227(TV series)

Not to be confused with22/7 (TV series).

227is an Americansitcomtelevision series that originally aired onNBCfrom September 14, 1985, to May 6, 1990. The series, created byC.J. BanksandBill Boulware,starsMarla Gibbsas Mary Jenkins, a sharp-tongued, city resident gossip and housewife. Other main characters include her husband Lester (Hal Williams), their daughter Brenda (Regina King), landlady Rose Holloway (Alaina Reed Hall), and neighbors Sandra Clark (Jackée Harry) and Pearl Shay (Helen Martin).

227
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	C.J. Banks Bill Boulware
Based on	Two Twenty Seven byChristine Houston
Developed by	Jack Elinson
Starring	Marla Gibbs Hal Williams Alaina Reed Hall Jackée Harry Helen Martin Regina King Kia Goodwin Curtis Baldwin Countess Vaughn Toukie A. Smith Stoney Jackson Barry Sobel Paul Winfield
Theme music composer	Ray Colcord
Opening theme	"There's No Place Like Home", performed by Marla Gibbs
Composer	Ray Colcord
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	5
No.of episodes	116(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Perry Grant(1985–1986) Dick Bensfield(1985–1987, 1988) George Burditt(1987–1988) Ron Bloomberg (1987–1988) Jack Elinson(1985–1987) Irma Kalish(1988–1990)
Producers	Richard Gurman (1985–1987) Bob Myer (1985–1986) Ronald Rubin (1987–1988) Larry Spencer (1989–1990) Roxie Wenk-Evans (1986–1989, 1990) Bob Young(1985–1986)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Embassy Television(1985–1986; season 1) Embassy Communications(1986–1987; seasons 2–3) ELP Communications(1988–1990; seasons 3–5) Columbia Pictures Television(1988–1990; seasons 3–5)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 14, 1985(1985-09-14)– May 6, 1990(1990-05-06)

Origins

The series was adapted fromTwo Twenty Seven,a stage play written in 1978 byChristine Houstonabout the lives of women in a predominantly black apartment building in 1950sChicago.The setting of the series, however, was changed to present-dayWashington, D.C.The show was created as a starring vehicle forMarla Gibbs,who had become famous as Florence Johnston, the maid onThe Jeffersons,and had starred in Houston's play in Los Angeles. This role was similar in nature to that of tart-tongued Florence; Gibbs's character, housewife Mary Jenkins, loved a good gossip and often spoke what she thought, with sometimes not-so-favorable results. (Gibbs was also credited as a "creative consultant" for the series.)

According to Gibbs,227was originally offered to ABC but sold to NBC. SinceThe Jeffersonswas still on the air on CBS, the new show was scheduled to begin in 1986. However, whenThe Jeffersonswas abruptly and unexpectedly canceled in 1985, Gibbs was free to begin, and227went into production a year earlier than had been previously planned.

Synopsis

227followed the lives of people in a middle-class apartment building, 227 Lexington Place (the numerical address from which the sitcom's name comes), inNortheast,Washington, D.C.The show was centered around Mary Jenkins (Marla Gibbs), a nosy and tart-tongued but loving housewife. Her husband, Lester (Hal Williams), had his own construction company, and their daughter, Brenda (Regina King,in her first television acting role), was boy-crazy yet smart and studious.

Also cast in227was Sandra Clark (Jackée Harry), Mary's younger neighbor who constantly bickered back and forth with her about their respective views on life. While Mary was a happily married housewife with a stable lifestyle, Sandra was a stylish, loose, man-hungry, somewhat ditzy diva, and a serial dater who dressed provocatively. Although their relationship was antagonistic at first, Mary and Sandra became good friends as time went on. Also living in the building was Pearl Shay (Helen Martin), a feisty but kind-hearted busybody neighbor who was known for snooping and had a sharp sense of humor. Pearl had a grandson named Calvin Dobbs (Curtis Baldwin), whom Brenda had a crush on and would finally date later in the series' run.

Rose Lee Holloway (Alaina Reed Hall) was Mary's level-headed best friend and often the voice of reason among 227's residents. She and Mary were often seen sitting on the front stoop of the building, exchanging rumors and gossip, with Pearl adding sly commentary and humor from her front window. Rose had a daughter named Tiffany (Kia Goodwin), who was Brenda's closest friend, but the child actor's mother was unhappy in California, so she was let out of her contract and written out of the series after the second season,although she was mentioned occasionally. In the premiere episode, Rose became the unexpectedlandlordof the building after the building's stingyslumlordMr. Calloway died. Rose stayed on as landlady until the fourth season (for season five,Paul Winfieldwas introduced as the building's new snide, wealthy landlord Julian C. Barlow).

In the first season, both Helen Martin and Curtis Baldwin, who had only been recurring stars, appeared in nearly every episode. From season 2 onward, they were upped to series regulars.

