The Jeffersons: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Set in a high-rise apartment building in the heart of New York City, the show spun around George, a classic character portrait of vanity, arrogance, and petty prejudice. Balanced by the more level-headed but just as strong-willed Weezy, George's self-serving abrasiveness struck comic gold, particularly in the second season, when the show's style had been set but was still fresh. Episodes tackled subjects trivial (George and Tom wear the same tacky dinner jacket to a party) and trenchant (a country club invites George to join, but only so that a newspaper reporter will think the club is open to minorities). The black and white mix of the cast allowed for a sharply satirical take on race relations, which managed to have a genuine sense of hope while never glossing over the complexity of racial tension--and was consistently funny. In fact, it's striking how well the show's humor holds up; The Jeffersons turned a series of half-hour farces into a sly examination of marriage, race, class, and the battle of the sexes; it's sad that so few contemporary sitcoms have this kind of intelligence, courage, and sheer talent.

Series details

• Title: The Jeffersons
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 1975-01-18
• Final broadcast date listed: 1985-07-02
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: CBS
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.2/10
• TVMaze ID: 5389

Cast and credited roles

• Sherman Hemsley — George Jefferson
• Isabel Sanford — Louise Jefferson
• Marla Gibbs — Florence Johnston
• Roxie Roker — Helen Willis
• Franklin Cover — Tom Willis
• Paul Benedict — Harry Bentley
• Ned Wertimer — Ralph Hart
• Mike Evans — Lionel Jefferson
• Damon Evans — Lionel Jefferson
• Berlinda Tolbert — Jenny Willis Jefferson
• Zara Cully — Mother Jefferson
• Jay Hammer — Allan Willis

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1975-01-18; final listed air date 1975-04-12; episode order: 13.
• Season 2: premiered 1975-09-13; final listed air date 1976-03-06; episode order: 24.
• Season 3: premiered 1976-09-25; final listed air date 1977-04-11; episode order: 24.
• Season 4: premiered 1977-09-24; final listed air date 1978-03-04; episode order: 26.
• Season 5: premiered 1978-09-20; final listed air date 1979-04-18; episode order: 24.
• Season 6: premiered 1979-09-23; final listed air date 1980-04-13; episode order: 24.
• Season 7: premiered 1980-11-02; final listed air date 1981-03-29; episode order: 20.
• Season 8: premiered 1981-10-04; final listed air date 1982-05-16; episode order: 25.
• Season 9: premiered 1982-09-26; final listed air date 1983-05-01; episode order: 27.
• Season 10: premiered 1983-10-02; final listed air date 1984-05-06; episode order: 22.
• Season 11: premiered 1984-10-14; final listed air date 1985-07-02; episode order: 24.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Jeffersons 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.