almost as a spiritualcomplete with 35-member choirthat wouldn't have been out of place in church. 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. On one level, The Jeffersons is just a silly sitcom, and George Jefferson is a very silly character, prone to foolish schemes (like buying a piano he doesn't know how to play only to discover there's no way to fit it through his front door) and loud, boorish outbursts. The Jeffersons(19751984 253 episodes plus pilot onAll In The Family). George is an obstreperous, often rude guy who thinks his wealth should get him anywhere he wants to go. Until then, Lear created the character of Henry Jefferson, George's brother. 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Even when shows remain in the popular culture after their cancellation, they're usually relegated to a murky backwater on the cable or streaming menu. 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. This article is about the 1981 sitcom. Which makes it curious that its network, CBS, treated it as if the show was in trouble. ", "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! Many spinoffs tend to set themselves up for comparison by using the same location as the original show. 1. She got unlimited passes from the airline. The Cumberbatches are a Black family moving into the Bunkers' old house in Queens. Ratings for the first season were poor, and the network didnt exactly shout about it from the antenna-covered rooftops. All of that changed on May 9, 1971, whenAll In The Familywon Emmys for Best Comedy, Best New Series, and Best Actress forJean Stapleton(Edith Bunker). I remember watching Checking In in the early 80s and even remember the theme song. DuBois infused the song with her own storyCNN reports that DuBois had always dreamed of moving her mother into a "deluxe apartment" when she achieved success. Oddly, whenGood Timesbegan in February of 1974, no mention was made of Maude or how the Evanses got from New York to the Chicago. Arthur was the only actor seen for the entire half-hour. Both men are bigoted, and both use sarcasm and insults as weapons. Sometimes the best, and most intelligent, TV shows never get a chance! Today were heading back to Manhattan, to revisit our favorite family, The Jeffersons. [8] However, the ratings sank below the top 30, and The Jeffersons aired its last episode, "Red Robins", on July 2, 1985.[28]. Maude becomes yet another person for Archie to disagree with politically. Communications Company from 19751982 and by Embassy Television from 19821985. Charlie was also revealed to be an alcoholic in the season 11 episode "A Secret in the Back Room", in which Charlie is in denial, but the Jeffersons eventually get him to admit to his problem and advise him to get some help. getTV is a trademark of CPT Holdings, Inc. 2023 CPE US Networks III Inc. All rights reserved. Today were heading back to Manhattan, to revisit our favorite family, The Jeffersons. 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. Sanford was also the recipient of five of the eight Golden Globe Awards nominations the program received.[48]. Unlike Arthur and Rolle, who were spun-off quickly, the Jeffersons were onAll In The Familyfor five seasons before they got their own show. The third episode, "Whose Side Are You On? Evans WebIn 1975, George Jefferson was eager to move out of Queens. ", was added as a bonus feature on The Jeffersons: The Complete Series 33-disc DVD set issued by Shout! He used that power to push the envelope, depicting the first transgender character in a situation comedy and the first recurring interracial marriage. Portrayed by Mel Stewart, Henry got the lines and screen time that would have gone to George. Hemsley was very experienced and took his performance very seriously. Dont miss on getTV:Lear got the name Cumberbatch from an early episode of ofAll In The FamilycalledWriting The President(January 19, 1971). 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 funny and entertaining. 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. A nouveau riche, African-American family who move into a luxury apartment building develop close, if occasionally fractious, relationships with other tenants. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. [36], The Jeffersons changed time slots at least 15 different times during its 11-year run, unusual for a popular long running series. Jefferson has plenty of reason to distrust white people and the power structures they use to oppress him. 704 Hauserflips the Archie/Meathead dynamic by making Ernie Cumberbatch (John Amos) the liberal and his son Thurgood Marshall Cumberbatch (T.E. It's unsurprising then that once The Jeffersons aired, it remained on television for almost a decade.The Jeffersons was a spin-off that took the blueprint provided by All in the Family and made minor changes by making the Lesa Kite, Cindy Begel, Howard Bendetson & Bob Bendetson. The patriarch of the Evans family, they noted, had to work several jobs to support his large family, and they noted that Black characters in general were often depicted in cheap clothing and in other negative ways. [26] She appeared regularly in the first two seasons, but made sporadic appearances over the next two years, much thinner due to a severe case of pneumonia. The show was a spinoff from "All in the Family." 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 Bunkers and their neighbors, the Jeffersons,developed relationships with other characters, many of whom got spin-offs of their own. ", "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). [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. 