Peacock stokes 'Strokes'
Inside look at 'Mork,' 'Shirley,' 'Bewitched' also planned


Whatchoo talkin' about, NBC?

As part of its "Behind the Camera" franchise, Peacock is developing a two-hour look at the drama surrounding the hit '80s NBC sitcom, "Diff'rent Strokes." Greg Pincus is writing a script for the project, which is one of several TV tales in the works at NBC.

NBC is also in early development on telepics focusing on the behind-the-scenes drama of ABC hits "Mork & Mindy," "Laverne & Shirley" and "Bewitched." NBC has previously produced telepics on ABC hits "Three's Company" and "Charlie's Angels."

"The franchise has performed quite well for us," said NBC longform topper Jeff Gaspin, who also heads alternative programming at NBC and is prexy of Bravo. Most recent "Charlie's Angel" pic was just so-so in raw numbers, "but when we got in the upscale demos for 'Angels,' it was off the chart," Gaspin added.

Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges have signed on as consultants on the "Diff'rent Strokes" telefilm, which Gaspin said will tread cautiously when dealing with many of the tragic events surrounding the sitcom -- including the death of star Dana Plato.

"If you get it right, this is a cautionary tale about kids in Hollywood," he said. "We need to do it in a non-exploitative manner."

Hi! I hope to some day see a similar 2 hour special on what went on behind the scenes on my all-time favorite sitcom "Courtship of Eddie's Father". I know that Brandon Cruz is busy working on 2 "Courtship of Eddie's Father" projects, so I'm hoping that what I mentioned above is one of them. Please let me know.

Always A Brandon Cruz Fan,
Liz Crasten

Originally posted by pavanbadal
Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges have signed on as consultants on the "Diff'rent Strokes" telefilm

that's kinda shocking since Gary's been so "ashamed" of Diff'rent Strokes.

Originally posted by paisleynut
Hi! I hope to some day see a similar 2 hour special on what went on behind the scenes on my all-time favorite sitcom "Courtship of Eddie's Father". I know that Brandon Cruz is busy working on 2 "Courtship of Eddie's Father" projects, so I'm hoping that what I mentioned above is one of them. Please let me know.

Always A Brandon Cruz Fan,
Liz Crasten

It'd be great to see that!

As for the Behind the Scenes movie on Diff'rent Strokes, I'm looking forward to it. It is surprising to hear about Gary Coleman's involvement, that I have to agree on.

NBC has given producer Stan Brooks the green light to produce a two-hour "Behind the Camera" telepic about hit Peacock laffer "Diff'rent Strokes."

Bobb'e J, most recently seen on "The Tracy Morgan Show," has been cast to play the young Gary Coleman in the project. Both Coleman and co-star Todd Bridges have also signed on as consultants to the project and will appear in on-camera interviews during the pic, which will blend scripted and unscripted elements.

In addition, Verda Bridges -- sister of Todd Bridges -- will play the siblings' mother. Robert Bailey Jr. has been cast to play the older Coleman in the pic, which is being produced via Brooks' Once Upon a Time Prods.

There's no casting yet for the role of "Strokes" star Dana Plato, who died of a drug overdose in 1999.

Production starts next week in Vancouver, with Robert IscoveRobert Iscove helming. Greg Pincus and Susan Rinehart wrote the script, and Brooks will exec produce with Scott W. Anderson; Damian Ganczewski is a producer.

Unauthorized telepic, in development since last year (Daily Variety, March 26) will depart from the usual "Behind the Camera" format by not just focusing on the time during which the show aired (1978-86), but also examining what happened to the cast long after the cameras stopped rolling.

Brooks, who produced the "Three's Company" and upcoming "Mork and Mindy" editions of the "Behind the Camera" franchise, said "Strokes" promises to be the most dramatic pic of the series "by far."

Other pics, he said, deal with careers falling apart. "With this one, what's at stake was people's lives," Brooks said.

"The thesis of this movie is, Where were the parents in all this? The studios, the networks, the managers -- all the people benefiting from the success of this show never looked at the effect it was having (on the young cast). They stole their childhood."

