Who’s Playing Who in the ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ & ‘Facts of Life’ Live Episodes (PHOTOS)
Diff’rent Strokes with different folks!
ABC has revealed that Live in Front of a Studio Audience will be recreating episodes of Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life for its third installment of the live event on December 7.
Between Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life, several fan favorites have been cast for the live event including John Lithgow, Kevin Hart, Damon Wayans, Ann Dowd, Jennifer Aniston, Kathryn Hahn, and more who will be taking on iconic roles.
Jimmy Kimmel is serving as an executive producer alongside Norman Lear, Brent Miller, Kerry Washington, Will Ferrell, Justin Theroux, and Jim Burrows.
Lear noted in a press statement, “Other than with my family, there’s no place I’d rather be in my 100th year than on a soundstage at Sony with these glorious actors reliving what our company had produced all those years ago and sharing it with the millions of viewers who could use a little laughter.”
Diff’rent Strokes premiered on NBC in 1978 before moving to ABC where it ran until 1986. The series centered on Arnold and Willis Jackson, two Black boys from Harlem taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman and widower, Phillip Drummond.
Spinoff The Facts of Life featured the Drummonds’ former housekeeper Edna Garrett becoming the housemother of a dormitory at Eastland School, a private all-girls school in Peekskill, New York.
In 2019, Live in Front of a Studio Audience re-created episodes of Lear’s classic sitcoms All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.
Scroll down below to see the cast of Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life then and now.
Live in Front of a Studio Audience, Tuesday, December 7, ABC and then streaming on Hulu
Then: Conrad Bain as Mr. Drummond
Now: John Lithgow as Mr. Drummond
Then: Gary Coleman as Arnold
Now: Kevin Hart as Arnold
Then: Todd Bridges as Willis
Now: Damon Wayans as Willis
Then: Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Garrett
Now: Ann Dowd as Mrs. Garrett
Then: Lisa Welchel as Blair Warner
Now: Jennifer Aniston as Blair Warner
Then: Kim Fields as Tootie Ramsey
Now: Gabrielle Union as Tootie Ramsey
Then: Nancy McKeon as Jo Polniaczek
Now: Kathryn Hahn as Jo Polniaczek
Then: Mindy Cohn as Natalie Green
Now: Allison Tolman as Natalie Green
Latest Headlines
- All the Must-See Moments From 'Facts of Life' & 'Diff'rent Strokes' Live
- Sitcoms Recreated ‘In Front of a Studio Audience,’ ‘Abbott Elementary’ Preview, People’s Choice Awards, ‘Weirdo’ Nicole Byer
- Norman Lear Takes Us Inside 'Live in Front of a Studio Audience'
Conversation20 Comments
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R
That’s Damon Wayans JR in the pic. Willis is being played by his father, Damon Wayans from In Living Color. Change pic.
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B
If they're not casting teens for the kids' roles, why not use the actual cast members (who are still alive, of course) instead of actors who are in the same age range as the original actors? Anyone who remembers these shows would love to see them again!
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G
Agreed.
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O
Gary Coleman, Dana( the white sister) and the guy who played the dad are dead I think. But they should've gotten young people
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O
What about Kimberly?
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C
They should have her.
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O
Lighten up people. In a twisted way they're showing a respect for those shows in a tongue in cheek way.
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R
Exactly.
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G
can' wait
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O
Who's playing Kimberly Drummond? We can't forget Dana Plato!
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O
Katherine Hahn eating something constantly was hilarious. Mrs. Garrett was well cast. Some things felt off.
I couldn’t watch Different Strokes. Not great.
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R
Shut up, AnnR. Don't watch it. Learn grammar. I'm guessing "ownideas" is actually two words.
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R
Shut up. Don't watch it if you're that twisted over it.
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C
Either it's an episode she's not in, or like with other shows they've done, it will be a surprise. (The Jeffersons had Marla Gibbs as a surprise Florence, but it's not like they can do that with Dana.)
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B
Stop the remakes - get your ownideas for new shows.
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C
Take it easy, Karen. This is just a one and done show.
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P
Why? These have flop written all over them.
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B
Of course Notman Lear is happy. He's cashing in whether it'll be a flop or not. This is already awful
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O
Yikes
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R
So you seen it already ?
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