Mainly because it was connected to Different Strokes and it was a family sitcom involving no little kids, just two teens girls and a combination of the father at his job and the house

Facts of Life was nothing but a school for girls which of course appealed more to girls than boys which made the show one-sided. I felt Hello Larry was very watchable

Interesting comparison. Did you know that Facts of Life started life as a summer replacement for Hello, Larry? I don't necessarily feel different about which show I'd rather watch today than you do, but the viewers sure did in 1979. Hello, Larry always trailed Diff'rent Strokes in the ratings, but it did so by a wider and wider margin as time went on. Only so much of that can be blamed on the press's attempt to shame people into not watching it. The following season, in the very same time period, FOL didn't just thrive, it began topping DS in the 9:30 slot, hence the confidence in making it the 9PM leadoff the season after.

Interesting comparison. Did you know that Facts of Life started life as a summer replacement for Hello, Larry? I don't necessarily feel different about which show I'd rather watch today than you do, but the viewers sure did in 1979. Hello, Larry always trailed Diff'rent Strokes in the ratings, but it did so by a wider and wider margin as time went on. Only so much of that can be blamed on the press's attempt to shame people into not watching it. The following season, in the very same time period, FOL didn't just thrive, it began topping DS in the 9:30 slot, hence the confidence in making it the 9PM leadoff the season after.


Facts of Life was one-dimensional and Hello Larry was Universal to me