Fun fact for those who don’t know or remember: The Facts of Life—which, over nine seasons, followed a quartet of boarding-school girls from adolescence through young adulthood—was actually a spinoff of Diff’rent Strokes, the iconic sitcom about two Black brothers from Harlem (originally played by Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges) raised by Mr. Drummond (Conrad Bain), a rich, white Upper East Side widower. The common link between the two shows was the character of Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), who served as the Drummonds’ housekeeper before taking a new job as a house mother at the fictitious Eastland School for Girls where The Facts of Life was originally set. In the end, though, The Facts of Life wound up outlasting its predecessor Diff’rent Strokes by one season while making teen icons out of its lead actresses: Lisa Whelchel, who played spoiled snob Blair Warner; Nancy McKeon, who played tomboy Jo; Mindy Cohn, who portrayed Natalie; and Kim Fields, whose Facts of Life alter ego was the beloved and adorable “Tootie.” In the live re-creation, Whelchel also sings the Facts of Life theme song! So who’s taking on The Facts of Life’s characters this time around—and what do they think about their one-night-only roles? Kimmel and Lear have lined up an A-list cast for tonight’s live special—so keep reading to find out who’s in the cast of The Facts of Life: Live in Front of a Studio Audience.
Who’s playing Blair in The Facts of Life Live?
Hold onto your hats: It’s none other than Hollywood megastar JenniferAniston! Which really is perfect casting, considering Aniston became famous portraying another pampered princess, Rachel Green, on a certain sitcom called Friends. In an interview with Kimmel on Dec. 6, Aniston revealed that she actually went to see a Facts of Life taping in L.A. when she was a kid—and that it was one of the episodes that featured a recurring character, hunky handyman George Burnett, played by still-hunky George Clooney. In a separate interview, Aniston explained, “The reason I wanted to be a part of this was because, um, just two words: Norman Lear. [I] grew up on everything he did.” She also admitted that the thought of returning to her sitcom roots—except this time, with her performance being broadcast live nationwide—“makes me nervous and I like to feel nervous.”
Who’s playing Mrs. Garrett in The Facts of Life Live?
The maternal role of Mrs. G is being taken on by an actress best known for being anything but maternal: Ann Dowd, who won an Emmy playing the sinister Aunt Lydia in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. In fact, since the character Mrs. Garrett appeared on both Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes, Dowd is actually performing in both live re-creations. And according to Kimmel, fans will be stunned to see how much Dowd resembles Rae from back in the day (complete with bouffant red hair!).
Who’s playing Jo in The Facts of Life Live?
Kathryn Hahn has been everywhere these days—scoring an Emmy nomination for her scene-stealing role as Agatha in WandaVision, appearing opposite Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell in Apple TV’s The Shrink Next Door, joining the cast of the upcoming Knives Out 2—so why not here, too? In fact, the only problem with Hahn’s casting may be that, as Aniston told Kimmel, she can’t stop laughing in rehearsals every time she and Hahn make eye contact. Speaking of “Hahniston,” these two Hollywood pals also appeared together in the 2013 feature film We’re the Millers.
Who’s playing Tootie in The Facts of Life Live?
Kimmel lined up another A-lister for Dorothy “Tootie” Ramsey: Gabrielle Union, who will be sporting the character’s iconic bowl-cut ‘do during her performance.
Who’s playing Natalie in The Facts of Life Live?
Allison Tolman may be the least-known member of the Facts of Life live cast, but you likely recognize her from her Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated role as Molly from the first season of Fargo. She also starred in the recent ABC mystery-thriller drama Emergent.
Who is Jon Stewart playing in The Facts of Life Live?
Kimmel and Co. have teased a number of surprise guests who will pop up during the special; Aniston has mentioned that “three unexpected visitors” will appear during the Facts of Life episode alone. We also know that former Daily Show host Stewart is going to be on the Facts of Life—in fact, he appeared during the cast’s group interview on the Dec. 6 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!—but who exactly his character is had been kept in the bag, although Stewart joked that his role is “old Jew dressed as young Jew.” Well, at the start of the special, it was revealed in the opening credits that Stewart would be playing “Carl.” If you do a quick search online, it seems that “Carl” appears in the Facts of Life episode titled “Kids Can Be Cruel.” According to IMDb, here’s what that 1982 episode was about: “During the preparations for a box lunch charity auction, the girls are gazing over an Eastland/Bates ‘Slam Book,’ in which those writing the comments are identified by numbers instead of names. Mrs. Garrett is horrified by the cruel comments in there. When Blair reveals to one of the Bates boys that Natalie is number 10, Natalie gets her revenge by telling a Bates boy named Carl Price, whom the other boys tease because of his severe acne, which of the box lunches belongs to Blair.”
Who are the special surprise guests in The Facts of Life: Live in Front of a Studio Audience?
Besides Stewart, Will Arnett an his old Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman showed up as two bro-y jocks who help the girls get ready for their charity auction and then bid on their dinner boxes. Next, Love Is All Around! How and Where to Watch Love Actually in 2021
