Charlie & Co.
| Charlie & Co. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Charlie & Company |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Allan Katz |
| Starring |
Flip Wilson Gladys Knight Kristoff St. John Fran Robinson Jaleel White |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 18 (1 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Allan Katz Productions Bob Henry Productions Inc. 20th Century Fox Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | September 18, 1985 – May 16, 1986 |
Charlie & Co. (also known as Charlie & Company) is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1985 to May 16, 1986. Created by Allan Katz, the series stars Flip Wilson and Gladys Knight. Charlie & Co. is regarded as CBS's answer to The Cosby Show, which was a ratings success for NBC at the time.[1] Unlike The Cosby Show, which ran for eight seasons, Charlie & Co. lasted for only one.
Synopsis
The series follows a middle class African American family that lived on the South Side of Chicago.
Charlie Richmond (Flip Wilson), a black middle-class employee of the Division of Highways, who juggled his work and home life with his lovely wife, Diana, a schoolteacher played by Gladys Knight. The couple had three children: sixteen-year-old "Junior" (Kristoff St. John), fifteen-year-old Lauren (Fran Robinson) and nine-year-old Robert (Jaleel White).
Della Reese joined the cast during the latter half of the first season as Charlie's sister, Aunt Rachel.
CBS canceled the series in May 1986.[2]
Cast
- Flip Wilson ... Charlie Richmond
- Gladys Knight ... Diana Richmond
- Kristoff St. John ... Charlie "Junior" Richmond, Jr.
- Fran Robinson ... Lauren Richmond
- Jaleel White ... Robert Richmond
- Della Reese ... Aunt Rachel (1986)
- Ray Girardin ... Walter Simpson
- Richard Karron ... Milton Bieberman
- Kip King ... Ronald Sandler
- Terence McGovern ... Jim Coyle
- Eddie Velez ... Miguel Santana
Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | September 18, 1985 | ||
| Charlie is asked by Junior to speak at Career Day at his school. All is well until Charlie freezes up with a case of stage fright. | ||||
| 2 | "Easy for You to Say" | September 25, 1985 | ||
| Charlie faces difficult tasks on the home front: he has to cancel the family's camping trip due to work---and Lauren wants to discuss sex. | ||||
| 3 | "Muggers or Us" | October 2, 1985 | ||
| Charlie wants Diana to transfer to another school after there's an incident of vandalism at her school. | ||||
| 4 | "Buddy Can You Spare My Dime?" | October 9, 1985 | ||
| Charlie struggles to find the nerve to ask for the money his boss owes him, while the family struggles through Diana's nutrition campaign. | ||||
| 5 | "The World According to Jim" | October 16, 1985 | ||
| Charlie and Diana soon regret letting Charlie's co-worker move in during his marital spat. | ||||
| 6 | "Like Father, Like Son" | October 23, 1985 | ||
| Junior is sorely taxed by Charlie's sudden desire to be more of a pal than a father. | ||||
| 7 | "Will Be Around" | October 30, 1985 | ||
| The children are upset when Charlie talks of making out a will following a brush with death. | ||||
| 8 | "Operation Richmond" | November 6, 1985 | ||
| Just after the family decides to cut back on expenses, Charlie has to go into the hospital for an operation. | ||||
| 9 | "Happy Anniversary...Sort Of" | November 13, 1985 | ||
| Charlie's behavior at a faculty party he and Diana attend threatens the celebration of their 20th anniversary. | ||||
| 10 | "For the Love of Lauren" | November 27, 1985 | ||
| A jilted Lauren thinks all men are jerks, until she attends a concert with a consoling Miguel, the ladies' man of Charlie's office. | ||||
| 11 | "Who's Watching the Roads" | December 4, 1985 | ||
| Charlie's co-workers plan to take full advantage of their boss's absence, despite the fact that he left Charlie in charge. | ||||
| 12 | "Silent Knight" | December 11, 1985 | ||
| Charlie's looking forward to spending Christmas with his family, but Junior and Lauren have other ideas. | ||||
| 13 | "Beaus and Arrows" | December 25, 1985 | ||
| Diana's old college boyfriend returns. | ||||
| 14 | "Here's Rachel" | January 28, 1986 | ||
| Della Reese joins the cast as Aunt Rachel. | ||||
| 15 | "Rachel and the Stranger" | April 25, 1986 | ||
| After a burglary, Aunt Rachel is too scared to return alone to her apartment, so Diana volunteers Charlie to stay overnight with her. | ||||
| 16 | "When You Least Expect It" | May 2, 1986 | ||
| The family knows that Diana has something on her mind, but she won't talk until she's sure---that she's pregnant. | ||||
| 17 | "Don't Take My Son... Please" | May 9, 1986 | ||
| Bored with school, Junior decides to join the Army. | ||||
| 18 | "Rent and Rave" | Unaired | ||
| The Richmonds face a rent increase. | ||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Best Young Supporting Actor in a New Television Series | Jaleel White |
| Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series | Fran Robinson | |||
| Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series | Kristoff St. John | |||
| Best New Television Series - Comedy or Drama | |
Reunion of Knight and White
In March 2012, over 25 years after the series' cancellation, Gladys Knight and Jaleel White would reunite on-screen as competing contestants on the spring 2012 season of Dancing with the Stars.