Pic reps the first time a "Behind the Camera" title has focused on an NBC skein. Brooks is currently casting for a thesp to play late Peacock topper Brandon Tartikoff, and he said he's hoping Mr. T will agree to re-create his famed cameo on "Strokes."

While Coleman and Bridges are consultants on the pic, they didn't have approval on the script and, in fact, didn't see the script until after the pic was greenlit, Brooks said.

"We didn't have to do much to make (Coleman) sympathetic," Brooks said. "You can't spend five minutes with the guy without feeling some sympathy for his plight."

This is not the first "Strokes" telepic. A few years ago, Fox produced "After 'Diff'rent Strokes': When the Laughter Stopped."

NBC is expected to air the "Mork and Mindy" edition of "Behind the Camera" in early April.

NBC GOES BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH "BEHIND THE CAMERA" MOVIE THAT DEPICTS BACKSTAGE STORY OF POPULAR SERIES "DIFF'RENT STROKES" WITH CAUTIONARY TALE OF CHILD STARDOM

Series Stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges to Serve as Consultants. Bobb'e J Thompson stars as a young Gary Coleman

BURBANK, Calif. -- February 28, 2005 -- NBC will re-visit one of television's most popular comedy series, "Diff'rent Strokes" with a new movie that serves as a powerful cautionary tale about the tragedies and challenges facing the child stars of the sitcom in "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Diff'rent Strokes.'" Production will begin this month in Vancouver, Canada. Original cast members, Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges will serve as consultants on the movie and will also appear in on-camera interviews.

"Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Diff'rent Strokes'" not only takes us behind the scenes of the popular sitcom, but also follows the lives of Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato in the years after the series went off the air, as their lives spiraled downward. In addition, it also takes a look at the pitfalls of child stardom.

"Diff'rent Strokes" premiered on NBC on November 3, 1978 and concluded in 1986. Coleman and Bridges starred as Arnold and Willis Jackson, respectively, two orphaned children from Harlem who were adopted by wealthy businessman Phillip Drummond. The brothers' sudden lifestyle change from poverty to the penthouse made the comedy an instant hit for NBC.

The movie -- which follows previous Behind the Camera movies by NBC that successfully re-created the story and era surrounding "Three's Company" and "Charlie's Angels" -- will be produced by Once Upon a Time Films. Bobb'e J Thompson (NBC's "The Tracy Morgan Show") has been cast to play a young Gary Coleman, and Verda Bridges, Todd Bridges' real life sister, has been cast to play Todd Bridges' mother.

In addition, NBC will also broadcast "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Mork & Mindy'" a movie version of the backstage story of the comedy "Mork and Mindy," which launched Oscar winner Robin Williams' career.

"Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Diff'rent Strokes'" is executive-produced by Stanley M. Brooks (NBC's "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company'") and Scott W. Anderson (NBC's "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company'"), with Damian Ganczewski (NBC's "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Three's Company'") producing. Robert Iscove ("She's All That") will direct from a script written by Greg Pincus and Susan Rinehart.

Finally it will air! Sept. 4, 2006 from 8-10pm:
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/2006/08/ellen-season-4-dvd-now-sept-26-comedy.html

Wow, that took a long time. I don't plan on watching it, but I didn't think it was going to happen

I won't miss that!

yes I cannot wait I'll have it taped!!!

I just hope they don't make it all seem like a big joke.

I hope not

I can't wait!

I Know I will be watching The Diff'rent Strokes Movie on September 4, 2006 at 8:00 pm.

i cant wait to see it

"Cautionary tale"?
That sounds like the old "Don't let kids be child stars, because they'll all turn out this way" social gospel that has been DEAD for quite some time.
PLEASE tell me that's not how this is gonna be!

that's kinda shocking since Gary's been so "ashamed" of Diff'rent Strokes.

Really ? I haven't heard of that. It is true that he's not anywhere in the bonus of Season 1 on DVD (i don't have season 2 yet, being in Europe and all that :confused:).

