Diff'rent Strokes

Diff'rent Strokes
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Jeff Harris Bernie Kukoff
Directed by	Gerren Keith (seasons 2–8) Various (seasons 1 & 5–8)
Starring	Conrad Bain Gary Coleman Todd Bridges Dana Plato Charlotte Rae Mary Jo Catlett Danny Cooksey Dixie Carter Mary Ann Mobley
Theme music composer	Alan Thicke Al Burton Gloria Loring
Opening theme	"It Takes Diff'rent Strokes" performed by Alan Thicke, Linda Harmon, Gloria Loring and Gene Morford
Ending theme	"It Takes Diff'rent Strokes" (seasons 1–7; 1978–1985) (instrumental in season 8; 1985–1986)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	189 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Budd Grossman (season 1) Howard Leeds (seasons 2–6) Blake Hunter (seasons 5–7) Martin Cohan (season 7) Bob Brunner[1] Ken Hecht (season 8)
Producers	Howard Leeds Herbert Kenwith (season 1) Martin Cohan (seasons 1–6) Ben Starr (seasons 2–4) Bruce Taylor (season 7) Al Aidekman Richard Gurman (season 8)
Production locations	Metromedia Square Hollywood, California (1978–82) Universal City Studios Universal City, California (1982–85) ABC Television Center Hollywood, California (1985–86)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	24 minutes
Production companies	Tandem Productions (1978–1986) Embassy Television (1985–1986) (season 8)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	November 3, 1978 (1978-11-03) – May 4, 1985 (1985-05-04)
Network	ABC
Release	September 27, 1985 (1985-09-27) – March 7, 1986 (1986-03-07)
Related
The Facts of Life Hello, Larry
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

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.^[2] The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, respectively, who are two boys from Harlem taken in by a wealthy Park Avenue businessman and his daughter. Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) is a widower for whom their deceased mother previously worked; his daughter, Kimberly, is played by Dana Plato.^[3][4] During the first season and the first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred, as Mrs. Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' first housekeeper, who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom, The Facts of Life, as a housemother at the fictional Eastland School. The second housekeeper, Adelaide Brubaker, was played by Nedra Volz. The third housekeeper, Pearl Gallagher, was played by Mary Jo Catlett, first appearing as a recurring character, later becoming a main cast member.

The series made stars of Coleman, Bridges, and Plato and became known for the "very special episodes", in which serious issues such as racism, illegal drug use, alcoholism, hitchhiking, kidnapping, and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored.