| The Jeffersons: Season 1 | ||||
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| The Jeffersons Season 1 DVD cover.jpg | ||||
| Program information | ||||
| Episodes aired: | ||||
| 13 | ||||
| Dates aired: | ||||
| January 18, 1975 - April 12, 1975 | ||||
| Network/Country: | ||||
| CBS-TV / United States | ||||
| Previous Season:
N/A - start of series | ||||
| Next Season: Season 2 | ||||
The Jeffersons: Season 1[]
A total of 13 episodes of The Jeffersons aired on CBS-TV during Season 1, from January 18, 1975 to the season's conclusion on April 12, 1975.
Season summary[]
The Jeffersons first aired in January of 1975 on CBS as a mid-season replacement. The series was a spin-off of All in the Family in which the Jeffersons were Archie and Edith Bunker's next door neighbors. George, Louise, and Lionel continued to appear on All in the Family until 1975, when the spin-off The Jeffersons, also created by Lear, premiered. The characters of Lionel's biracial fiancée, Jenny Willis, and her family, all of whom first appeared in the 1974 All in the Family episode "Lionel's Engagement," were also written into the new series. However, the roles were all recast, with Berlinda Tolbert taking over the role of Jenny, veteran actor Franklin Cover playing her father Tom, and Roxie Roker as her mother Helen. Zara Cully, who portrayed George's mother, Olivia Jefferson in one episode of All in the Family, resumed her role on The Jeffersons.
In 1975, the Jeffersons moved on up when George found success in a dry cleaning business. This allowed him and his wife, Louise and their son Lionel to "move on up" into a spacious high rise apartment. At the beginning of the series, Lionel was attending college and graduated in February 1976.
Series overview[]
| Seasons | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| 1 | 13 | January 18, 1975 | April 12, 1975 | |
| 2 | 24 | September 13, 1975 | March 6, 1976 | |
| 3 | 24 | September 25, 1976 | April 11, 1977 | |
| 4 | 26 | September 24, 1977 | March 4, 1978 | |
| 5 | 24 | September 20, 1978 | April 18, 1979 | |
| 6 | 24 | September 23, 1979 | April 13, 1980 | |
| 7 | 20 | November 2, 1980 | March 29, 1981 | |
| 8 | 25 | October 4, 1981 | May 16, 1982 | |
| 9 | 27 | September 26, 1982 | May 1, 1983 | |
| 10 | 22 | October 2, 1983 | May 6, 1984 | |
| 11 | 24 | October 14, 1984 | July 2, 1985 | |
Season 1 (1975)[]
Appearances[]
Starring[]
- Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson (13/13)
- Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson (13/13)
- Mike Evans as Lionel Jefferson (11/13)
- Zara Cully as Olivia "Mother" Jefferson (12/13)
- Franklin Cover as Tom Willis
- Roxie Roker as Helen Willis
- Paul Benedict as Harry Bentley
- Berlinda Tolbert as Jenny Willis
Recurring[]
| Image | No. in
series |
No. in
season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod.code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 1 | "A Friend in Need" | Jack Shea | Barry Harman & Harve Brosten | January 18, 1975 | 1.1 / 101 | |
| With growing pains in their posh new digs, George demands Louise hire her friend as their maid. But when the couple ends up hiring sassy maid Florence instead, George and Weezy learn you can "move on up" without looking down upon others.
Note: The pilot episode of The Jeffersons appears in the fifth season of All in the Family, in episode #102, "The Jeffersons Move Up", aired January 11, 1975. | ||||||||
|
id="ep2" scope="row" style="font-weight:normal;" | 2 | 2 | "George's Family Tree" | Jack Shea | Perry Grant & Dick Bensfield | January 25, 1975 | 1.2 / 103 |
| When George boasts he's "King of the Mountain," Louise teaches him a lesson by uncovering a few skeletons in the closet of his ancestors' family tree. | ||||||||
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3 | 3 | "Louise Feels Useless" | Jack Shea | Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell | February 1, 1975 | 1.3 / 102 | |
| When Louise has trouble adjusting to the good life in their new high-rise, she secretly takes a job at George's rival dry cleaners. | ||||||||
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4 | 4 | "Lionel, the Playboy" | Jack Shea | Roger Shulman & John Baskin | February 8, 1975 | 1.4 / 104 | |
| When good son Lionel takes to partying all night, George and Louise want to put a halt to his wild ways before he drops out of school - but it's up to Mother Jefferson to lay down the law and get Lionel back on track. | ||||||||
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5 | 5 | "Mr. Piano Man" | Jack Shea | Lloyd Turner, Gordon Mitchell & Don Nicholl | February 15, 1975 | 1.5 / 105 | |
| To boost his classy image, George is bent on buying an expensive piano. Meanwhile, the Jeffersons refuse to host a "tenants' protest" party organized by the Willises - until George sees it as a chance to impress his rich neighbors. | ||||||||
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6 | 6 | "George's Skeleton" | Jack Shea | Teleplay by: Erik Tarloff, Lloyd Turner, & Gordon Mitchell Story by: Erik Tarloff |
February 22, 1975 | 1.6 / 106 | |
| When an old friend threatens to expose an embarrassing secret from George's past unless he's paid in full, Louise and Lionel turn the tables on his buddy's blackmail business. | ||||||||
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7 | 7 | "Lionel Cries Uncle" | Jack Shea | Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell | March 1, 1975 | 1.7 / 107 | |
| When Louise's Uncle Ward pays a visit, he gets the cold shoulder from the men in the house, who see him as an "Uncle Tom". | ||||||||
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8 | 8 | "Mother Jefferson's Boyfriend" | Jack Shea | Gordon Farr & Arnold Kane | March 8, 1975 | 1.8 / 108 | |
| Mother Jefferson has big news for her birthday: her new boyfriend has proposed, and they plan on moving to Florida. George objects to this holy union and tries to break the lovebirds apart. | ||||||||
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9 | 9 | "Meet the Press" | Jack Shea | Dixie Brown Grossman | March 15, 1975 | 1.9 / 109 | |
| Hoping to land some free publicity, George schemes to land a big cover story on his dry cleaning empire - but when the Willises steal his spotlight, George learns the risks of blowing your own horn with hot air. | ||||||||
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10 | 10 | "Rich Man's Disease" | Jack Shea | Bruce Howard | March 22, 1975 | 1.10 / 110 | |
| Living high on the hog, George can't figure out why he's feeling down in the dumps. Upon discovering he's suffering from a mysterious ulcer, George plots to keep the word from getting out to Louise and his friends. | ||||||||
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11 | 11 | "Former Neighbors" | Jack Shea | Bert Joelson & Art Baer | March 29, 1975 | 1.11 / 111 | |
| George hopes to impress a big client by hosting an extravagant dinner - but when his old lower-class neighbors crash the party, George schemes to hide his poor past to close the deal. | ||||||||
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12 | 12 | "Like Father, Like Son" | Jack Shea | Frank Tarloff | April 5, 1975 | 1.12 / 112 | |
| Lionel's bad behavior has his parents worried he's a chip off the old block. Meanwhile, when George and Louise get involved in a local election, the "race card" is played to comic effect, proving that phony politicians come in all colors. | ||||||||
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13 | 13 | "Jenny's Low" | Jack Shea | John Ashby | April 12, 1975 | 1.13 / 113 | |
| Jenny Willis gets jealous when her globe-trotting brother returns from Europe because he is able to "pass" as white while she can't. | ||||||||