Have you seen the dad(Babylon something on VH1) that encourages his young son to sing and do everything day or night to perform? Crazy!! What a jerk....I am so glad my parents are not like that at all.

http://entertainment.excite.com/celebgossip/pgsix/id/08_14_2006_1.html

'STROKE' VICTIMS


IT'S a TV saga too in credible to be fictional.

What am I talkin' 'bout? "Diff'rent Strokes," the iconic 1980s sitcom that made huge stars out of three child actors who went on to lead troubled lives.

And now, the story of Willis (Todd Bridges), Kimberly (Dana Plato) and Arnold (Gary Coleman) is being told in a new made-for-TV movie titled "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Diff'rent Strokes.' "

The two-hour movie, scheduled to air on Labor Day (Sept. 4) at 8 p.m. on NBC, recalls the era from 1978 to 1986 when "Diff'rent Strokes" was one of the top hits on TV, first on NBC and then ABC, due in large measure to the popularity of Coleman, the phenomenonal child performer whose catchphrase, "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?" took the nation by storm.

Coleman and Bridges appear in the film in interview segments, but actors play them at different ages in the movie - Bobb'e J. Thompson, Robert Bailey Jr. and Alon Williams as Coleman, and Brennan Gademans and Shedrack Anderson as Bridges.

Actors also play the roles of "Strokes" co-stars Conrad Bain (John Innes) and Charlotte Rae (Julie Brown) as well as NBC execs Fred Silverman (Saul Rubinek) and Brandon Tartikoff (Adam Reid).

The movie delves candidly into the show's troubled aftermath, when all three kid stars, by then young adults, went broke.

Coleman became estranged from his parents and sued them for money he said they stole.

Bridges was involved in a series of widely reported arrests on drug and gun charges and was eventually acquitted of attempted murder with the help of his flamboyant attorney, Johnnie Cochran.

Plato - played in the movie by Jessica King and Britt Irvin - was also arrested several times on drug and robbery charges (among other things, she held up a Las Vegas video store where she was a well-known customer) and died of a drug overdose in May 1999.

She was 34 years old.

For more details on the movie, cast information, and my review see the below link:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/blog/2006/09/behind-camera-unauthorized-story-of.html

It's gonna be on tomorrow night @ 8:00pm!!!!!! I can't wait.

Me either looking foward to it. One of my favorite tv shows :)

Me either looking foward to it. One of my favorite tv shows :)

Me too! Although I did see a picture of "Todd" and "Dana" in theEntertainment Weekly article they had, and they were kissing and on top of each other! *Vomiiit*....I didn't know they had a "Thing" going. Guess we'll see tomorrow night.

can some tell me if The Behine The Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes is going to showed in High Definition

So what did everyone think of the movie? Just finished watching it (recorded it to DVD)...I thought it was pretty good, but not the best of NBC's "Behind the Camera" series. :)

I really enjoyed The Movie I did have to press Pause at 8:12 pm to eat dinner but at 8:57 pm Central Time I joiend The Movie from where I Left off thanks tro my D.V.R.

i enjoyed it i didnt know anything about todd and dana having a fling ether garys dad came off as a real jerk thats for sure he came across as a few other things too but i cant use those names here so i will stop at jerk

Missed it!:mad: Sorry.

I thought it was ok!Garys father did come off as a real jerk!!he seemed to put money ahead of everything including garys health just to get the money!then had the nerve to throw gary out!:confused:
the actors were ok but the actor that played the oldest gary was in my opinion bad!!
just my opinion:)
it was nice to see gary and todd participating in it!they still look pretty much the same:)

The ending was :barf:

I wanted to knock out Gary's father. He was a real jerk. I did know about the Todd/Dana afair though but I never knew that Dana's mother literally had no time to give to her daughter. Poor Dana needed a mother or a parent around. :( That's why the poor thing became pregnant early on. She needed someone to love and somone to love her back.

I thought the movie was decent, on par with Three's Company & Charlie's Angels Behind the Camera movies. I haven't seen the Mork & Mindy one, but Todd liked that one a lot. Ratings for the Strokes movie were not good, but NBC was at fault since they didn't air it in the season:

“Diff’rent Strokes” is no “Three’s Company.” It’s no “Mork & Mindy,” either.

