The series finale of The Jeffersons first aired 40 years ago today

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"Red Robins", the final episode of The Jeffersons, first aired on CBS on July 2, 1985.

Of course, it wasn't intended to be the series finale as CBS basically cancelled The Jeffersons after 11 seasons without prior warning.

A post shared by on Jan 01, 2022 at 12:00pm PDT

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Why was the American sitcom "The Jeffersons" cancelled?

Question: Why was the American sitcom "The Jeffersons" cancelled?

The primary reason seems to have been the massive ratings plunge between the 10th and 11th season.

The series was #19 in its tenth season, but it plunged to number #50 in its eleventh and final season. CBS executives decided that the series had reached its narrative conclusion and decided to not place it on the schedule for the next season. Unfortunately they didn’t bother to notify the cast and many of them found out by watching the news or being told by friends or relatives. This caused many hard feelings and the series was canceled under a cloud.

The producers of the series must have shared CBS’ sentiments about the ratings as the series was not shopped around to the other networks, nor was first run syndication considered apparently, even though the limited sets and the low budget cast (at the time minority stars who were not producers like Bill Cosby were paid lower amounts than their White counterparts making The Jeffersons production a relative bargain) should have made it appealing. The series disappeared as did the characters except for several appearance by Sherman Hemsley as George and Isabel Sanford as Louise on other programs.