A nouveau riche, African-American family who move into a luxury apartment building develop close, if occasionally fractious, relationships with other tenants.
Genre: Comedy
Cast:Isabel Sanford , Sherman Hemsley , Roxie Roker , Franklin Cover , Marla Gibbs , Paul Benedict , Berlinda Tolbert , Zara Cully , Ned Wertimer , Damon Evans , Mike Evans , Jay Hammer , Danny Wells , Ernest Harden Jr. , Vernon Washington , Jack Fletcher , Garrett Morris , Irwin Keyes
George wants to hire a maid for his new luxury apartment, but Louise, having worked as a maid herself for many years, doesn't feel comfortable with the idea.
Talk of ancestry doesn't interest George, who believes the past should remain in the past - until he learns that he was descended from African royalty.
Ever since the Jefferson hired Florence, Louise's life has been the same old routine and she craves a change, so she's interviewed by a businessman who invites her to work for him. Initially Louise feels upbeat about working, but then she realizes that her new boss is George's business rival.
Lionel spends time with high-society people at a party, thinking that he is "making it to the top." Therefore, he threatens to quit school indefinitely, much to the dismay of Louise.
George likes the idea of boosting his classy, luxurious image, so he asks Louise to purchase a piano for their home, despite knowing that no one around can play one. George later becomes positive that the piano will impress Mr. Whittendale, a wealthy banker he always wanted to meet, but the piano purchased turns out to be far too big for the apartment.
George's old friend, Monk Davis, pays him a visit, demanding hush money George has been paying him for years to keep a crime the two committed a secret from Louise and Lionel.
Louise's Uncle Ward visits the Jeffersons, but George derisively refers to him as an "Uncle Tom" for having worked as a butler for many years.
Louise tells George that his mother and her boyfriend of two weeks are thinking about marrying and moving to Florida. George thinks that the man is a fortune-hunter trying to go through Mother Jefferson to get George's money.
Publicity-seeker George learns that a newspaper reporter is planning a series of articles on successful African-American businessmen, but his decision to invite the reporter to a party backfires when the reporter finds far more interesting subjects: Mr. Bentley and the Willises.
Goerge comes home with an ulcer, and in order for him to feel normal and healthy again, Louise is advised to take every one of his wishes as her command.
Two last-minute invitations collide: George invites business magnate Coleman Harris to dinner on the same night that Louise invites their earthy former neighbors Roy & Natalie Simms.
When Lionel comes on like his father, sparks start flying between him and Jenny. George makes matters worse by touching off fireworks between Jenny's parents, Tom and Helen.
Jenny gives her brother an ice-cold reception when he suddenly appears after a two-year absence. George is the only one who understands Jenny's strange behavior and, unfortunately, he makes no bones about saying so.
It is Harry Bentley's birthday, and the Jeffersons have invited him and the Willises over for a dinner party. But the occasion turns sour when Tom shows up wearing the same tuxedo as George, causing George to become jealous. Meanwhile, Helen is trying to hide the fact that she was mugged a few days earlier, and if Tom knows about this he will surely move his family out of New York City.
George and Louise decide to take a cruise for their first-ever vacation, but then have to figure out how to tell Mother Jefferson that she's not invited.
A young woman shows up at the Jeffersons', claiming that she is Louise's long-lost daughter. Louise and George deny her claims, but Mother Jefferson brings up the disturbing news that Louise dated a man years ago while George was in Korea--and that man is the young woman's father.
Harry Bentley's new girlfriend Daphne appears to be insinuating her way into his life, much to his chagrin. Meanwhile, George plots to bribe the building inspector.
Upset that George, Louise, and Lionel aren't paying attention to her while she's visiting their apartment, Mother Jeffersons fakes a fall to command their attention.
George and Louise's anniversary bicycle ride leads to a minor collision and a legal summons for George. But Louise insists on telling the truth rather than corroborating George's ethically shaky account of the incident.
Mother Jefferson is upset over an encounter with an elevator masher, who turns out to be Tom Willis' elderly Uncle Bertram, a retired firefighter in town to visit his relatives.
George feels that his fortunes are taking a turn for the worse when his business is making less profit and his banker won't return his calls.
George is all excited about being invited to speak in front of some youths about his success at what he believes is a college--until he discovers that he's supposed to speak in the Harlem neighborhood where they used to live, to a gang Lionel used to run with as a teen. Later, his fears are justified when the gang loots his delivery van. Charles, a social worker, and Lionel, who is able to retrieve the van from his former friend Ronnie, the gang leader, finally persuade George to speak to the youths.
Jenny's stubborn grandfathers won't set foot in the Willis apartment because of Tom and Helen's mixed marriage, so Jenny and Louise try to orchestrate a meeting on neutral ground - in the Jefferson apartment. But how will George react?
George's Navy pal, Wendell Brown, pays him a visit. However, Wendell is more interested in getting fresh with Louise than in reminiscing old times with George.
When the manager of one of George's stores quits, longtime employee Emily campaigns to replace him. But George shows his male chauvinism by refusing to consider her because she is a female.
During a severe snowstorm, Lionel accidentally dents George's company van, but he won't tell him because he took it without his father's permission. But George later thinks that he himself dented the van in a hit-and-run he thinks he caused.
