Season 5
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff which stars Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother, Willis, two African-American children from a poor Harlem neighbourhood whose deceased mother previously worked for a rich white widower who eventually adopted them.
The series originally aired in the USA on NBC from 1978-1985 and on ABC from 1985-1986. There are 189 half-hour episodes in eight seasons.
Diff'rent Strokes originally aired in South Africa on TV1 (now SABC1) in the 1980s. The series premiered on DStv's M-Net Series channel on Saturday 27 September 2008, at 20h30. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 5 has not yet aired on M-Net Series.
Synopsis
Diff'rent Strokes takes place in New York and centres around the happenings in the Drummond household.
Philip Drummond was a widower and had a daughter, Kimberly. He was also quite wealthy and lived in the penthouse of a luxurious apartment building. His wealth was due to the fact that he was the president of Trans Allied, Inc.
However, the household was shaken up when Drummond's black housekeeper died and her deathbed wish was that he would take care of her two sons, Arnold and Willis Jackson. So, Drummond took both of them in and they became the sons Drummond never had.
Others in the cast include Mrs. Garrett the new housekeeper who later left for her own series, The Facts of Life. She was replaced by Adelaide, who was seen occasionally and she was later replaced by Pearl.
In the seventh season, Drummond wed an aerobics instructor, Maggie McKinney and she moved in with her son, Sam, from a previous marriage.
Seasons
Note: these details are for the run of the show on M-Net Series only. Broadcast dates for the original run of the show on the SABC are not available.
Season 1 (24 episodes)
Premiere: 27 September 2008 | Finale: 7 March 2009 | Saturdays, 20h30
Season 2 (26 episodes)
Premiere: 18 April 2009 | Finale: 10 October 2009 | Saturdays, 20h30/19h30
Season 3 (22 episodes)
Premiere: 17 October 2009 | Finale: 13 March 2010 | Saturdays, 19h30
Season 4 (26 episodes)
Premiere: 23 October 2010 | Finale: 16 April 2011 | Saturdays, 20h00