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
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	18 (1 unaired)
Production
Running time	22–24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 18, 1985 (1985-09-18) – May 16, 1986 (1986-05-16)

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 starred Flip Wilson and Gladys Knight. Charlie & Co. is regarded as CBS' 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 followed 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

Series #	Season #	Title	Notes	Original air date
1	1	Pilot	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.	September 18, 1985
2	2	"Easy for You to Say"	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.	September 25, 1985
3	3	"Muggers or Us"	Charlie wants Diana to transfer to another school after there's an incident of vandalism at her school.	October 2, 1985
4	4	Buddy Can You Spare My Dime?	Charlie struggles to find the nerve to ask for the money his boss owes him, while the family struggles through Diana's nutrition campaign.	October 9, 1985
5	5	"The World According to Jim"	Charlie and Diana soon regret letting Charlie's co-worker move in during his marital spat.	October 16, 1985
6	6	"Like Father, Like Son"	Junior is sorely taxed by Charlie's sudden desire to be more of a pal than a father.	October 23, 1985
7	7	"Will Be Around"	The children are upset when Charlie talks of making out a will following a brush with death	October 30, 1985
8	8	"Operation Richmond"	Just after the family decides to cut back on expenses, Charlie has to go into the hospital for an operation.	November 6, 1985
9	9	"Happy Anniversary...Sort Of"	Charlie's behavior at a faculty party he and Diana attend threatens the celebration of their 20th anniversary	November 13, 1985
10	10	"For the Love of Lauren"	A jilted Lauren thinks all men are jerks, until she attends a concert with a consoling Miguel, the ladies' man of Charlie's office.	November 27, 1985
11	11	"Who's Watching the Roads"	Charlie's co-workers plan to take full advantage of their boss's absence, despite the fact that he left Charlie in charge.	December 4, 1985
12	12	"Silent Knight"	Charlie's looking forward to spending Christmas with his family, but Junior and Lauren have other ideas.	December 11, 1985
13	13	"Beaus and Arrows"	Diana's old college boyfriend returns.	December 25, 1985
14	14	"Here's Rachel"	Della Reese joins the cast as Aunt Rachel.	January 28, 1986
15	15	"Rachel and the Stranger"	The family knows that Diana has something on her mind, but she won't talk until she's sure---that she's pregnant.	April 25, 1986
16	16	"When You Least Expect It"	The family knows that Diana has something on her mind, but she won't talk until she's sure---that she's pregnant.	May 2, 1986
17	17	"Don't Take My Son... Please"	Bored with school, Junior decides to be all that he can be---in the Army.	May 9, 1986
18	18	"Rent and Rave"	The Richmonds face a rent increase.	May 16, 1986 (Unaired)

Award 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	-

References

1. ^ "Blacks on TV: Tuning in to the New Season". Ebony (Johnson Publishing Company) 40 (12): 68–69. October 1985. ISSN 0012-9011. 
2. ^ "CBS Yanks 'Charlie & Co.', 'Trapper' In New Season". Jet (Johnson Publishing Company) 70 (10): 61. 1986-05-26. ISSN 0021-5996. 

External links

• Charlie & Co. at TV.com
• Charlie & Co. at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlie & Co. at epguides.com
• Charlie & Co., an external wiki