Mother Jefferson expects George to take her to their monthly lunch date, to the dismay of Louise because she wants George to accompany her to a family friend's funeral on the same day.
When George finds out that Lionel turned down a well-paying engineering job, he hits the roof. The resulting late-night argument expands to Tom and Helen Willis' apartment upstairs.
Lionel comes home in a fury and informs his parents that his English professor is forcing him to rewrite a term paper and make it flawless - or else he will get a failing grade and therefore cannot graduate. George, wanting to see his son be the first Jefferson to graduate college, pays a freelance writer to write that term paper instead and expects Lionel to just turn that one in. While the Willises and Louise thinks that is a bad idea, Lionel likes it, and this results in an argument between the two families and soon a break-up.
Three days have passed after the Jeffersons and the Willises have broken up, and George is the only one who's happy about the situation. He meets a foxy lady at his cleaning store and decides to invite her to meet Lionel--a clear attempt to make sure Lionel and Jenny will separate for good. Unfortunately, despite Bentley's warning, George doesn't realize that the woman is a "working girl."
Florence shows out-of-character actions one day, including cleaning the Jeffersons' entire apartment without griping and giving Louise a prized possession of hers. As a result, Louise suspects that Florence is contemplating suicide.
Mother Jefferson visits George, Louise, and Lionel on her birthday, expecting them to throw her a surprise party. After they realize that they've forgotten about her big day, they scramble to put together the celebration for which Mother Jefferson is anxiously waiting.
To George's disgruntlement, Louise is offered to write a cookbook.
George and Louise accept an invitation to dinner with Harry Bentley and his sister, but at the last minute George realizes that he got invited to a party hosted by Mr. Whittendale, and he would rather blow off the engagement with Bentley and attend Whittendale's gathering.
Lionel becomes drunk on his graduation day, fearing that he will not live up to being as successful as his father.
George accepts Judge Markel's invitation to join the all-white Windsor Tennis Club for networking purposes, then finds out he was only invited to be the club's "token minority" and appease the local media.
George and Louise plan to renew their wedding vows. But then George enrages Louise by failing to treat her as an equal partner in their marriage.
In order to drum up business during the American Bicentennial, George claims to be a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings.
After Florence has been evicted from her apartment (which is scheduled to be torn down), Louise allows her to move in. Big problem....George, who is tired of Florence's sass, has not been consulted on the matter.
George is opening a new store. But his strange behavior, coupled with Louise jumping to conclusions about a love letter sent to Harry Bentley, lead her to think that George is actually committing adultery.
On his first day at his new job, Lionel is expected to submit to a polygraph test and then quits because he feels the test is a violation of his privacy.
George studies for his high school diploma after discovering that Lionel told his friends that his father graduated college with honors, hopefully to hide his shame.
George is excited when a major corporation makes an offer to buy him out and keep him on as management. However, as part of the buyout, he must force a long-time employee and friend into early retirement.
George and Louise are initially upset when Lionel announces he will be moving out. Their anger worsens when he announces that he'll be moving in with Jenny.
While having a drink in Charlie's bar, George chokes on some popcorn. Tom leaves a neighboring table to perform the Heimlich maneuver and save George's life. But George isn't as grateful as he should be.
Jenny's premarital jitters about whether or not she loves Lionel enough to marry him are put to the test when he, George, and Tom go to a football game and may have been seriously injured in a charter bus accident en route.
After Bentley explains the concept of prenuptial agreements to George and Louise, George then suggests that Lionel talk Jenny into signing one. This leads to a rift between Lionel and Jenny.
An argument over a "no guests" rule prompts Florence to quit her job.
Lionel and Jenny plan to get married on Christmas, even though the minister they choose doesn't meet George's criteria for religious denomination or skin color.
Despite trying to improve her memory, Louise forgets to call George's broker about a stock tip that George got from Ralph, and she's scared of how George will react. Meanwhile, Florence has an altercation with a fellow elevator passenger.
Bentley has issues with a grouchy man at the parking garage, and George advises him to be more aggressive with people during disagreements so he won't be pushed around. George's advice only gets Bentley a black eye. George taunts him for being a coward, and Bentley decides to toughen up and he punches a man's lights out. Unfortunately, the man is a police officer.
Louise is concerned when George takes lessons to become an airplane pilot.
One of the members of George's old street gang called "The Seven Saints" passes on. Upset that he has not kept in touch with his old friends, he invites the remaining members of his group over to his apartment for a reunion.
George invites Frank Howard, a man he hopes to do business with--and who is in an interracial marriage--to his apartment to meet his "dear friends" Tom and Helen to show Frank that he is not prejudiced towards interracial couples. But Tom and Helen walk out on him and he asks Florence and Ralph to pose as the Willises.
When Lionel gets sick, Louise and Jenny fuss over who is responsible to take care of him.
Tom & Helen have brought the romance back into their marriage. Louise now wants to try the same thing with George, who is reluctant to do the necessary work.
Louise studies French in night school and befriends a tall, dark, handsome male classmate, leading George to feel jealous and suspect that the man wants more than just friendship from Louise.
Mother Jefferson invites George's old girlfriend, Harriet Johnson, over to his apartment for dinner. Sensing the opportunity, Harriet wants George to keep her as her mistress.
