I mean considering the show had just dumped four girls to make Nancy their replacement, the show's success really depended on her character working. So I don't know how much credit goes to Nancy McKeon, the chemistry between her and the rest of the cast, and/or the writing. Plus, paring down of the cast, the change of the setting and the addition of the new producers helped a lot.

Not to mention, as Retro has rightfully pointed out, the summer re-runs of season 1 actually were building an audience (without Nancy as Jo), and moving the show for season 2 to airing in the time slot immediately after its parent show, "Diff'rent Strokes" (which they should have done from the beginning---why on earth they didn't, who knows :confused: )

I mean considering the show had just dumped four girls to make Nancy their replacement, the show's success really depended on her character working. So I don't know how much credit goes to Nancy McKeon, the chemistry between her and the rest of the cast, and/or the writing. Plus, paring down of the cast, the change of the setting and the addition of the new producers helped a lot.

I think Nancy McKeon's chemistry with Lisa and Charlotte was undeniable. But I'm not convinced that paring down the cast helped the ratings. Ratings improved over summer 1980, before Season Two even began.

As '80s rightly says, moving FOL to just after its parent show helped. It allowed the audience of DS to graft onto FOL.