The Cosby Show

Debuting October 29, 1981, on NBC, the half-hour sitcom Gimme a Break was originally set in the suburban community of Glen Lawn, CA. Nell Carter starred as Nell Harper, a feisty, pleasantly plump black housekeeper who ruled the roost in the home of corpulent white police chief Carl Kanisky (Dolph Sweet). Recently widowed, the cantankerous chief had three growing daughters: Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler), and Samantha (Lara Jill Miller), aka "Sam," who came to look upon the outspoken but warmhearted Nell as a surrogate mom. The same could be said of Joey Donovan (Joey Lawrence), a six-year old orphan who joined the household during the series' third season. And although Nell and The Chief were frequently at each other's throats, it was crystal clear that there was a strong and affectionate bond between them. In the early episodes, Howard Morton was seen as The Chief's doltish subordinate Officer Ralph Simpson, while Alvernette Jimenez showed up as Nell's goofy friend Angie. By and by, John Hoyt joined the cast as Carl's crusty Polish-born dad, "Grandpa" Stanley Kanisky, who moved in with the family after the death of his wife; several episodes also featured Pete Schrum as Carl's brother Ed, a mortician. And after Angie left the show, her place as best-friend-severest-critic of Nell was taken over by the heroine's childhood pal Dr. Addy Wilson, played by Telma Hopkins. Following the death of actor Dolph Sweet in 1985, it was established that Carl Kanisky had also passed away, leaving Nell to take care of the family by herself. By this time, middle daughter Julie had impulsively married archeologist Jonathan Maxwell (Jonathan Silverman), and the couple eventually had a baby which they named after Nell. At the beginning of the series' sixth and final season, the Kanisky girls had moved out of the house, whereupon Nell, Addy, Joey, and Grandpa relocated to New York City, where Joey was reunited with his younger brother Matthew (played by Joey Lawrence's real-life kid brother Matthew Lawrence). The cast of regulars now included Rosetta Le Noire as Nell's mother Maybelle Harper, Paul Sand as Nell's wacky landlord Marty, and Rosie O'Donnell as street-smart neighbor kid Maggie O'Brien. Gimme a Break closed out its NBC run on May 12, 1987.

A Different World is an American television sitcom which aired for six seasons on NBC. It is a spin-off series from The Cosby Show and originally centered on Denise Huxtable and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional mixed but historically black college in the state of Virginia. After Bonet's departure in the first season, the remainder of the series primarily focused more on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert and mathematics whiz Dwayne Wayne. The series frequently depicted members of the major historically black fraternities and sororities.While it was a spin-off from The Cosby Show, A Different World would typically address issues that were avoided by The Cosby Show writers. One episode that aired in 1990 was one of the first American network television episodes to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Struggles for love, wealth and power among diverse families in the lush Southern California city were played out in this Emmy-winning soap, which also had comedy, action and some of the genre's most memorable pairings and players. Among them: sultry socialite Augusta Lockridge, whose onscreen blindness attracted a sympathy letter from President Ronald Reagan.

Former 1960s flower children raise their kids during the conservative Reagan erain this sitcom.

Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, and Karen Grassle, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s.

The Pearson family's generational story unfolds in this emotional drama. In moments of joy and heartbreak, revelations emerge from parents Jack and Rebecca's past, while triplets Kate, Randall and Kevin discover deeper meaning in their present lives. Successful businessman and father Randall searches for information about his biological parents, Kate finds love and self-acceptance while battling obesity.