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. 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. Situation comediesaka "sitcoms"aren't always noted for their complex writing and deeply-imagined characters. 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. In the season two episodeCousin Maudes Visit, Ediths liberal cousin Maude Findlay (Beatrice Arthur) comes to help out when the Bunkers are sick with the flu. [41], On August 8, 2014, it was announced that Shout! As of 2022[update], the members still alive from the main cast include Marla Gibbs, Berlinda Tolbert, and Damon Evans. Here's the untold truth of The Jeffersons. It was surprisingly thoughtful on issues of race and class within the confines of a broad comedy in prime time national television. Archie's bigotrywas never meant to be accepted; rather,the entire sitcom wasmeant to "throw a humorous spotlight" on human "frailties, prejudices, and concerns," as a disclaimer before the first episode said. 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. [46] Her victory in 1981 made her the first African-American actress to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series,[1][21][47] and the second to win any Emmy Award; Gail Fisher, who played Peggy on the TV show Mannix, preceded her in 1970. The Bunker-Verse! Many great shows and movies turn 50 years old in 2021, andAll in the Familyis one of the most iconic. The idea of the Jeffersons "moving on up" came after three members of the Black Panthers who were fans of Lear's productions visited Lear's CBS office, raising issues with the creator over the portrayal of Black people on television, including his "Maude" spin-off series "Good Times." 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. Paul Benedict arrived as Harry Bentley, an amiable, kind, loyal yet somewhat obtuse British next-door neighbor,[8] who worked as an interpreter at the United Nations. 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. A spin-off of All in the Family. A top 20 show for most of its 11 seasons, The Jeffersons was canceled abruptly without an official series finale. Gloria(19821983 21 episodes plus unaired pilot). Dont miss on getTV:TwoAll In The Familyepisodes set up the circumstances ofGloria:The Stivics Go West(March 19, 1978) where Mike takes a job as a teacher andCalifornia, Here We Are(December 17, 1978) where Mike and Gloria separate (but reconcile). Florence is caught between Lyle and Elena when they have an argument, but she won't take anyone's side. WebSynopsis. WebFor her full interview, see http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/isabel-sanford This page was last edited on 9 December 2022, at 13:35. It's remarkable that seven shows followed All in the Family and belong to its universe. 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. [7], In its first season (197475), the show ranked at number four, surpassed by its parent series All in the Family (which landed at number one for the fifth year in a row). Arthur was the only actor seen for the entire half-hour. That's exactly what happened withGood Times. [46], Isabel Sanford was nominated for seven consecutive Best Actress Emmys, from 1979 until 1985. The show was produced by the T.A.T. The series was centered on the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence, who takes a job as cleaning management at a hotel. It took until 1975 until television finally gave Black audiences a family that looked like them and that wasn't struggling. 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. Thats not just impressive, its historic. You would be, too, if your neighbor was Archie Bunker. WebThe Jeffersons: Created by Norman Lear, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West. After a 1972 backdoor pilot onAll in the Family, Maude got a show of her own. is Movin' On Up to a 'Season 7' Separate Release! In the 1984-85 season, CBS aired a forgotten comedy called E/R, starring Elliot Gould. Russell) the conservative. The show was produced by the T.A.T. We actually enjoy working together." Weve both mellowed. All In The Familydirectly spun off five situation comedies between 1972 and 1994. 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. 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. John Amos (who played James Evans onGood Times) is the father, Ernie Cumberbatch. With Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover. 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. OConnor didnt like it either, apparently. Actor Franklin Cover, who played Tom Willis, also heard about the cancellation while watching Entertainment Tonight. As discussed by critic Robert E. Crafton, an insurance settlement allowed George to quit his job and launch his first dry-cleaning business, which in turn allowed the Jeffersons to move from Harlem to Queens (becoming Archie Bunker's neighbors in the process), and finally to make the move to Manhattan. 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. Amoscontinued in the role of James until the character's death. He had endured a tortured development process that included two pilots rejected by ABC and multiple recasts. Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs) worked for the Jefferson family on their show, butChecking Infocused on her life as the executive housekeeper of the St. Frederick Hotel in New York City. In that regard,Good Timesis more like a reboot of Rolle and Amoss characters than a spinoff.
