Charlie & Co.

Charlie & Co.
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Allan Katz
Starring	Flip Wilson Gladys Knight Kristoff St. John Fran Robinson Jaleel White Della Reese
Theme music composer	Merald "Bubba" Knight Gladys Knight Sam Dees
Opening theme	"Family", performed by Gladys Knight
Composer	Perry Botkin, Jr.
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	18 (1 unaired)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Allan Katz Productions Bob Henry Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	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's 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-in-law, Aunt Rachel.

CBS canceled the series in May 1986.

Cast

• Flip Wilson as Charles "Charlie" Richmond
• Gladys Knight as Diana Richmond
• Kristoff St. John as Charlie "Junior" Richmond, Jr.
• Fran Robinson as Lauren Richmond
• Jaleel White as Robert Richmond
• Della Reese as Aunt Rachel (1986)
• Ray Girardin as Walter Simpson
• Richard Karron as Milton Bieberman
• Kip King as Ronald Sandler
• Terence McGovern as Jim Coyle
• Eddie Velez as Miguel Santana

Episodes

#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate
1	"Pilot"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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?"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	December 25, 1985 (1985-12-25)
Diana's old college boyfriend returns.
14	"Here's Rachel"	Unknown	Unknown	January 28, 1986 (1986-01-28)
Della Reese joins the cast as Aunt Rachel.
15	"Rachel and the Stranger"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	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"	Unknown	Unknown	May 9, 1986 (1986-05-09)
Bored with school, Junior decides to join the Army.
18	"Rent and Rave"	TBD	TBD	Unaired
The Richmonds face a rent increase.

Awards and 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	-

External links

• Template:Tv.com show
• Charlie & Co. at IMDb
• Charlie & Co. at epguides.com