Scripted series · NBC
Diff'rent Strokes
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Conrad Bain
Phillip Drummond
189 eps
Gary Coleman
Arnold Jackson
189 eps
Todd Bridges
Willis Jackson
189 eps
Dana Plato
Kimberly Drummond
151 eps
Mary Jo Catlett
Pearl Gallagher
87 eps
Danny Cooksey
Sam McKinney
43 eps
Dixie Carter
Maggie McKinney
25 eps
Charlotte Rae
Edna Garrett
51 eps
Mary Ann Mobley
Maggie Drummond
20 eps
Dorothy Hamill
Self
1 eps
Jayne Kennedy
1 eps
Jack Riley
Mr. Crocker
5 eps
Ellen Travolta
1 eps
Terry Kiser
1 eps
David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
2 eps
Royce D. Applegate
2 eps
Arthur Burghardt
1 eps
Carl M. Craig
1 eps
Andrew Dice Clay
Crazy Larry
2 eps
Tammy Townsend
1 eps
Lawrence Monoson
Jerry
1 eps
McLean Stevenson
2 eps
Dana Kimmell
1 eps
Joel Brooks
1 eps
William Daniels
1 eps
Elinor Donahue
1 eps
Ray Bolger
1 eps
John Brandon
The Policeman
2 eps
Gordon Jump
Mr. Horton
2 eps
Tom Rosqui
2 eps
Shavar Ross
Dudley Ramsey
43 eps
Dabney Coleman
2 eps
Whitman Mayo
2 eps
Nedra Volz
Adelaide Brubaker
23 eps
Dick O'Neill
2 eps
Rosalind Chao
Miss Chung
8 eps
Dick Sargent
2 eps
Dody Goodman
Sophia Drummond
5 eps
Rachel Jacobs
2 eps
Sal Lopez
2 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Diff'rent Strokes actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Diff'rent Strokes reads strongest on Humour, Character Depth and Emotional Weight.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The story
What it's about
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 run
Seasons
8 seasons · 189 episodes.
- Poster unavailableSpecials
Season 0 · Unannounced
Specials
2 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
197824 episodes
6.4IMDbBest episode · S01E01 Movin' In
Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
197926 episodes
7.0IMDb
Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
198022 episodes
Season 4 · Complete
Season 4
198126 episodes
7.7IMDb
Season 5 · Complete
Season 5
198224 episodes
8.0IMDb
Season 6 · Complete
Season 6
198324 episodes
Season 7 · Complete
Season 7
198424 episodes
10.0IMDb
Season 8 · Complete
Season 8
198519 episodes
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Bernie Kukoff
Showrunner
- Photo unavailable
Jeff Harris
Creator
- Photo unavailable
Fred Rubin
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Blake Hunter
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Alan Rosen
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Gordon Mitchell
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Ed Jurist
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Danny Simon
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Debra Frank
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Howard Meyers
Writer
Booker Bradshaw
Writer
Paul Haggis
Writer
Mark Miller
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Martin Ragaway
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Myles Wilder
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Donald Ross
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Seaman Jacobs
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Scott Rubenstein
Writer
- Photo unavailable
Woody Kling
Writer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Blake HunterProducer
Writing
- Fred RubinWriter
- Blake HunterWriter
- Alan RosenWriter
- Gordon MitchellWriter
- Ed JuristWriter
- Danny SimonWriter
Direction
- Linda DayDirector
- Herbert KenwithDirector
- Jeremiah MorrisDirector
- Mel FerberDirector
- Gerren KeithDirector
- Lee Shallat ChemelDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
Checking regional listings…
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Where to go from here
Watch Next
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