In 2019, Jimmy Kimmel teamed up with TV legend Norman Lear to create Live In Front of a Studio Audience, in which a bunch of A-list celebrities recreated classic sitcom episodes from the ‘70s. They kicked it off with reenactments of All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Good Times, and won two Emmy Awards for their efforts. Now, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter, they’re coming back for a one-night live event featuring episodes of ’80s family sitcom classics Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life.
Kimmel announced the event on Thursday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live and teased that Kevin Hart will be playing the role of Arnold “Whatchu talking ’bout, Willis?” Drummond (originally played by Gary Coleman), while Damon Wayans will play the aforementioned Willis (Todd Bridges’ part), with John Lithgow as their adoptive dad. The Handmaid’s Tale’s Ann Dowd will take over for Charlotte Rae for The Facts of Life, while who will be playing the girls of Eastland is yet to be announced.
“Other than with my family, there’s no place I’d rather be in my 100th year than on a soundstage at Sony with these glorious actors reliving what our company had produced all those years ago and sharing it with the millions of viewers who could use a little laughter,” Lear, who celebrated his 99th year on this planet on July 27, said in a statement.
Live In Front of a Studio Audience will air on ABC on December 7, 2021.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)