# Diff'rent Strokes (1978)

> Two Harlem brothers adopted by a wealthy Park Avenue widower navigate privilege, family, and growing up in a 1980s sitcom.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2290

## Facts

- Seasons: 8
- Episodes: 189
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, family
- Created by: Bernie Kukoff, Jeff Harris
- Network: ABC, NBC
- Cast: Conrad Bain, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Dana Plato, Mary Jo Catlett, Danny Cooksey, Dixie Carter, Charlotte Rae
- TMDB rating: 6.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077003/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: wholesome, breezy, comforting, sincere, witty

## What critics say

Audiences remember the sitcom as warm, light family entertainment carried by its young stars, though its ratings were mixed overall.

## Synopsis

Diff'rent Strokes (1978-1986) is a US multi-camera family sitcom created by Bernie Kukoff and Jeff Harris and broadcast on ABC and later NBC. Gary Coleman plays Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges plays his older brother Willis, two Black boys from Harlem who are taken in by Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain), a widowed Park Avenue businessman. His daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato) becomes their stepsister in the household, and the boys' housekeeper figures include Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae) in the early years. The engine of the show is the collision between street-smart kids and a privileged home: each episode builds around a school scrape, a misunderstanding, or a lesson about money and manners, resolved in a warm half-hour. Over eight seasons and 189 episodes it runs as a case-of-the-week sitcom with a steady ensemble rather than a continuing plot. Set in late 1970s and 1980s Manhattan, the series balances class comedy with a sincere surrogate family story. Its tone is breezy, wholesome and comforting, and its warmth and brotherly banter will appeal to fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House and The Jeffersons.

## Shows like Diff'rent Strokes

- [Perfect Strangers (1986)](https://ember.film/tv/1684)
- [Everybody Hates Chris (2005)](https://ember.film/tv/234)
- [The Wonder Years (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/104591)
- [227 (1985)](https://ember.film/tv/1830)
- [The Jeffersons (1975)](https://ember.film/tv/1856)
- [The Cosby Show (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/1657)
- [The Wonder Years (1988)](https://ember.film/tv/4280)
- [Sanford and Son (1972)](https://ember.film/tv/2458)
- [Mama's Family (1983)](https://ember.film/tv/1907)
- [The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/1785)

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