Diff'rent Strokes: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Diff'rent Strokes is a sitcom that centered around millionaire widower Phillip Drummond, his two black adopted sons Arnold and Willis, and daughter Kimberly. Later seasons saw Drummond remarry and bring a new child, Sam, into the family. The show lasted eight seasons on two networks.

Series details

• Title: Diff'rent Strokes
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 1978-11-03
• Final broadcast date listed: 1986-03-07
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ABC
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.3/10
• TVMaze ID: 4606

Cast and credited roles

• Gary Coleman — Arnold Jackson
• Conrad Bain — Phillip Drummond
• Todd Bridges — Willis Jackson
• Dana Plato — Kimberly Drummond
• Mary Jo Catlett — Pearl Gallagher
• Danny Cooksey — Sam McKinney
• Dixie Carter — Maggie McKinney Drummond
• Mary Ann Mobley — Maggie McKinney Drummond
• Charlotte Rae — Edna Garrett

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1978-11-03; final listed air date 1979-05-04; episode order: 24.
• Season 2: premiered 1979-09-21; final listed air date 1980-03-26; episode order: 26.
• Season 3: premiered 1980-11-12; final listed air date 1981-05-13; episode order: 22.
• Season 4: premiered 1981-10-29; final listed air date 1982-05-20; episode order: 26.
• Season 5: premiered 1982-10-02; final listed air date 1983-05-07; episode order: 24.
• Season 6: premiered 1983-10-01; final listed air date 1984-05-12; episode order: 24.
• Season 7: premiered 1984-09-29; final listed air date 1985-05-04; episode order: 24.
• Season 8: premiered 1985-09-27; final listed air date 1986-03-07; episode order: 19.

Source and licence

Adapted from Diff'rent Strokes on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.