Jenny wins a summer scholarship to Oxford University and faces a three-month separation from Lionel, whose conflicting feelings about it lead to a disagreement among them and all four of their parents.
George's ulterior motive for pledging money to open a Harlem youth center is to qualify for a community service award. But will he still make good on his pledge even if he loses the award to a competitor?
Louise feels oddly down after her 100% perfect physical exam. Meanwhile, her loved ones are planning a surprise birthday party.
George's celebration of opening Jefferson Cleaners' new corporate office is subdued when two crooks call, stating they have kidnapped Louise and demanding a $100,000 for her safe return.
George frantically raises the ransom money for Louise's kidnappers, unaware who is actually in their clutches.
George is excited to learn that an old Navy pal is in town and wants her to come to his hotel for a visit. However, his old pal has a big surprise for George: she is actually a trans woman called Edie and has transitioned since they last met. Meanwhile, confusion with Edie's name leads Louise to believe that George is having an affair with Edie.
George hires Marcus from Louise's youth center to work in one of the cleaning stores, but Marcus quickly steals an expensive suede jacket that belongs to one of George's best customers.
To ensure that his legacy will be known for generations to come, George has a bust made out of his likeness.
Louise is hoping that Fay Blanchard, the director of the Neighborhood Help Center, will appoint her as editor of the center's newsletter. However, when Fay meets Helen and is impressed with her credentials, she gives Helen the job instead.
Florence receives unexpected visits from her parents, who have come to tell her that they have decided to divorce after decades of marriage.
Marcus never got to go camping as a child. Louise persuades George to take him without realizing that Mother Jefferson is slated to come over. So George dumps his mother on Louise and takes Marcus camping.
Louise is convinced that her marital stability rests on the presence of her wedding corsage inside a book. But when the corsage turns up missing, Louise's imagination runs wild.
Louise's new interest involves doing office work at a museum. But when an archaeologist invites her on a weekend dig where they will be the only ones present, suspicions arise.
Before a costume party, George tells Florence to spill grape juice on a prospective client's pirate suit so that George can substitute a duplicate suit and pretend it's the original suit cleaned in record time. But things go wrong.
George feigns interest in horse-racing to impress client Curt Hendricks, who is charmed by Florence's insults to George and invites Florence to join him in Las Vegas for a weekend.
Workaholic George neglects Louise, so Tom suggests that George hire a general manager to help ease the load. Florence coaches qualified applicant Clarence on how to schmooze with George and ace the interview.
Marcus meets customer Natalie Parker at Jefferson's Cleaners and tells her he is George's son so she would date him. However, when Natalie meets George and tells him she is dating his son, George thinks Lionel is having an affair.
At Christmastime, Louise discovers that George has been sending monthly payments to an address in Harlem.
When the lease on the Jeffersons' apartment is about to expire, H.L. Whittendale is thinking about renting the apartment to close friends of his. Worried about losing their home, George and Louise invite Mr. Whittendale over for a drink and social hour, hoping to gain his friendship. However, the man they invited over turns out to be H.L.'s brother, R.S. Whittendale.
When Lionel gets laid off from his job, George hires him to work in his office. However, Lionel turns out to be trouble when he started spending company money on material things like new furniture and employee blazers.
During a city-wide blackout, George and Marcus make a trip to one of the cleaning stores in a bad part of town in order to prevent possible looting. But the mission goes from bad to worse.
Florence and the other maids in the building decide to form a union. Louise supports the idea, but George opposes the idea because Mr. Whittendale does, too.
As a publicity gimmick for his store, George tries to get President Carter to stay at the Jeffersons', but after a phone call to the White House degenerates into an argument, the Secret Service interprets George's comments as a threat to the President.
Tom wants to start his own publishing firm but doesn't have collateral and asks George to cosign a loan. But after enduring another verbal battle with George, Helen finds out and vehemently objects.
George and Louise's troublesome nephew, Raymond, comes to visit from Chicago.
A burglar breaks into the Jeffersons' apartment and ties up George and Louise. As the burglar goes about his work, the couple are left to reminisce about their past. This episode includes clips from both "The Jeffersons" and "All in the Family."
George and Louise, still tied up in the kitchen, recall and talk about past times while the burglar's still at work robbing their apartment.
Along with talking about old times, the Jeffersons reflect on how lucky they are to be alive, have each other, their son Lionel and good friends. ..and wonder if that burglar will ever finish.
Jenny goes to the ghetto to write a thesis about gang violence. There, she meets a 12 year old boy who is already a veteran gang member.
George hits the roof when he sees Louise's sketch of a nude male model she drew at Helen's art class.
Tom's father dies and leaves a warehouse to Allan, with the specific condition that he must not sell it to anyone on his father's side of the family. Meanwhile, the Help Center can't afford a rent increase, and George's laundry presser has raised his prices.
George invites Allan to stay in his apartment, not letting him know of his ulterior motive: getting the warehouse.
George asks an old Navy buddy, Cornelius X. Mayflower, to help expedite the approval process for some necessary licenses for the Help Center.
George dreams it's 1996 - his friends and his wife are commemorating the silver anniversary of his first store (and he now has twenty), but he's dead.
George hires Roy Crandall, a former ventriloquist, as his new stockbroker. When his old stockbroker tells him that Roy spent time in a mental hospital, he regrets this and tries to stop Florence from going out with the man.
