The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman named Phillip Drummond and his daughter Kimberly, for whom their deceased mother previously worked. During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett.
The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman named Phillip Drummond and his daughter Kimberly, for whom their deceased mother previously worked. During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett.
Season 1 episodes
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Multi-millionaire Phillip Drummond, who has agreed to the death-bed wish of his housekeeper to raise her two small sons as his own, welcomes 8-year-old Arnold and 12-year-old Willis into his lavish penthouse. Anxious to make them feel at home, he showers them with gifts and love -- and is puzzled when he learns that the boys are planning to sneak from the lap of luxury back to Harlem. Aiding Drummond in his effort to make the street-wise, ghetto youngsters feel welcome in the affluent white world are Drummond's new housekeeper Mrs. Garrett and his 13-year-old daughter Kimberly.
Arnold's eavesdropping leads to trouble when a misunderstanding causes Willis and him to think that Mr. Drummond no longer wants them around; he has heard Drummond tell a social worker that ""black children belong with black families.""
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert KenwithGuest stars Ellen Travolta, Fran Bennett
Mr. Drummond's socialite and rather snobbish mother arrives and finds there's a lot she doesn't like about her son's new sons, but she soon learns a valuable lesson about what's really important in a person.
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert KenwithWritten by Myles WilderGuest stars Irene Tedrow
Arnold ignores warnings and continues to drop water balloons from the balcony. Mr. Drummond's decision to punish Arnold for the prank with a spanking becomes a learning lesson for Willis too, when he insists that he be the one to spank Arnold -- but where's Arnold?
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert KenwithWritten by Seaman JacobsGuest stars Frank Farmer, Jerry Marshak, Weldon Bleiler
When Arnold loses his favorite doll, he makes sure that his misery is shared equally by the various members of his household, who soon try everything to get it back.
When Arnold is in trouble for putting his goldfish in Mr. Drummond's hot tub, Willis insists that it is wrong to convict him without a trial. The whole family, with Mrs. Garrett as judge, comes up with an important verdict.
Mr. Drummond and family gather around their Christmas tree and recall the many humorous incidents that the family has shared since Arnold and Willis moved in. This special one-hour episode features highlights from previous shows.
Mr. Drummond and family gather around their Christmas tree and recall the many humorous incidents that the family has shared since Arnold and Willis moved in. This special one-hour episode features highlights from previous shows.
Mr. Drummond's intention to marry an attractive widow doesn't meet with his children's approval, and Arnold, Willis and Kimberly devise a scheme they hope will turn his ""romantic"" proposal into a disaster.
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert KenwithGuest stars Elinor Donahue
A lonely Arnold comes up with a method of gaining his family's attention. Unfortunately his plan works a little too well; he ends up with everyone's attention, including the family doctor.
LaWanda Page guest stars as a cousin of Willis and Arnold who, after seeing the boys in their comfortable new surroundings, knows she should stay closer to her long-lost little relatives.
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert KenwithWritten by Seaman JacobsGuest stars LaWanda Page
When Mrs. Garrett decides her life as a housekeeper is unfulfilling, she ends up being a guest in the Drummond home, and then makes an important decision concerning the future.
The stars of "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Hello, Larry" get together in a special, hilarious hour in which Phillip Drummond realizes that the purchase of a Portland radio station could mean the loss of a job for his old friend Larry Alder. The crossover continues on Hello, Larry S01E10 The Trip (II).
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert KenwithGuest stars George Memmoli, Joanna Gleason
The stars of "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Hello, Larry" get together in a special, hilarious hour in which Phillip Drummond realizes that the purchase of a Portland radio station could mean the loss of a job for his old friend Larry Alder. **Part two originally aired as an episode of "Hello, Larry".
Willis is hurt when he thinks his family has forgotten his upcoming birthday. After dropping several unsubtle hints he discovers that not only has everyone remembered, but also his fondest wish has been granted -- a birthday party in his old Harlem neighborhood.
Episode credits
Directed by Herbert KenwithGuest stars Carl M. Craig
Ed Jurist, Howard Meyers, Seaman Jacobs, Blake Hunter, Paul Haggis, Mark Miller, Debra Frank, Scott Rubenstein, Donald Ross, Martin Ragaway, Booker Bradshaw, Myles Wilder, Danny Simon, Woody Kling, Alan Rosen, Fred Rubin, Gordon Mitchell, Ed Jurist, Gordon Mitchell, Ben Gershman
Production details
Status
Ended
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
189
Original language
English
Networks & production
ABCUnited States
NBCUnited States
Norman Lear/Tandem Productions
Embassy TelevisionUnited States
Embassy Pictures CorporationUnited States
Tandem ProductionsUnited States
Themes
adopted childafrican americanbrother brother relationshipchild careclass differencesfamily relationshipsinterracial adoptionmanhattan, new york city
