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
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 stars 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. 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.

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 (1985-09-18)
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 (1985-09-25)
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 (1985-10-02)
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 (1985-10-09)
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 (1985-10-16)
Charlie and Diana soon regret letting Charlie's co-worker move in during his marital spat.
6	"Like Father, Like Son"			October 23, 1985 (1985-10-23)
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 (1985-10-30)
The children are upset when Charlie talks of making out a will following a brush with death.
8	"Operation Richmond"			November 6, 1985 (1985-11-06)
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 (1985-11-13)
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 (1985-11-27)
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 (1985-12-04)
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 (1985-12-11)
Charlie's looking forward to spending Christmas with his family, but Junior and Lauren have other ideas.
13	"Beaus and Arrows"			December 25, 1985 (1985-12-25)
Diana's old college boyfriend returns.
14	"Here's Rachel"			January 28, 1986 (1986-01-28)
Della Reese joins the cast as Aunt Rachel.
15	"Rachel and the Stranger"			April 25, 1986 (1986-04-25)
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 (1986-05-02)
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 (1986-05-09)
Bored with school, Junior decides to join the Army.
18	"Rent and Rave"			Unaired
The Richmonds face a rent increase.

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	-

Reunion of Knight and White

In March 2012, over 25 years after the series' cancelation, Gladys Knight and Jaleel White would reunite on-screen as competing contestants on the spring 2012 season of Dancing with the Stars.

External links

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