Season 3

The Jeffersons: Season 3
The Jeffersons Season 3 DVD cover.
Program information
Episodes aired:
24
Dates aired:
September 25, 1976 - April 11, 1977
Network/Country:
CBS-TV / United States
Previous Season: Season 2
Next Season: Season 4

The Jeffersons: Season 3

A total of 24 episodes of The Jeffersons aired on CBS-TV during Season 3, from September 25, 1976 to the season's conclusion on April 11, 1977.

Season summary

in the show's third season, the divide between characters who invite stories centered on them, namely being George, Louise, Florence, Tom, and Helen, and all the other characters who appear during the season begins to grow wider, as the show begins to rely more on this group almost entirely.

In the season opener, "George and the President", Geroge Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley) takes up flying, wife Weezy (Isabel Sanford) struggles to keep her cool around Mother Jefferson (Zara Cully), as part-time maid Florence (Marla Gibbs) moves into Lione's old room, becoming a live-in-maid, much to the chagrin of George.

Son Lionel (Damon Evans) marries Jenny Willis, (Berlinda Tolbert) the daughter of the next-door-neighbors, interracial couple Helen and Tom Willis (Roxie Roker and Franklin Cover). Good-natured but somewhat eccentric neighbor Harry Bentley (Paul Benedict) lands himself in jail after punching out a police officer in the episode "Bentley's Problem" (#14).

Series overview

Seasons		Episodes	Originally aired
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1	13	January 18, 1975 (1975-01-18)	April 12, 1975 (1975-04-12)
	2	24	September 13, 1975 (1975-09-13)	March 6, 1976 (1976-03-06)
	3	24	September 25, 1976 (1976-09-25)	April 11, 1977 (1977-04-11)
	4	26	September 24, 1977 (1977-09-24)	March 4, 1978 (1978-03-04)
	5	24	September 20, 1978 (1978-09-20)	April 18, 1979 (1979-04-18)
	6	24	September 23, 1979 (1979-09-23)	April 13, 1980 (1980-04-13)
	7	20	November 2, 1980 (1980-11-02)	March 29, 1981 (1981-03-29)
	8	25	October 4, 1981 (1981-10-04)	May 16, 1982 (1982-05-16)
	9	27	September 26, 1982 (1982-09-26)	May 1, 1983 (1983-05-01)
	10	22	October 2, 1983 (1983-10-02)	May 6, 1984 (1984-05-06)
	11	24	October 14, 1984 (1984-10-14)	July 2, 1985 (1985-07-02)

Season 3 (1976-77)

• Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson
• Isabel Sanford as Louise Jefferson
• Damon Evans as Lionel Jefferson
• Zara Cully as Olivia "Mother" Jefferson
• Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston
• Franklin Cover as Thomas "Tom" Willis
• Roxie Roker as Helen Willis
• Berlinda Tolbert as Jenny Willis
• Paul Benedict as Harry Bentley
• Ned Wertimer as Ralph the Doorman

