About The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1979 to 1988. Created by Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon, it began as a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes, carrying over the character of housekeeper Edna Garrett, played by Charlotte Rae. In the new series Mrs. Garrett takes a position as housemother at the Eastland School, a fictional all-girls boarding school in Peekskill, New York, where she looks after a group of students navigating adolescence.
The first season featured a large ensemble of girls, but the show was retooled for its second season to focus on four central students: wealthy and image-conscious Blair Warner, tough working-class Jo Polniaczek, gossipy and boy-crazy Tootie Ramsey, and food-loving, good-natured Natalie Green. With Mrs. Garrett as their mentor and surrogate parent, the series followed the quartet through school years, jobs, and early adulthood, often using its comedic format to address topical issues facing young people.
As the characters aged, the setting evolved beyond Eastland. Mrs. Garrett opened a gourmet shop called Edna's Edibles, which later became a novelty store named Over Our Heads, giving the young women a workplace and the show a fresh backdrop. In its final seasons, after Charlotte Rae departed, Cloris Leachman joined the cast as Beverly Ann Stickle to continue the maternal role. One of the longest-running sitcoms of the 1980s, The Facts of Life remains a touchstone of the era's coming-of-age television.