Louise wants a celebrity to talk to the kids at the Help Center, so George suggests Billy Dee Williams, who is in town making a movie. He calls him up, pretending to be author Alex Haley, and asks Ralph to find a lookalike in case he can't get the real thing. Florence is excited at first, but when Ralph returns with the name of a celebrity lookalike agency, she assumes that the man coming to the apartment is an impersonator.
George is up for a nomination as a member of the Board of Directors of his bank. When the Bank President's daughter takes an interest in Alan, he tries to keep them apart.
George's cousin Dusty needs a new kidney, and since his brother Bob has diabetes, George is the closest possible match.
Louise suffers amnesia following a bump to her head. George, Florence and their friends try to restore Weezie's memory by reenacting favorite and fun moments from her past.
Harry Bentley is stuck with an insufferable lady houseguest and when George Jefferson volunteers to get him unstuck, he winds up sticking Bentley with something worse.
George finds out a disturbing secret about his mother from his guardian during the Christmas holiday.
George and friends want to surprise Louise after her sister Maxine, whom she hasn't seen in years, visits from Paris. However, when Louise sees her sister, she gets furious.
When Louise finds out about a new clause in George's will, she almost gives him cause to use it.
George's problems in the bedroom send him on a panicked search for solutions, from some of the most unlikely sources.
Florence meets her new boyfriend, Buzz Thatcher at church, and brings him home to meet Louise and George. However, Buzz is a religious fanatic and a control freak, and when he asks Florence to marry him, Louise thinks Florence is putting herself in a dangerous situation.
Louise's charity work might win her a special award, if George's "donation" to a politician doesn't ruin her chances.
George gets caught between his morals and his money when his efforts to increase his take on a business deal turn him into an unlikely neighborhood hero.
The first casualty from George and Louise's vicious verbal battle could be the interviewer interested in their "perfect marriage."
Louise's plan to spend more time with George backfires when he catches "disco fever" and goes dancing every night.
There's foul play afoot when George tries to duck out of celebrating his wedding anniversary with Louise and she tries to duck out of town to attend a convention.
Jenny reveals to her parents that she is pregnant; however, George and Louise are initially upset because they learned Jenny chose not to tell them.
George is in ego heaven; he's been chosen as "The Midtown Small Businessman of the Year" -- but Louise soon discovers the group's shortcomings.
Florence decides to impersonate Louise and the result is a three-ring circus. While Louise lingers, uncertain about keeping a 35-year-old "date" with her first boyfriend, Florence seizes the chance to be "Mrs. Jefferson" and keeps it herself.
It's Halloween and everyone is dressing up as their favorite movie stars; but instead of treats it becomes a night of tricks when Louise witnesses a man dressed like a rabbit killing someone.
While George and the others are gathered in the bar waiting for the costume contest to start; Louise has a face to face confrontation in her apartment with the killer rabbit who's now planning to make her his second victim.
The discovery of an unfulfilled request in his father's will--to be buried next to his wife--leads George on an unusual search into his forgotten past, but his attempt to grant his father's last request is complicated by the 40 years that have passed since his death.
The Jeffersons and Willises are shocked when "expectant father" Lionel storms out of the apartment to pursue a boyhood dream. Lionel's mysterious actions make sense to no one except George -- who had spent a similar night of his own.
George's big mouth and matching ego are hurriedly humbled when he is challenged to display his boxing ability. Having volunteered to help Marcus in the art of self-defense, George has a verbal, soon-to-be physical, run-in at the gym.
All the preparations for Jenny's baby leave Florence wanting a child to bolster her own womanhood and sends her "husband hunting." Florence joins a dating club to find a man to help her start a family.
Louise and Florence get into an argument over pettiness after Louise discovered an error in a plaque she had Florence take to an engraver.
Louise is excited when a children's program sponsored by the Neighborhood Help Center is allowing her to have an orphan girl, Abby, stay with her for a week. But when Abby acts like George after meeting him, she is sent right back to the center.
George's attempts to get out of a painting party at the Willises' get him into plenty of trouble at a state mental hospital, where he goes crazy trying to convince everyone that he's sane. The only one who knows that George is being held by mistake is another patient.
Louise is racked with guilt after one of the youths she is trying to help at the Neighborhood Help Center attempts suicide.
When friends from Helen's high school days make Tom feel out of place in his own hone, he makes the mistake of turning to George for help.
George and Louise discover Lionel and Jenny will go to Boston if he gets a new job. Meanwhile, when Tom Willis has the flu, so George has to take, nearly 9 months pregnant Jenny, to Lamaza class. After class ends Jenny goes into labor .
The family has eagerly awaited the arrival of the newest Jefferson, but the baby may catch everyone off-guard as George frantically tries to get Jenny to the hospital while trying to get word to Lionel that his wife's in labor, in the conclusion of a two-part story.
George brags he's found the perfect gift for Jenny and Lionel's baby shower, but fails to notice that what they really need can't be bought and packaged.
The guys (George, Tom, and Lionel) are convinced taking care of a baby is child's play, but when the gals (Louise, Helen, Jenny, and Florence) leave newborn Jessica in their care, they soon discover it's a whole different ball game.