By the time taping started on the third season in 1987, Jackée Harry, who had just won anEmmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress,changed her stage name to simply Jackée, which she used until 1994. In the fourth season, an 11-year-old child prodigy named Alexandria DeWitt (Countess Vaughn) became the Jenkinses' houseguest. Vaughn received her role after she appeared onStar Searchand declared to hostEd McMahonthat her favorite show was227.However, Alexandria left during Calvin's graduation episode near the end of season four to reunite with her father, who, after completing his archaeological dig in the Amazon, had moved to London to catalogue his items.

After the fourth season, Jackée'stelevision pilot,titled "Jackée",found Sandra moving to New York City and finding work at a spa.NBCaired the episode on May 11, 1989. The pilot was rejected, and Jackée left the show; however, she was a guest star in seven of the final season's episodes.

In the show's final season,Toukie Smith,Barry Sobel,Stoney Jackson,Kevin Peter Hall,andPaul Winfieldjoined the cast in an effort to stop the show's declining ratings. In the end, the cast additions proved fruitless, and227ended its run in the spring of 1990.

Cast

Actor	Character	Seasons
		1	2	3	4	5
Marla Gibbs	Mary Hurley Jenkins	Main
Hal Williams	Lester Jenkins	Main
Alaina Reed Hall	Rose Lee Holloway (later Merriwether)	Main
Jackée Harry	Sandra Clark	Main				Special Guest
Regina King	Brenda Jenkins	Main
Kia Goodwin	Tiffany Holloway	Main	Recurring
Helen Martin	Pearl Shay	Recurring	Main
Curtis Baldwin	Calvin Dobbs	Recurring	Main
Countess Vaughn	Alexandria DeWitt				Main
Barry Sobel	Dylan McMillan				Recurring	Main
Toukie A. Smith	Eva Rawley				Guest	Main
Stoney Jackson	Travis Filmore					Main
Paul Winfield	Julian C. Barlow					Main
Reynaldo Rey	Ray the Mailman		Recurring
Kevin Peter Hall	Warren Merriwether					Recurring

Episodes

Main article:List of 227 episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired		Rank	Rating
			First aired	Last aired
1	22		September 14, 1985(1985-09-14)	May 3, 1986(1986-05-03)	20	18.8
2	22		October 4, 1986(1986-10-04)	May 30, 1987(1987-05-30)	14	18.9
3	24		September 26, 1987(1987-09-26)	May 7, 1988(1988-05-07)	27	16.3
4	24		October 8, 1988(1988-10-08)	May 13, 1989(1989-05-13)	35	14.5
5	24		September 23, 1989(1989-09-23)	May 6, 1990(1990-05-06)	60	11.5

Ratings

With the exception ofThe Cosby ShowandA Different World,227achieved higher ratings than other sitcoms airing at the time with a predominantlyAfrican-Americancast during the first two seasons of its original run on NBC.

• 1985–1986: #20 (18.80 rating)
• 1986–1987: #14 (18.90 rating)
• 1987–1988: #27 (16.44 rating)
• 1988–1989: #35 (14.47 rating)
• 1989–1990: #60 (11.53 rating)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
1987	BMI Film & TV Awards	BMI TV Music Award	Ray Colcord	Won
1987	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Jackée Harry	Won
1988				Nominated
1989	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
1989	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress	Regina King	Nominated
1985	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series		Nominated
1986		Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Long Running Series – Comedy or Drama		Nominated
		Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series – Comedy or Drama	Curtis Baldwin	Nominated
1989		Best Young Actress in a Featured, Co-Starring, Supporting, Recurring Role in a Comedy or Drama Series or Special	Countess Vaughn	Nominated

Series syndication

NBC aired daytime reruns of227from September 1989 to July 1990. The show went intosyndicationin the fall of 1990. It has previously aired on cable'sBET,TV One,TV Land,Centric,andUP(formerly GMC).Selectedminisodesfrom the first season are available to view for free onCrackle.227(alongsideAmen) aired onEncore Blackfrom November 12, 2013, to November 30, 2015. The show is owned and distributed by Sony Pictures Television.227aired back-to-back episodes onLogostarting at midnight onNew Year's Day2016. In January 2017, the series began airing onAntenna TV;in 2021 it began airing on sister networkRewind TV.The series started airing onOWNweekend nights starting December 2, 2017.

InCanada,227is available online, broadcast, and on demand byCTV.In theUK,the series has previously aired onBBC One,Sky One,ITV,Sky LivingandChannel 4.

The series became available to stream onAmazon Prime Videoon July 15, 2021and onHuluon May 23, 2022.

Home media

On September 28, 2004,Columbia TriStar Home Entertainmentreleased the complete first season of227onDVDin Region 1.

On February 7, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the first season on DVD in Region 1.

External links

• 227atIMDb
• 227atepguides.com