Why did, John Lawlor, Felice Schachter as Nancy, Julie Piekarski as Sue Ann, Julie Anne Haddock as Cindy, and Molly Ringwald as Molly all leave The Facts Of Life after the first season?

I think it was because there were too many characters that they couldn't possibly develop in a half hour show.

I think the main reason they cut the cast down was to save money.

The producers have often cited that they couldn't possibly continue with so many cast members, but I think that was a cop-out.

Think about some of the most successful 1/2 sit-coms, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Happy Days, Taxi, Cheers, Friends. All of them had large casts.

I think it was pretty tough on the four girls who got fired, considering they were teenagers at the time. Hopefully teen-age actors are treated better today.

True. But I think that since FOL focused solely on one theme per episode, it would have been harder to get something across rather than just being a typical sitcom.