i was wondering if Hello Larry spinned off from different strokes because i saw a 3 crossover episodes between both cast and i thought i heard that it was just a crossover but i'm not sure-I think because of he poor ratings for the show Hello Larry-the producers decided to bring in the different strokes cast to boost ratings. So if anyonecan help me out-i would really appreciate it

A lot of books and web sites say that Hello Larry was a spinoff from Diff'rent Strokes but it was just a standard sitcom also made by Tandem Productions.

When it was doing badly in the ratings they decided to do the crossover episodes but it didn't help the show being cancaled after 2 seasons.

What a coincidence, I just saw the "Diff'rent Strokes" episodes with the "Larry" cast the other day.

Jethro is right...

"Hello Larry" was on right after "Diff'rent Strokes," and they were created and produced by the same team. They felt that by linking the two shows (Larry and Phil Drummond were old Army buddies, and Phil's company owned the Portland Radio Station where Larry worked) with crossover episodes, they could lure the bigger "Diff'rent Strokes" audience to "Hello Larry."

As we all know, that didn't work.

Why oh why oh why did McLean Stevenson leave M*A*S*H?
:(

Originally posted by JethroSimpson
A lot of books and web sites say that Hello Larry was a spinoff from Diff'rent Strokes but it was just a standard sitcom also made by Tandem Productions.

When it was doing badly in the ratings they decided to do the crossover episodes but it didn't help the show being cancaled after 2 seasons.

That's what i thought because i never seen or read about the cast of Hello Larry being on Different strokes before the Show Hello Larry Started-

"Larry" was actually a sitcom in its own right, and NOT a spinoff of "Diff'rent Strokes."

"Strokes" was NBC's hottest new hit at that time (1978-79 season), along with "B.J. and the Bear." NBC had very few (if ANY) hit programs during that period, so it is no surprise that "The Peacock Network" wanted to capitalize on its instant success (ditto for "B.J. and the Bear" [which spawned "The Misadventures Of Sheriff Lobo," starring Claude Akins]).

Since both sitcoms were produced by the same production company (Tandem Productions/T.A.T. Communications), NBC's then-honcho, Fred Silverman, decided to establish the idea that "Strokes's" Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain) and "Larry's" Larry Alder (McLean Stevenson) were old Army buddies from the Korean War. By having both casts appearing in crossover episodes, NBC hoped that the audience from "Strokes" would tune in to "Larry."