Image	No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
	38	1	"George and the President"	Jack Shea	Howard Albrecht & Sol Weinstein	September 25, 1976	3.1 / 302
Jealous over the advertising success of a competitor, George comes up with his own campaign, dressing up in colonial clothes and claiming to be Thomas Jefferson's great-great-great grandson.
	39	2	"Louise Gets Her Way"	Jack Shea	Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell	October 2, 1976	3.2 / 303
George can hardly stand Florence once a week, so when Louise offers to hire her on as their live-in maid, he really hits the roof.
	40	3	"Louise Suspects"	Jack Shea	Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell	October 9, 1976	3.3 / 301
When George tries to cover up the fact that he's opening another store, he becomes overjoyed when Louise suspects him of having an affair with another woman.
	41	4	"The Lie Detector"	Jack Shea	Tedd Anasti & David Talisman	October 16, 1976	3.4 / 304
Lionel's principles could cost him his job and the respect of his father when he quits his job after being forced to take a lie detector test on his first day at work.
	42	5	"George's Diploma"	Jack Shea	Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell	October 23, 1976	3.5 / 307
George's embarrassment at never finishing high school gets even bigger when Lionel tells his highly-educated colleagues at work that George is a graduate of Harvard.
	43	6	"The Retirement Party"	Jack Shea	Dixie Brown Grossman	October 30, 1976	3.6 / 305
George must decide between gratitude and greed when he is offered a fortune to sell his business, but knows that doing so would mean selling out one of his oldest friends.
	44	7	"Lionel's Pad"	Jack Shea	Kurt Taylor & Booker Bradshaw	November 10, 1976	3.7 / 306
When Lionel decides to move into his own apartment, Louise and George are not too happy, but when they find out who Lionel's roommate will be, they really lose their cool.
	45	8	"Tom the Hero"	Jack Shea	Jay Moriarty & Mike Milligan	November 17, 1976	3.8 / 309
Tom's quick thinking saves George's life, but George's gratitude soon sours when he realizes that now he is in Tom's debt.
	46	9	"Jenny's Discovery"	Jack Shea	Bob Baublitz	November 24, 1976	3.9 / 310
Jenny's pre-marital jitters and doubts about her love for Lionel are quickly dispelled when she thinks he's been in a bus crash.
	47	10	"The Agreement"	Jack Shea	Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell	December 8, 1976	3.10 / 308
George's suggestion of a prenuptial agreement causes friction between Jenny and Lionel - and George is loving every minute of it.
	48	11	"Florence in Love"	Jack Shea	Teleplay by: Richard Freeman & Stephen Young Story by: Paul M. Belous & Robert Wolterstoff	December 15, 1976	3.11 / 311
Furious when the Jeffersons forbid her to let her boyfriend stay overnight, Florence quits her job - to the distress of Louise and the delight of George.
	49	12	"The Christmas Wedding"	Jack Shea	Mike Milligan & Jay Moriarty	December 22, 1976	3.12 / 313
Peace and goodwill are the first holiday casualties when the Jeffersons and the Willises get into a Christmas Eve spat over Lionel and Jenny's wedding.
	50	13	"Louise Forgets"	Jack Shea	Bill Davenport	January 5, 1977	3.13 / 312
Louise takes a course to improve her memory, Florence takes a course in judo, and they both nearly wipe George out.
	51	14	"Bentley's Problem"	Jack Shea	Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell	January 12, 1977	3.14 / 315
Neighbor Harry Bentley takes George's advice in order to solve a problem and winds up locked away in jail.
	52	15	"Jefferson Airplane"	Jack Shea	Dixie Brown Grossman	January 17, 1977	3.15 / 316
Louise talks the hard-working George into finding a hobby for relaxation, but the hobby he chooses is flying, which only makes them both nervous wrecks. Note: This show now moves to Monday nights.
	53	16	"George's Guilt"	Jack Shea	Jay Moriarty & Mike Milligan	January 24, 1977	3.16 / 314
Louise can't believe what she's seeing and Florence can't believe what is happening to her when George holds a reunion of his old street gang and starts acting like a kid again.
	54	17	"A Case of Black and White"	Jack Shea	Fred S. Fox, Seaman Jacobs, Lloyd Turner and Gordon Mitchell	January 31, 1977	3.17 / 317
George is forced to wait hand and foot on his maid and his doorman in order to save a big business deal.
	55	18	"Louise vs. Jenny"	Jack Shea	John Ashby	February 7, 1977	3.18 / 318
The trouble with being a mother-in-law is that you start acting like one - that's the lesson Louise learns the hard way when she and Jenny start fighting over Lionel.
	56	19	"The Marriage Counselors"	Jack Shea	John V. Hanrahan	February 21, 1977	3.19 / 320
The Willis's formula for improving their marriage almost splits the Jeffersons.
	57	20	"Louise's Friend"	Jack Shea	Teleplay by: Richard Freeman, Stephen Young, Jay Moriarty and Mike Milligan Story by: Richard Freeman & Stephen Young	February 28, 1977	3.20 / 319
A little "oo-là-là" turns into "O no you don't" when George finds out Louise's new friend from French class is a man.
	58	21	"The Old Flame"	Jack Shea	Jay Moriarty & Mike Freeman	March 7, 1977	3.21 / 321
Mother Jefferson stirs up trouble when she invites one of George's former girlfriends to the house for dinner, and George soon finds out there are still dangerous sparks in his old flame.
	59	22	"Jenny's Opportunity"	Jack Shea	Teleplay by: Lloyd Turner & Gordon Mitchell Story by: Paul M. Belous & Robert Wolterstoff	March 21, 1977	3.22 / 322
Is it right for a newlywed wife to leave her husband and go to England for three months? Jenny says yes; Lionel says no.
	60	23	"George the Philanthropist"	Jack Shea	Dennis Koenig & Larry Balmagia	March 28, 1977	3.23 / 323
George's heart is in the right place, but for all the wrong reasons; his sudden generosity seems no more than a thinly-disguised attempt to beat out a competitor for the Black Businessman's Award.
	61	24	"Louise's Physical"	Jack Shea	Lloyd Turner, Gordon Mitchell, Jay Moriarty & Mike Milligan	April 11, 1977	3.24 / 324
When Louise's sudden feelings of worthlessness threaten to ruin her surprise party, George orders her to have a happy birthday, whether she likes it or not.