NBC’s most recent so-called “Behind the Camera” original movie about a controversy-marred old sitcom was quite a bit off the ratings for others in the series in its premiere last night.

“Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’” averaged just a 1.6 in adults 18-49 last night, according to Nielsen overnights. NBC placed fifth in the 8 to 10 p.m. timeslot, finishing behind not only ABC, CBS and Fox, which aired mostly repeats, but also Univision.

“Camera” did rise slightly from start to finish, starting with a 1.4 at 8 and peaking with a 1.9 at 9:30. But it drew just 4 million total viewers, and it was well behind two other unauthorized movies about ‘70s and ‘80s sitcoms the network has run.

The “Mork & Mindy” movie averaged a 3.7 in 18-49 (5.6 HH Rating) in April 2005, while the “Three’s Company” flick pulled a 4.6 in 18-49 (6.9 HH Rating) during the 2003 May sweeps. "Charlie's Angels" had a decent 5.4 HH rating in March 2004.

Of course, all those ran during the regular season. You’d expect viewership to be quite a bit lower for a summer movie, and one airing on Labor Day no less, when folks are outdoors trying to squeeze in one last barbeque on summer’s last long weekend.

I knowonething when NBC re-airs The Diff'rent Strokes Movie I will watch The Rerun.

Are they planning a rerun anytime soon? I missed it and would love to see it.

I know I qwould love to see the re-run my self

I never seen it, so I have no clue as to when it is showing it.

I thought the movie was pretty good.From what was shown, you could see the many reasons why Todd and Dana had their problems, and that Gary's mother, though she was wrong in taking his money, at least had some concern about him.Gary's father definitely had a Joe Jackson type edge to him, so he came off as a jackass.

I thought the movie was decent, on par with Three's Company & Charlie's Angels Behind the Camera movies. I haven't seen the Mork & Mindy one, but Todd liked that one a lot. Ratings for the Strokes movie were not good, but NBC was at fault since they didn't air it in the season:

“Diff’rent Strokes” is no “Three’s Company.” It’s no “Mork & Mindy,” either.

NBC’s most recent so-called “Behind the Camera” original movie about a controversy-marred old sitcom was quite a bit off the ratings for others in the series in its premiere last night.

“Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’” averaged just a 1.6 in adults 18-49 last night, according to Nielsen overnights. NBC placed fifth in the 8 to 10 p.m. timeslot, finishing behind not only ABC, CBS and Fox, which aired mostly repeats, but also Univision.

“Camera” did rise slightly from start to finish, starting with a 1.4 at 8 and peaking with a 1.9 at 9:30. But it drew just 4 million total viewers, and it was well behind two other unauthorized movies about ‘70s and ‘80s sitcoms the network has run.

The “Mork & Mindy” movie averaged a 3.7 in 18-49 (5.6 HH Rating) in April 2005, while the “Three’s Company” flick pulled a 4.6 in 18-49 (6.9 HH Rating) during the 2003 May sweeps. "Charlie's Angels" had a decent 5.4 HH rating in March 2004.

Of course, all those ran during the regular season. You’d expect viewership to be quite a bit lower for a summer movie, and one airing on Labor Day no less, when folks are outdoors trying to squeeze in one last barbeque on summer’s last long weekend.



Pav did you record it?

Yeah, I did, with commercials.

I was really happy to see that Dana and Todd were really good friends, even after they were "Doing It."....They stayed friends through the 1990's. It was touching. Through all their problems they were good friends, even when Gary didn't want to bother with them.

Another thing was was touching was that Gary called Conrad Bain, his "Friend." I thought that was nice when Conrad went to talk to Gary, when he ran off set.

And another thing about Gary's father, that bastard, I didn't like that he made Gary feel bad about not wanting to work on the show anymore. He kept telling him "do it for Todd and Dana" and stuff like that. Horrible!...Using the other kids as an excuse so Gary stayed and brought home the money.