Why '227' paved the way for the best family sitcoms that came after

The sitcom “227” premiered 35 years ago this past September. The NBC comedy, which aired for five seasons, starred Marla Gibbs, fresh off her run as the feisty maid Florence on “The Jeffersons,” as Mary Jenkins, a gossipy housewife living in a Washington, D.C., apartment building filled with all sorts of zany characters.The sitcom revolved around the Black tenants in the building, and while it may be easy to label “227” a Black comedy, its appeal transcended skin color.

“It was somebody they could relate to, even in their own family or their own neighborhood,” she said. "I just came in and I wanted to be something different, so I had my girlfriend's voice, Valjean Dean, from high school and Mae West and Lucille Ball. I just put them all together," Harry said about her audition during a 2010"227" reunion on TODAY.

Top, from left, Curtis Baldwin, Marla Gibbs, Hal Williams, Regina King, Kia Goodwin; Front, Jackee Harry, Helen Martin, Alaina Reed, cast of 227 circa 1987.“227” came at a time when Black family comedies were changing. “The Jeffersons” had set the stage for an affluent Black family on the small screen during its 11-season run. “The Cosby Show,” which premiered a year before"227," focused on an affluent family and became the top-rated show in America for five consecutive seasons.

“When we did one of the appearances for ‘227,’ we were at the airport and a white couple ran up to Helen and they said, ‘You’re doing us! You’re doing us!’ So, they really connected and they weren’t even Black,” she said. “I wanted the show to be authentic about a loving family who were in the neighborhood and who went to public school and did all those things.

NBCBLK JOE BIDEN AND HIS SON ARE CRIMINALS

NBCBLK What a cast TV tvtime

NBCBLK How true how true I watched it back then.

NBCBLK 227 was the best!

NBCBLK Can anyone imagine 'NBCWHITE?'

NBCBLK More racist propaganda from NBC....

NBCBLK One of the best ones yet

NBCBLK Loved this show - wish Pearl who was always im the window were still alive

NBCBLK I’ve seen each episode 227 times. Great show

NBCBLK Marla Gibbs must have made the successful transition from The Jefferson's to 227!

NBCBLK Yes, yes it did.

NBCBLK

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