The following is a list of episodes for '' The Facts of Life'', which ran for nine seasons from 1979 to 1988 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. There were 201 regular episodes and three television movies (''Paris'', ''Down Under'', ''Reunion''). Two of the movies, ''Paris'' and ''Down Under'', were originally broadcast as TV movies, but in syndication, they were split into four 30-minute episodes, bringing the total number of syndicated episodes to 209.

Series overview

Episodes

Pilot (1979)

The ''Diff'rent Strokes'' season 1 finale served as the backdoor pilot for ''The Facts of Life''.

Season 1 (1979–80)

The first season begins with ten main characters: housemother Edna Garrett (

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, '' ...

), headmaster Steven Bradley ( John Lawlor), teacher Emily Mahoney (

Jenny O'Hara Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''My Sister Sam'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''B ...

), and seven students: Blair Warner (

Lisa Whelchel Lisa Diane Whelchel (born May 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, author, and life coach. She is known for her appearances as a Mouseketeer on ''The New Mickey Mouse Club'' and her nine-year role as the preppy and wealthy Blai ...

), Cindy Webster (

Julie Anne Haddock Julie Anne Haddock (born April 3, 1965, Los Angeles, California) is an American actress, music executive and producer. Career Becoming a child actress at the age of ten, Haddock is perhaps best known for her role as tomboy Cindy Webster on the ...

), Molly Parker (

Molly Ringwald Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an o ...

), Nancy Olsen (

Felice Schachter Felice Schachter (born November 17, 1963) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Nancy Olson on '' The Facts of Life'' and Bernadette in the cult teen comedy ''Zapped!''. Early life and career Schachter was born in New York Ci ...

), Natalie Green (

Mindy Cohn Mindy Cohn (born May 20, 1966) is an American actress, who appeared on VH1's List of "100 Greatest Kid Stars". She starred as Natalie Green in the sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' from 1979 to 1988, and is known for voicing Velma Dinkley in the ''S ...

), Sue Ann Weaver (

Julie Piekarski Julie Ann Piekarski (born January 2, 1963 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American actress, best known for her role as Sue Ann Weaver on '' The Facts of Life''. Piekarski got her first big break in show business as a Mouseketeer on ''The New Mick ...

), and Tootie Ramsey (

Kim Fields Kim Victoria Fields-Morgan ( Fields, formerly Freeman; born May 12, 1969) is an American actress and director. Fields is best known for her roles as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–1988), and as Regine Hu ...

). O'Hara's character was dropped after the fourth episode. Though counted as a single season, the show aired in discrete blocks of episodes. The show aired four weekly episodes on Wednesday nights in August and September, technically before the 1979/80 TV season actually began. Then the show was off the air for six months, returning in March through early May for a run of seven episodes. (The initial episode was a special presentation on Wednesday night after ''Diff'rent Strokes''; the show then moved to Fridays.) After a month off, the series moved back to Wednesday nights for the season's two final episodes in June.

Season 2 (1980–81)

The main cast is reduced to five main characters: Mrs. Edna Garrett (

), Blair Warner (

Natalie Green This is a list of characters from the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life''. Characters table Edna Garrett Edna Ann Garrett Gaines, known as Mrs. Garrett or Mrs. G, was played by the actress Charlotte Rae from 1978 to 1986. Garrett was the you ...

(

Tootie Ramsey This is a list of characters from the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life''. Characters table Edna Garrett Edna Ann Garrett Gaines, known as Mrs. Garrett or Mrs. G, was played by the actress Charlotte Rae from 1978 to 1986. Garrett was the you ...

(

), and new girl Jo Polniaczek (

Nancy McKeon Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' and Jinny Exstead on '' The Division''. Early life and family Nancy Justine McKeon was born o ...

). Two more crossovers with ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackso ...

'' gave the show a boost in the fall of 1980: Tootie appeared in the ''Diff'rent Strokes'' episode "The Bank Job" (Parts 1 and 2) on Nov. 12, 1980, and Arnold from ''Diff'rent Strokes'' appeared in "The New Girl" (Part 1), the ''Facts of Life'' season premiere. There would be two additional crossovers this season in the winter of 1981: Blair and Natalie appeared in the ''Diff'rent Strokes'' episode "The Older Man," and Willis from ''Diff'rent Strokes'' appeared in the ''Facts of Life'' episode "Bought and Sold."

Season 3 (1981–82)

Mr. Parker (

Roger Perry Roger Perry (May 7, 1933 – July 12, 2018) was an American film and television actor whose career began in the late 1950s. He served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force during the early 1950s. Career Television In th ...

) is a recurring character as the school's new headmaster. Linda Marsh and Margie Peters join Jerry Mayer as producers. Jack Elison and Jerry Mayer were the executive producers.

Season 4 (1982–83)

Season 5 (1983–84)

Blair and Jo start college, and Mrs. Garrett quits Eastland and opens her own gourmet food shop and catering business. Blair, Jo, Tootie, and Natalie all move in with her.

Pamela Segall Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill (King of the Hill), Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for ...

joins the cast this season, beginning with the episode "Just My Bill". Her final appearance is in the episode "Seems Like Old Times", and her character is dropped following that episode.

Season 6 (1984–85)

Mrs. Garrett (

) was absent from several episodes in season 6 per Rae's request for reduced appearances.

Season 7 (1985–86)

Mrs. Garrett (

) was again absent from several episodes per Rae's request for reduced appearances. Starting this season,

Mackenzie Astin Mackenzie Alexander Astin (born May 12, 1973) is an American actor. Early and personal life Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His brother is actor Sean Astin. He at ...

, who plays Andy Moffett, and

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

, who plays George Burnett, receive billing in the opening credits.

Season 8 (1986–87)

Mrs. Garrett (

) remarries and leaves the series after the two part season premiere. Her sister,

Beverly Ann Stickle This is a list of characters from the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life''. Characters table Edna Garrett Edna Ann Garrett Gaines, known as Mrs. Garrett or Mrs. G, was played by the actress Charlotte Rae from 1978 to 1986. Garrett was the you ...

(

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...

), moves in to care for the house and business. George Burnett, played by

, becomes a recurring character.

Season 9 (1987–88)

Pippa McKenna, played by

Sherrié Austin Sherrie Veronica Krenn (born 28 August 1970), known professionally as Sherrié Austin, is an Australian actress and country music singer. Active as a singer since her teenage years, Austin initially recorded as one half of the duo Colourhaus, w ...

, is introduced as a recurring character.

Reunion

Notes

External links

* * {{The Facts of Life Facts of Life, The

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...