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Gender-Swapping ‘The Facts of Life’ For the Twenty-First Century
If Blair, Tootie, Natalie, and Jo were dudes…what might that look like, in 2022?
Most connoisseurs of 1980s television remember the beloved sitcom, NBC’s The Facts of Life. It was one of my favorites, growing up. Its later episodes aired for the first time as I was completing Kindergarten, but I’d had blurry memories of it from my preschool days. As a middle schooler, I was able to reminisce in depth by watching syndicated reruns on USA Network.
Premiering in 1979, this spinoff of Diff’rent Strokes focused on the Drummonds’ gregarious housekeeper, Edna Garrett (portrayed by the late Charlotte Rae), who took a job as a housemother at an all-girls’ boarding school outside of Peekskill, New York. The large cast of young women was eventually whittled down to four main girls who became like surrogate daughters to Mrs. Garrett: snobby Blair (Lisa Whelchel), rebellious Jo (Nancy McKeon), brainy Natalie (Mindy Cohn), and perky Tootie (Kim Fields).
As the series progressed, its locale shifted from the Eastland School For Girls to Mrs. Garrett’s newly-purchased gourmet food store to their renovated gift shop. Various cast members came and went — including Rae herself, who departed from the series in 1986. She was replaced by the late Cloris…
