The influential sitcom was controversial when it first aired on 50 years ago on Jan. 12, 1971, and it went on to confront numerous issues that hadnt previously been portrayed on television. It was funny and entertaining. All in the Family was notable for many things including the fact that it spawned seven other TV series. She appeared in seven episodes in 197677, so watch any of those! 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. 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. "Jeffersons" redirects here. Here's the untold truth of The Jeffersons. Checking In The 12 Most Unexpected Spinoffs in TV History WhenAll In The Familydebuted in 1971, few people suspected it would be responsible for more spin-offs than any other sitcom in television history. As a result, the series remained among the Top 20 for the next two seasons. I felt I shouldve been more involved in the development of scripts. The sitcom was about the black family who had lived next door to the Bunkers, but Good Times was partly responsible. A sitcom world must be a good one for a spin-off to spawn another spin-off! And in one episode when George is told a white worker should be referred to as a "custodian" he remarks that if he was black, he'd be called a "janitor.". [40] They subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on May 20, 2014. Before we go any further, a few words about math. 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. 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. During the January 11, 1975 episode of All in the Family, titled "The Jeffersons Move Up", Edith Bunker gave a tearful good-bye to her neighbor Louise Jefferson as her husband George, their son Lionel, and she moved from a working-class section of Queens, New York, into the luxurious Colby East, a fictitious high-rise apartment complex on East 63rd Street in Manhattan. Communications Company from 19751982 and by Embassy Television from 19821985. John Amos (who played James Evans onGood Times) is the father, Ernie Cumberbatch. But Gibbs knew how quickly fortunes turned in Hollywood. The Jeffersons spawned the television show Checking In. This show followed the Jeffersons maid Florence Johnston as she worked at a hotel in Manhattan. Sanford was also the recipient of five of the eight Golden Globe Awards nominations the program received.[48]. All in the Familyis famous for its prejudiced patriarch, Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor). And the series (which co-starred Oscar nomineeBurgess Meredithas a vet) didnt do much to win anybody over. A spin-off of All in the Family. Michael J. Checking In A nouveau riche, African-American family who move into a luxury apartment building develop close, if occasionally fractious, relationships with other tenants. Making George a little ridiculous softened the blow, because it made it clear that no matter how successful he and his family might be, they would always be second-class. George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) doesnt make his debut until season four, because Hemsley was committed to the Broadway showPurlie. If you include those inAll In The Familys grand total and you must, because they wouldnt exist otherwise All In The Familybegat 7 shows, 860 episodes, and more than 400 hours of network television. 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. The sitcom featured Burgess Meredith and Jo de Winter, and lasted one season. Situation comediesaka "sitcoms"aren't always noted for their complex writing and deeply-imagined characters. If you loveAll In The Familyand its iconic characters, the concept alone is problematic. The Jeffersons 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. Archie is a working-class man who will never go beyond his working day and his easy chair in his modest house, whereas George and his family are destined to move on upand leave the Bunkers behind in a world they'll never escape. 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. WebFor her full interview, see http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/isabel-sanford The Jeffersons (1975 TV Show Evans Danny Wells played Charlie, the owner and a bartender of a nearby bar to the Jeffersons apartment building. 3). Dont miss on getTV:While theres no direct Bunker connection,Checking Indoes featureLiz Torresas Florences assistant. Arthur was such a hit as Maude that Lear developed a series for her, with the second season finale ofAll In The Familyacting as the backdoor pilot for the spinoff. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. [18] However, the roles were all recast, with Berlinda Tolbert taking over the role of Jenny, veteran actor Franklin Cover playing her father, Tom Willis, whose first name was changed from Louis, as it was in their first All in the Family appearance, and Roxie Roker as her mother, Helen. The Cumberbatches are a Black family moving into the Bunkers' old house in Queens. The series is bookended in a very creative way. Fun fact: Both Macy and Rodd played different characters onAll In The Familyjust weeks before Lear cast them onMaude. Faced with low ratings, the series was cancelled, and the final episode aired on April 30, 1981. After a 1972 backdoor pilot onAll in the Family, Maude got a show of her own. They complained that shows featuring Black casts always portrayed Black people as poor, reinforcing some stereotypes even as they undermined others. As groundbreaking as The Jeffersons was in terms of depicting Black America on the small screen, it still earns criticism for some of its choices. Often, people calling in to book flights would tell her that her voice sounded familiar, and she'd just laugh it off. [15], In 1985, Hemsley and Sanford made a special joint guest appearance in the Canale 5 comedy show Grand Hotel, starring the Italian actors Paolo Villaggio, the comic duo Franco & Ciccio, and Carmen Russo. WebThe Jeffersons: Created by Norman Lear, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West. The Jeffersons spawned the television show Checking In. This show followed the Jeffersons maid Florence Johnston as she worked at a hotel in Manhattan. George is an obstreperous, often rude guy who thinks his wealth should get him anywhere he wants to go. Many spinoffs tend to set themselves up for comparison by using the same location as the original show. The Jeffersons Archie and Mike are always butting heads since Archie is politically conservative and Mike is usually portrayed as being liberal. Sherman Hemsley, for example, came out of the revered Negro Ensemble Company (NEC), as did Roxie Roker (Helen Willis). All In The Familyfans will recognize Torres as Teresa Betancourt, the hospital worker who rents Mike And Glorias room when they move out. [22] One episode featured George requesting Florence to insult him, in order to get to a prospective business partner who was fond of her wisecracks. 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. The Jeffersons was notable because it depicted a Black family as upper-middle class. [49] Marla Gibbs reprised her role as Florence Johnston. According to The Washington Post, she'd been working for United Airlines for 11 years when she got the job on The Jeffersonsand she kept working there for two more years, not wanting to give up a good job for an acting role that might disappear at any moment. The show was launched as the second (and longest running) spin-off of All in the Family, on which the Jeffersons had been the neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker. 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. As with Maude and Good Times , the main character of the new series was a maid on her previous series. They were guests in the fictional hotel and their voices were dubbed by Italian actors Enzo Garinei (George) and Isa di Marzio (Louise), who also dubbed their characters for the full series. The Jeffersons is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. As noted by The New York Times, the ostensible reason given was that he was uncomfortable walking into a white man's house, setting up the character as a foil for Archie Bunker's racism. Members of the Black Panther Party set up a meeting with Lear to discuss Good Times. Even though it flopped,704 Hauserhas a special place in the heart of many Norman Lear fans. THE FAMILY 7 Spin-Offs From Television historians know that while the character of George Jefferson was introduced on All in the Family in 1971, he didn't actually show up on screen until 1973. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. [46], Isabel Sanford was nominated for seven consecutive Best Actress Emmys, from 1979 until 1985. a disclaimer before the first episode said. 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. 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. 1. Five is a lot, but its not a record. [37] The most common time slot was on Sunday night. 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. Lear and associate Al Burton talked about a possible show in which a Black family is moving on up to the East Side. The series was created by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, and developed by Lear. The list of firsts achieved by The Jeffersons is impressive. A top 20 show for most of its 11 seasons, The Jeffersons was canceled abruptly without an official series finale. WebSynopsis. 10 Unforgettable Black Sitcom Families - cbr.com [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. 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. Show 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. [27] He was known for constantly stalling at the Jeffersons' door with his hand out waiting for a tip.