Webster is an American situation comedy that aired on ABC from September 16, 1983, until May 8, 1987, and in first-run syndication from September 21, 1987 until March 10, 1989. The series was created by Stu Silver.[1]

The show stars Emmanuel Lewis in the title role as a young boy who, after losing his parents, is adopted by his NFL-pro godfather, portrayed by Alex Karras, and his new socialite wife, played by Susan Clark. The focus was largely on how this impulsively married couple had to adjust to their new lives and sudden parenthood, but it was the congenial Webster himself who drove much of the plot. The series was produced by Georgian Bay Ltd., Emmanuel Lewis Entertainment Enterprises, Inc. (1986–1989) and Paramount Television (Network 1983-1987, Domestic 1987-1989).

Like NBC's earlier hit Diff'rent Strokes, Webster featured a young black boy adopted by a white family.



Many people are tortured and driven by a desire to watch Diff'rent Strokes. Our society frowns on this, and such people are considered mentally ill. We do not accommodate them, we do not respect them.

How is watching Webster different?

Webster took the Different Strokes formula, and then refined and perfected it.

I want to confess right off the bat that I watched both religiously.

I was there for the premiere of Diff'rent Strokes.

Like most other shows, I could sing the entire song.

Diff'rent Strokes.

It's hard to give your views on 1980s sitcoms about short black children living with rich white families any credibility when you can't even spell Diff'rent Strokes right.

I noticed that and was embarrassed for Doot.

I still can. It is forever embedded in my brain. Diff'rent Strokes was one of my favorites as a kid. It wasn't until recently, when I started working on a book chronicling the rise of fall of Webster, that I realized just how subtle, nuanced and layered Webster is compared to the shallow hackwork of Diff'rent Strokes.

Differentiated Strokes was much too 70s.

Webster had kind of a cool, 80s New Wave thing happening.

George and Ma'am were strong cast members, interesting in their own right.

Mr. Drummond was weak.

Both were great shows. Really enjoyed both as well.

What did you think of What's Happening!!?

Awesome, of course.

Jay is, as always, correct.

Anyone who doesn't recognize "No Roger, No Rerun, No Rent" is no friend of mine.

I can still sing "Bubbly Brown Sugar."

Hell, I even watched What's Happening Now!!, that's how dedicated I was to the What's Happening!! television universe, or WTU, as we used to call it in those days.

That was a good pizza show. I watched it more regularly than the original. Some revivals turn out to be strangely better. What's Happening Now!!, The New Leave It To Beaver, the teenaged Doug cartoon ....

You know what was bad, though? Make Room For Grandaddy. That one didn't work at all.

I even loved this one. No one should have loved it. It shouldn't have existed. It was the Better Call Saul of its era, though, the strangely awesome spinoff of a classic.

It lasted longer than the original too, IIRC.

I was all in on Strokes. But the Dudley episode with the neighbor. It gave me bad feelings. I didn't like that one very much.

It confirmed the impression given by the original series, which is that the guy who played Eddie Haskell was the best actor on the show.

I loved the Doobie Brothers two-parter.

Shirley's Rerun putdowns were amazing.

"Which Doobie you be?"