It is George's 50th birthday and he thinks that none of his friends want to celebrate with him. However, Louise have secretly invited all of his friends to he apartment building for a surprise party.
George and Louise have idyllic plans for their 30th anniversary until Louise's jealousy leaves George alone in the path of temptation.
Lionel's loan on a new home does not go through; therefore, George, Louise, Tom and Helen secretly go to the banker behind each other's backs to co-sign the loan.
George puts his foot down to his landlord to gain more space for his cleaners, but only succeeds in stepping on a good friend; everyone is up-in-arms when they hear that their favorite hangout, Charley's Bar, is being forced out so someone can take over the space.
Flashback of the Jeffersons before moving to Hauser Street. George is determined to open his own dry cleaners, but is at odds with both his banker's racist attitudes and Lionel's militancy. He and Louise encourage Dr. King's nonviolence.
Anxious to receive call from a banker about a loan for inflationary times, George opts to stay and look after Jessica while the rest go to the theater to see a play, "Knights of the Longbow." To lull her to sleep, he spins a medieval tale of King George and Dark Knight Inflation.
Tom and George compete in a marathon to see who's in better physical shape. But a careless remark sparks competition between Helen and Louise.
George's doctor tells him that his blood pressure is too high and that he needs a vacation, while Tom and Helen are in Hawaii enjoying themselves enough to extend their stay for another week.
George, Louise, and Florence arrive in Hawaii, where he hides his blood pressure problem and they meet up with Tom and Helen. A native Hawaiian romances Florence. A fellow businessman convinces George to think about relocating permanently.
George, Louise, Helen, and Tom take part in a Polynesian show, but George leaves early to meet with someone about an oceanfront condominium deal. He then tries to interest Louise in a permanent relocation and is very friendly with Tom.
George and Tom are washed ashore during an angry storm.
Helen and Jenny talk Louise into a girls' night out at a local strip club. But Tom and George disapprove and go after them - with unexpected results.
Florence swallows her pride and borrows money from George when her shady cousin Ernie claims to need $1000 to buy a record store and turn his life around.
While playing Santa Claus at the Help Center, George promises to get ten-year-old orphan Billy his desired Christmas present: a pair of parents.
Against Lionel and Jenny's wishes, George and Louise enter Jessica in a baby contest - and misplace her in the process.
The cast spoofs the "Who Shot J.R." episode of Dallas when Florence writes a soap opera spoof centering on a ruthless dry cleaning tycoon who mistreats everyone in his orbit resulting in someone doing him an injury.
George wants to appear on a patriotic-themed TV show to publicize his community involvement, until he meets the host: an obnoxious, flag-waving, xenophobic bigot.
George and his business rival Cunningham are also rivals on their respective company bowling teams. So when George's best bowler can't make it, Tom Willis volunteers to substitute.
When The Jeffersons' new furniture for their living and dining room arrives, one of the delivery men informs Weezie that the block of buildings she grew up around in Harlem - including the building she lived in - will be demolished for new development. She then visits her old, abandoned apartment there one last time, while thinking about some of the times she spent there.
George attends a meeting that he wrongly assumes is dealing with crime in the building - it turns out to be an attempt to recruit members of the Ku Klux Klan.
When George accidentally stops a mugging, his boastful exaggerations about it backfire on him to his fright when the mugger escapes custody and threatens him.
George forgets Valentine's Day, angers Louise by handing her cash instead, and then tries to mollify her by persuading a local composer to write an original song for her.
George pledges a fortune to an exclusive men's club that he wants to join.
George tells his rude and classless employee, Wendell, to come up to his apartment, where George plans to fire him. However, while George is talking, Wendell collapses on the sofa and dies of a stroke.
George woos hotel magnate Arthur Claymore to get his business. But Claymore offers Florence a well-paying executive job that includes awarding dry cleaning contracts. So George selfishly tries to persuade her to accept the job.
In her new job with Arthur Claymore, Florence has to placate snotty manager Lyle Block by firing one of the maids for both goldbricking and stealing customers' tips from her colleagues.
With a young daughter and a job offer waiting in Japan, times should be happy for Lionel and Jenny Jefferson. But they're far from happy; in fact, they're so happy they've agreed to a separation. This sets none to well with the Jeffersons or the Willises, who are determined to get at the root of the matter ... or in George's case, meddle to the point where they have to get back together.
George's plan for getting unhappy spouses Lionel and Jenny back together: Hiring a marriage counselor and tricking his son and daughter-in-law to the apartment to an involuntary counseling session.
A newspaper article reveals that a man with the same name as Louise's father thwarted a crime. Since the man's picture and name are similar to those of Louise's presumed-dead father, George investigates.
George and Louise decide that they need a new maid to replace Florence. But each one hires an applicant without consulting the other first.
George feels down due to a mid-life crisis, so Louise tries to cheer him up by sending him flowers with a seductive anonymous note attached. George concludes that his bookkeeper Carol sent the flowers and is in love with him.
The Claymore Hotel burns down and leaves Florence unemployed, so she returns to ask for her old job back without realizing that Carmen has been hired to replace her.
Florence has found no job to return to but Louise decides that there can be 2 maids. Florence for her and Carmen for George. ...but do Carmen or Florence really know what they themselves want?
