BURBANK, Calif. (Aug. 7, 2006) — NBC will revisit one of television’s most popular comedy series — “Diff’rent Strokes” — with a movie that serves as a cautionary tale about the tragedies and challenges facing the child stars of the sitcom.
“Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of ‘Diff’rent Strokes,’” premieres on Monday, Sept. 4.
Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges participated in the movie and will also appear in on-camera interviews.
The movie not only takes viewers behind the scenes of the popular sitcom, but also follows the lives of Coleman, Bridges and fellow star Dana Plato in the years after the series went off the air as their personal lives spiraled downward.
The pitfalls of child stardom also will be a theme of the movie.
“Diff’rent Strokes” premiered on NBC on November 3, 1978 and ended its run in 1986.
Coleman and Bridges starred as Arnold and Willis Jackson, respectively — two orphaned children from Harlem who were adopted by wealthy businessman Philip Drummond.
The brothers’ sudden lifestyle change from poverty to the penthouse made the comedy an instant hit for NBC.
Bobb’e J Thompson (”The Tracy Morgan Show”) plays the young Coleman while Verda Bridges, Bridges’ real-life sister, portrays Bridges’ mother.
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