A housewife sits on the stoop of her apartment building in a black neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and discusses all manner of things with her neighbors.
Is this the best episode?
The peak run. Top 40% of seasons by average rating — consecutive, with an average of 8.10.
Loading episode ratings...
Marla Gibbs
Mary Jenkins
Hal Williams
Lester Jenkins
Alaina Reed Hall
Rose Lee Holloway
Jackée Harry
Sandra Clark
Regina King
Brenda Jenkins
Helen Martin
Pearl Shay
Curtis Baldwin
Calvin Dobbs
Barry Sobel
Dylan McMillan
Countess Vaughn
Alexandria DeWitt
Paul Winfield
Julian C. Barlow
All 59 episodes plotted by IMDb rating
Loading episode ratings...
This may take a moment for shows with many seasons.
22 episodes • 1985Avg: 7.9
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honesty | Sep 14, 1985 | 6.7 |
| 2 | Mary's Brother | Sep 21, 1985 | 9.0 |
| 3 | Family Hero | Sep 28, 1985 | 7.0 |
| 4 | The Refrigerator | Oct 5, 1985 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Do You Love Me? | Oct 19, 1985 | 7.0 |
| 6 | Pilot | Oct 26, 1985 | 0.0 |
| 7 | The Sidewalk Sale | Nov 2, 1985 | 7.5 |
| 8 | A Letter to the President | Nov 9, 1985 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Pity the Poor Working Girl | Nov 16, 1985 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Football Widow | Nov 23, 1985 | 0.0 |
| 11 | A Daughter is a Precious Thing | Nov 30, 1985 | 0.0 |
| 12 | The Big Piano Play-Off | Dec 7, 1985 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Mary's Christmas | Dec 14, 1985 | 7.5 |
| 14 | The Bed of Rose's | Jan 4, 1986 | 9.0 |
| 15 | Brenda's Last Date | Jan 11, 1986 | 0.0 |
| 16 | A Young Man's Fancy | Jan 18, 1986 | 8.0 |
| 17 | We the People | Feb 1, 1986 | 0.0 |
| 18 | Redecorating Blues | Feb 8, 1986 | 0.0 |
| 19 | Fifty Big Ones | Feb 15, 1986 | 9.0 |
| 20 | Slam Dunked | Feb 22, 1986 | 8.5 |
| 21 | Pick Six | Mar 8, 1986 | 7.5 |
| 22 | Young Man with a Job | May 3, 1986 | 8.0 |
22 episodes • 1986Avg: 8.2Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Wheel of Misfortune | Oct 4, 1986 | 8.5 |
| 2 | Mary Nightingale | Oct 11, 1986 | 9.0 |
| 3 | Washington Affair | Nov 1, 1986 | 8.0 |
| 4 | The Great Manhunt | Nov 8, 1986 | 8.0 |
| 5 | The Temptations | Nov 15, 1986 | 7.5 |
| 6 | Pillow Talk | Nov 22, 1986 | 8.0 |
| 7 | Come Into My Parlor | Nov 29, 1986 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Father's Day | Dec 6, 1986 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Author, Author | Dec 13, 1986 | 8.0 |
| 10 | Matchmakers | Jan 3, 1987 | 9.0 |
| 11 | The Handwriting on the Wall | Jan 10, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 12 | A Matter of Choice | Jan 17, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Got a Job | Jan 24, 1987 | 7.5 |
| 14 | Far From the Tree | Feb 7, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 15 | Toyland | Feb 14, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 16 | The Audit | Feb 21, 1987 | 8.0 |
| 17 | A Good Citizen | Feb 28, 1987 | 8.0 |
| 18 | Happy Twentieth | Mar 7, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 19 | The Fourth Time Around | Mar 21, 1987 | 9.0 |
| 20 | Rich Kid | Apr 11, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 21 | The Working Game | May 23, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 22 | Check Snub | Jun 6, 1987 | 0.0 |
24 episodes • 1987Avg: 8.0Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Men's Club | Sep 26, 1987 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Low Noon | Oct 3, 1987 | 7.0 |
| 3 | There Goes the Building | Oct 17, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 4 | And Baby Makes Three | Oct 24, 1987 | 7.5 |
| 5 | Bull's Eye | Oct 31, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 6 | Teach Me Tonight (1) | Nov 7, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 7 | Teach Me Tonight (2) | Nov 14, 1987 | 9.0 |
| 8 | See You in Court | Nov 21, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 9 | The Honeymoon's Over | Nov 28, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Rapture | Dec 5, 1987 | 7.0 |