A near-death experience prompts George to work toward ensuring that his life and work inspire others, so he decides to write his autobiography - until a casual remark from Tom Willis gives him an even more pompous idea.
On Louise's birthday, George announces plans to build another store - by knocking down a playground used by the kids from the Help Center where Louise works.
George notices that Louise has been writing in her diary every night and, suspicious she might be hiding something, attempts to read it while Louise is away at work.
When George is denied an invite to a party attended by social-climbers because the host hates his guts, he goes to great lengths to take charm lessons and become more personable.
New neighbor Sammy Gilson the songwriter is upset and creatively blocked due to marital woes, so George tries to cheer him up but has an ulterior motive: he wants Sammy to write a winning publicity jingle for Jefferson Cleaners.
Self-absorbed Tom has been neglecting Helen, who has a business luncheon with a male colleague. George sees Helen with the other man, assumes she is cheating on Tom, and sets off a misunderstanding.
George tries to curry favor with Whittendale by dog-sitting his wife's vicious canine, but sabotages his own efforts by playing fetch carelessly, and then scrambles to explain the unintended outcome.
One of George's stores in Brooklyn catches fire and is heavily damaged. When faulty wiring is suspected, Tom encourages him to file an insurance claim and hold the man responsible for the bad wiring. Bad news: Lionel installed the wiring!
Preparations are underway for Jessica's baptism, so George jettisons Florence's gospel singers and impersonates a minister to recruit Andrae Crouch to officiate at the ceremony.
Lionel and Jenny's apartment is burglarized and looted. George worries that the crime wave will spread to his "deluxe apartment in the sky" and is determined to buy some insurance ... in the form of a gun. Louise totally objects, and is outraged when George goes behind her back to buy one. George finally realizes that a gun is a dangerous investment when little Jessica accidentally fires it and barely avoids shooting herself.
George and Tom raises their wives' ire by promoting their businesses in a chauvinist fashion, so Louise and Helen walk out on them for a week to punish them for their mistakes.
The Jeffersons' and Willises plan a surprise party for Florence, but their cover story hurts her feelings so badly that she skips the event and commiserates with Ralph over their mutual lowly-servant status.
One of the delivery boys at Jefferson Cleaners is robbed at gunpoint by a street gang ... made up entirely of female hoods. When George goes to confront the female gangsters, they easily subdue him and then stab him. While he is writhing in pain on the sidewalk, the girls help themselves to Louise's ring George was taking to have reset as an anniversary gift.
It turns out that George is OK and will recover, but while recuperating, he contemplates a plan to get Louise's ring back from The Strays (the all-female gang whose members nearly killed George), despite her objections. George decides to hatch his plan for revenge anyway, knowing full well that the consequences could be far more severe.
A record company talent scout hears Florence sing in church and offers her a chance to cut an album. But George gets suspicious and thinks the man is nothing but a common swindler out to take Florence's $1200 life savings.
Insufficient money for social programs at the Help Center tempts Louise and Helen to quit, until they meet a young prostitute who is being physically abused by her pimp.
Florence is having a string of bad luck with dates, so Louise plays Cupid for her when a police officer drops by collecting for charity and finds Florence attractive.
The cast plays in a Western spoof, with Florence as a waitress, Ralph an undertaker, George a gunslinger, and Louise a help counter proprietress. Tom is a bumbling cuckold who faces an outlaw that has come to steal brazen adulteress Helen.
George's competitor Blue Sky Cleaners is stealing his business. So George plans a wild promotion to get ahead, but Louise's attempt to help backfires and she becomes Blue Sky's one millionth customer.
Since he's losing ground to Blue Sky Cleaners, George wants to retire. But he is driving family and friends to distraction by becoming their "advice columnist".
George refuses to accept blame when Tom's pants come back from Jefferson Cleaners with a permanent stain. So Florence suggests they settle the matter by fighting it out on a popular TV court show called Video Verdict.
Worried about her financial security, Florence asks George to provide her with a pension plan. When he refuses, Florence goes on strike and everyone turns against him to rally on Florence's behalf.
Charlie the bartender borrows money from Tom to upgrade the bar and boost business with scantily clad waitresses. Louise and Helen take action when they feel that the changes are sexually exploitative toward women.
George's boorish old friend and idol Johnny Moore, whom Louise has always despised, visits and gets on her nerves immediately with his childish practical jokes.
The Jeffersons and Willises all know that author Joseph Blake is a felon convicted of murdering his girlfriend. But Florence doesn't know it and eagerly accepts a dinner date with him.
Louise's birthday gift to George is an ocean cruise on a ship that specializes in interactive murder mysteries. But the vacation takes a sinister turn when one of the fake sleuths is killed for real.
During the ocean cruise, the surviving guests compare evidence and try to solve the real murder, with everyone ridiculing George's amateurish sleuthing efforts.
Dede Sanderson, the tenant in apartment 8-B downstairs, is having an affair with a man named George, so Ralph the doorman jumps to the conclusion that George Jefferson is romancing Dede and being unfaithful to Louise.
Louise finds George's old love poems to her and shares them with friends and neighbors, which displeases George greatly until Tom's publisher Graham Gregory wants to have a meeting with George.
After learning that Tom Willis made money from George's successful stock tip, Florence and her fellow building maids pool their money, form a consortium, and enter the stock market themselves by using George as their advisor.
