Here’s what Willis is talkin’ about. Jimmy Kimmel and Norman Lear are bringing back their “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” franchise for a third edition this December, and this time they’ll be taking on the iconic sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes’ and its spin-off, “The Facts of Life.”
Already cast in the “Diff’rent Strokes” installment are John Lithgow as Mr.Drummond, Kevin Hart playing Arnold, Damon Wayans as Willis and Ann Dowd as Mrs. Garrett. The cast of “The Facts of Life” will be revealed at a later date.
“Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘The Facts of Life’ and ‘Diff’rent Strokes'” will air Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET,
https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/jimmy-kimmel-norman-lear-live-in-front-of-a-studio-audience-diffrent-strokes-facts-of-life-1235115754/
BigManMike
11-19-2021, 01:22 PM
Seems odd no mention of Kimberly. And why are grown adults playing Arnold and Willis?
RetroGuy2000
11-19-2021, 01:48 PM
Seems odd no mention of Kimberly. And why are grown adults playing Arnold and Willis?
All very good questions.
icecream
11-19-2021, 02:16 PM
More casting on the Diff'rent Strokes side is still to come, this sentence from today's blog: Casting details for Diff'rent Strokes includes John Lithgow as Mr. Drummond, Kevin Hart as Arnold, Damon Wayans as Willis and Ann Dowd as Mrs. Garrett, with more to be announced.
https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2021/11/fri-yay-sitcom-thanksgiving-episodes-to.html
The episode that they are likely doing based on the promos of Kevin Hart wearing the Super Arnold costume is Willis' Privacy.
Dana Plato was only credited in this episode according to IMDB, so they won't likely need to cast Kimberly unless they change the original script.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0560106/
https://www.sitcomsonline.com/photos/liveinfrontofastudioaudience-thefactsoflifeanddiffrentstrokes.jpg
http://basementrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/diffrent-strokes-season-1-17-willis-privacy-todd-bridges-gary-coleman-review-episode-guide-list.jpg
RetroGuy2000
11-23-2021, 04:02 PM
The episode that they are likely doing based on the promos of Kevin Hart wearing the Super Arnold costume is Willis' Privacy.
Dana Plato was only credited in this episode according to IMDB, so they won't likely need to cast Kimberly unless they change the original script.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0560106/
Good research!
Kevin Hart worked as Arnold.
Of course, Gary Coleman was a bit taller….
RetroGuy2000
12-08-2021, 02:00 AM
Kevin Hart worked as Arnold.
Of course, Gary Coleman was a bit taller….
It was a lovely tribute. I loved the live theme song. The set crew also did a fantastic job.
I really wish they would have used child actors for the kids' roles. And it's too bad we didn't see Kimberly. Still, I loved seeing this.
Seeing Todd, the last original cast member, was quite poignant. He flubbed a line, though, mentioning Dana twice and Kimberly zero times. Not sure how that was even possible, as he was reading from a teleprompter. :lol:
TVFactFan
01-02-2022, 03:18 AM
It was a lovely tribute. I loved the live theme song. The set crew also did a fantastic job.
I really wish they would have used child actors for the kids' roles. And it's too bad we didn't see Kimberly. Still, I loved seeing this.
Seeing Todd, the last original cast member, was quite poignant. He flubbed a line, though, mentioning Dana twice and Kimberly zero times. Not sure how that was even possible, as he was reading from a teleprompter. :lol:
That's why I made no attempt to watch since a grown man playing arnold was stupid