| 11 | The Facade | Dec 12, 1987 | 0.0 |
| 12 | The Talk Show | Jan 2, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Snowbound | Jan 9, 1988 | 7.5 |
| 14 | Shall We Dance? | Jan 16, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 15 | The Sing-Off | Jan 23, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Sweet Sixteen | Jan 30, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 17 | The Roommate | Feb 6, 1988 | 9.5 |
| 18 | The Big Deal | Feb 13, 1988 | 8.0 |
| 19 | The New Neighbors | Feb 20, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Blues | Feb 27, 1988 | 8.5 |
| 21 | The Butler Did It | Mar 12, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 22 | My Aching Back | Apr 9, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 23 | Country Cousins | Apr 30, 1988 | 8.0 |
| 24 | Best Friends | May 7, 1988 | 0.0 |
24 episodes • 1988Avg: 7.8
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Whiz Kid | Oct 8, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 2 | Hide the Star | Oct 22, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 3 | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Pageant | Oct 29, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 4 | Double Your Pleasure | Nov 5, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Brother from a Sister City | Nov 12, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 6 | And the Survey Says . . . | Nov 19, 1988 | 8.0 |
| 7 | A Yen for Lester | Nov 26, 1988 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Looking Back | Dec 3, 1988 | 6.0 |
| 9 | The Night They Arrested Santa Claus | Dec 10, 1988 | 8.5 |
| 10 | The Real Decoys | Jan 7, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Play it Again, Stan | Jan 14, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 12 | A Class Act | Jan 28, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 13 | The Prince | Feb 4, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Babes in the Woods | Feb 11, 1989 | 7.5 |
| 15 | A Date to Remember | Feb 18, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Mary's Cookies | Feb 25, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 17 | For Richer, For Poorer | Mar 4, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 18 | The Class of '89 | Mar 18, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 19 | Trial and Error | Apr 1, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 20 | The Bet | Apr 8, 1989 | 7.5 |
| 21 | No, My Darling Daughter | Apr 15, 1989 | 9.0 |
| 22 | House Number | May 6, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 23 | Jackee | May 11, 1989 | 8.0 |
| 24 | For Sale | May 13, 1989 | 0.0 |
24 episodes • 1989Avg: 7.8
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take My Diva . . . Please! | Sep 23, 1989 | 8.5 |
| 2 | Tenants, Anyone? | Sep 30, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 3 | A Pampered Tale | Oct 14, 1989 | 7.0 |
| 4 | The Fight of the Century | Oct 21, 1989 | 7.0 |
| 5 | How the West Was Fun (1) | Oct 28, 1989 | 8.0 |
| 6 | How the West Was Fun (2) | Nov 4, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 7 | Video Activity | Nov 11, 1989 | 7.5 |
| 8 | Flying Down to Leo's | Nov 18, 1989 | 7.5 |
| 9 | Reunion Blues | Nov 25, 1989 | 8.0 |
| 10 | The Perfume Game | Dec 2, 1989 | 0.0 |
| 11 | War is Heck | Dec 9, 1989 | 8.5 |
| 12 | Guess Who's Not Coming to Christmas | Dec 16, 1989 | 8.0 |
| 13 | There Go the Clowns | Dec 23, 1989 | 7.5 |
| 14 | Come the Revolution | Dec 30, 1989 | 8.0 |
| 15 | Where Do We Go From Here? | Jan 6, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Play Christy for Me | Jan 13, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 17 | Knock It Off | Jan 27, 1990 | 7.5 |
| 18 | Do Not Pass Go (1) | Feb 3, 1990 | 8.0 |
| 19 | Do Not Pass Go (2) | Feb 10, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 20 | You Gotta Have Art | Feb 17, 1990 | 0.0 |
| 21 | Gone Fishing | Feb 24, 1990 | 7.0 |
| 22 | Nightmare on 227 | Apr 21, 1990 | 8.0 |
| 23 | The Class of '90 | Apr 29, 1990 | 9.0 |
| 24 | No Place Like Home | May 6, 1990 | 7.5 |