Aided by a reluctant Helen, Louise decides to break into George's office safe in order to view an old photograph that George refuses to show her.
Louise masquerades as the maid and Florence plays George's wife in order to impress Florence's former schoolmate Pauline Jones Smythe, who is now a wealthy ostentatious snob.
Generous Tom once bought a life insurance policy for his cousin Meg, who hates Helen and has always disparaged the Willis marriage. But when George blabs to Helen about the policy, Helen hits the roof.
Lillian Warren mistreated Louise by being condescending to her when she worked as Lillian's maid fourteen years ago. But Louise may have to contact her for a donation when the Help Center is dangerously short on funds.
Cupid's arrow misfires: George's bodyguard Hugo Mojelewski falls in love with Jenny, who is still married to Lionel and depressed that no one will give her a break in the fashion design industry.
George and Louise are about to meet their 12-year-old foster child Jimmy for the first time. So why does a 40-year-old man show up at their door?
Florence is exhausted from cleaning up after George and his poker pals. George thinks Florence's job is easy enough to do in three hours, so he bets her a one-week paid vacation that it can be.
When prosperity smiles on the Jeffersons and Willises, Florence becomes jealous of their good fortune and spends her $200 savings to visit a fancy health spa frequented by celebrities.
A 12-year-old boy named Darren who seems fatherless persuades George to partner with him at bowling in a father-son tournament. But things aren't always as they seem.
George's quick stop at his Queens cleaning store en route to dinner frames a flashback story to when he opened his first store, served his first customer, and earned his first dollar fifteen years earlier in 1968.
George invites famous fashion designer Camille Hendricks over to help Jenny get a much-needed break in the fashion industry, but it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong.
Cunningham Cleaners is using celebrity endorsements to win customers, so George follows suit - by using celebrity lookalikes while Louise pushes him to use real endorsements from his current customers.
Florence buys a hat at an auction, finds $2500 in the lining of it, and dreams of what she'll do with her money. But then Louise tells her that the right thing to do is report the find to the police.
George refuses to buy a TV set for Florence, then dreams that he dies, goes to Limbo, and must play a game called Wheel of Forever in order to win the key to the Pearly Gates.
Louise is upset that she and George never spend any time together so she decides to do something about it with hilarious results.
George agrees to work with a couple of old Navy acquaintances to teach Tom a lesson to not be so trusting but the scam is real and Tom needs George's help to try to get the money back before Helen learns he's lost their vacation home money.
George and Tom pursue the grifters to Los Angeles and gain the assistance of a high tech wizard played by Mission: Impossible star Greg Morris. A plan is laid to trick the grifters with a phony doomsday television news story.
Third and concluding episode of a 3 parter in which George and Tom try to get back Tom and Helen's vacation home money before Helen finds out Tom lost it in the well known pigeon drop where a promise for a big short-term profit is promised.
George and Louise host a marriage seminar for newlyweds sponsored by the Help Center in their apartment. A wide range arrives including young, old, wealthy and poor. Naturally where George's advice isn't highly-flawed it is hypocritical.
Florence meets and dates an attractive, wealthy businessman who keeps trying to lavish one more indulgent gift after another on her but she declines them all. Is he really too good to be true?
The Help Center's Volunteer of the Year award is coming up and all tell Louise she should win but she disagrees. But when she hears the board is giving it to a donor who is essentially buying the award, an unseen side of Louise emerges.
The UN calls Bentley back from the USSR, sent for messing with an ambassador's wife. George pledges to get his old apartment back but building owner Whittendale has it slated for a real estate mogul who promises George a big money deal.
While cleaning out some boxes, George finds a list of things he hoped to accomplish by a certain age and realizes he hasn't completed the list yet.
George to host a Miss Jefferson Cleaners contest for publicity. No surprise that it draws a bevy of beauties but his dilemma is between building owner Wittendale's niece and a truly talented entrant, a daughter of an disliked fellow tenant.
While Louise, Helen and Bentley go out caroling, George and Tom decline, asserting that the female name in it, Carol, proves it's for women. George and Tom spend the evening bonding, sharing poignant stories of their father's at Christmas.
Sammy Davis, Jr. plays himself as a next-door neighbor who is trying to duck recognition from the press and public. A tabloid reporter tells Louise he will pay $2,000 if she can find out which apartment he is in which Florence overhears.
George asks Walter, an employee of his with a talent for drawing, to help him create a TV ad for the cleaners. Louise wonders at his resistance and discovers it is because he is illiterate and helps him overcome the shame and learn to read.
George refuses to allow Florence to accompany he and Louise to Atlantic City. After they leave, Florence gets a minor injury in a stakeout she allows the police of a nearby suspected drug deal. Guilty, George thinks she's seriously injured.
George and Tom start to feel less than masculine because of the girl's excitement over a macho physical trainer they know. When Bentley has access to a cabin in the woods, all 3 go with the plan to return with he-man hunting stories.
Tired of watching George mistreat his friends Louise falls asleep and has a dream where she is like George and he is like her. A good episode using role reversal.
George takes over as manager of Florence's singing group but his booking decisions end in a bad note.
Florence's 18-year-old cousin, Rhonda comes for a 'visit'. When Rhonda reveals she's 'staying' in NY, with no real plans. Florence's anger makes Rhonda leave and take a very questionable job offer.
