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The Jeffersons was in the top ten in the Nielsen Ratings for three seasons in a row: 1979-1980, 1980-1981, and 1981-1982. During the 1981-1982 season, it was the #3 show on network television, behind only Dallas and 60 Minutes in popularity, with an estimated 23.4 million viewers each week.

The main characters were George Jefferson, played by Sherman Hemsley and Louise "Weezie" Jefferson, played by the late Isabel Sanford. George Jefferson was the owner of a chain of seven dry cleaning stores; he and his wife lived in a luxury high-rise apartment building on ManhattanFor other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation . Manhattan is the name of an island alongside the lower Hudson River and also of one of the five boroughs that form the City of New York. The borough is coterminous with New York County and includes the Islan's Upper East SideThe Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, that lies between Central Park and the East River. It is generally accepted to stretch from East 59th St. north to about 96th St. where the railroad tracks of the former N. One of the stars of the show was Lenny KravitzLeonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964 in New York) is a musician whose retro-style amalgam of Rock, Pop, Funk, and even Techno is inspired by such music icons as Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. Early Life The son of Hollywood producer Sy Kravitz and Bah's mother, the late Roxie RokerRoxie Roker 1929-1995) was an American actress of Bahamanian descent who was best known for her role as Helen Willis on the U. TV sitcom, The Jeffersons. She also had a small role in the groundbreaking U. Mini-Series Roots''. Roker attended Howard Univers, who played Helen Willis, opposite Franklin Cover as Tom Willis. The show also featured the late Zara CullyZara Cully ( January 26, 1892 February 28, 1978) was an American character actress. She was best known for her portrayal of Olivia (‘Mother’) Jefferson on the TV sitcom The Jeffersons''. She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and died in Los Angeles, Ca as George's mother; Marla GibbsMarla Gibbs (born June 14, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress, most known for her role as the sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons as well as the starring role of Mary Jenkins in 227''. She starred in a series of commercials as the Jeffersons' wise-cracking maid, Florence Johnston; Paul Benedict as the bumbling English neighbor, Harry Bentley; and Ned Wertimer as Ralph, the building doorman.

The show underwent numerous subtle changes as the 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends moved into the 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends. Louise Jefferson's Afro vanished, and George Jefferson toned down his explosive temper and his bigoted diatribes. The keys to the popularity of the show were its having African-American actors in lead roles, its portrayal of a successful African-American family, and its confrontational humor, although at the time, some complaints were made about the stereotypes that the show allegedly purveyed.

Roker and Cover portrayed network television's first regularly-scheduled inter-ethnic couple where one partner was African-American. (The distinction of first inter-ethnic TV couple is usually ascribed to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.)

The buoyant theme song from The Jeffersons, "Moving on Up" (composed by Jeff Barry and Ja'net DuBois of Good Times fame and sung by DuBois), found new life in the 1990s and 2000s in a number of television commercials and other uses.