George is the subject of an article for a prestigious magazine about African American business owners but there's one problem: they want to take photos of his store and are not happy with Otis who has a shoe shine stand out front.
Mr. Whittendale plans to replace Ralph the door man with an electric door.
George's old flame is back in town and she's got a grudge to settle with George.
Tom and Helen squabble over where to spend their second honeymoon; Tom wants to go fishing, Helen wants the Plaza Hotel. George comes up with the seeming perfect compromise, the same small town hotel of their first honeymoon.
Florence emcees a bingo fund raiser at church but needs card markers. George's friend arrives with a bagful of casino chips, eluding men who plan to murder him for the money. Trick is he registered in George's name and the men come looking.
Louise wants George to donate blood and he says he will, but pays Ralph to donate in his name. Later Whittendale shows up claiming that because of George his wife was able to have a transfusion. He is willing to give George whatever he wants and George wants a Rolls Royce. But when Ralph learns of this he tries to get his piece of the pie.
A snobby socialites' bragging to Louise about how her grandson will win a piano recital. Prompting Louise to enter Jessica in the recital as well, in an effort to get even for another past event between the two ladies.
A practical joke by Louise leads to the Jefferson's apartment being robbed.
Louise thinks the elected position of the building's Tenant Council President is hers alone, until George is found to be running for it also.
Florence enters poem-writing contest for her dream man, soap opera "star" Kent Tobin. When she learns the Jeffersons and the Willises are attending an event that evening in which Tobin will appear, she begs to go. Alone at home, she dreams.
After overhearing Louise tell Helen that he's actually remembered her birthday, George must now race against time to find the perfect gift and plan a party for her as well.
When Reverend Daniels - the minister at Florence's church - says that one of the church's projects will have to be cancelled due to a lack of funds, Florence gives him the money she received from an IRS refund. Later, Rev. Daniels disappears. When it becomes obvious he ran off with the money, Florence begins to question her faith. When no one is able to console her, Louise decides to call the church's previous minster, Reverend Taylor, to see if he'd be willing to speak to Florence. Rev. Taylor finds Florence in the church, and has a long talk with her about not turning her back on God, because of the actions of Rev. Daniels. Florence eventually returns home, and thanks Louise for making the phone call to Rev. Taylor on her behalf, telling Louise how much their conversation helped. After Florence leaves the room, it is revealed through a conversation between George and Louise, that Rev. Taylor had passed away several hours prior to Louise calling him, insinuating that Florence had actually been speaking with Taylor's ghost.
After catching vandals trying to break into his store, George and Louise decide to stake it out. They are surprised when two young kids break in. George wants to call the police but Louise doesn't. Louise bets George that if she can't turn them around, he won't have to give her $2000 to save the Help Center's children's counseling program.
George, Louise and Florence go to Atlantic City, NJ. The 3 have different experiences. Louise trying to be 'star struck' but striking out. Florence's hot streak and George...is unbelievable.
George goes to a baseball game and drops a foul ball and it is shown on TV. He becomes despondent. Louise then goes to the man who struck the ball--Reggie Jackson to try and raise George's spirits.
After his wife, Helen, teases him about his boring stories, Tom fantasizes about intriguing Playboy Playmates with them.
The Jeffersons and Willises - and granddaughter Jessica - are ecstatic when they learn Lionel and Jenny are coming to New York to stay. But the news they bear is certainly not worth celebrating.
The Jeffersons and Willises continue to feud over their children's decision to seek a divorce, with the blame game coming to a boil at Parents Night at Jessica's school.
Florence agrees to be nerdy Clark's date at the high school dance since he can find no one else. In the meantime, the dashing teacher, Mr. Harris, is also coming to the dance but Florence doesn't seem to read him very well.
Charlie's bar is just breaking even and when he needs to go out to Florida, Louise seizes the opportunity to disprove George's assertion women don't have business minds. She plans to put the bar in the black with a biker gang private party.
Tom's hopes of being promoted from VP to Prez at the publishing company when the position becomes open are dashed when a rival gets the job. But there's more going on behind the scenes and George rallies to support Tom to keep his hopes up.
Charlie the bartender is sleeping in the back room at his bar because he has a serious problem.
When George's main competitor Cunningham dies, his widow begs for his help fearing the company will now fail leaving her without an income. But everyone else finds her intentions suspect and thinks George is too trusting.
With the help of a new neighbor who's quite young, Louise realizes that age and how old (or young) one feels is just a state of mind.
With their wives away at a spa for the weekend, George and Tom decide to set a world record by riding the elevator up and down all weekend.
Somebody has to tell Louise the truth: her paintings are terrible.
Florence places an ad in the "lonely hearts" column of the newspaper and is quite surprised with whom she meets as a result.
The Help Center gets their funding cut and all their recent fund raising events have failed. A local TV talent hosts a talent show with the top prize being free TV time to promote their cause. George also enters so he can promote cleaners.
George - coveting a Dry Cleaner of the Year Award, and to fulfill the community service portion of the award - becomes "nest mother" of Jessica's Red Robins troop, which is in the midst of its candy sale campaign. George gives the troop members some bad advice on how to sell the candy and really rake in the dough.
