Before Lisa Whelchel went to Eastland Academy on Facts of Life, she was a new student at a different high school on Family. She looks the same now as she did when she was 15 in that 1978 episode.
The Facts of Life is one of the most beloved shows for Gen Xers. So much so that we have been hoping we would get a sequel. And we came close to that happening. But one of the key four sabotaged that from happening.
In 2021, ABC recreated one of The Facts of Life episodes for Live In Front Of A Studio Audience. And the response was enormous. So, Norman Lear asked Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon, and Lisa Whelchel if they were up for doing a reboot. And they all said yes.
So what happened? Cohn told Jeff Lewis on his SiriusXM show, “There was drama.” Then she explained, “One of the girls went behind our backs and tried to make a separate deal for a spinoff just for herself and devastated the rest of us who we all, you know, I had booked Palm Royale, another girl is working. I’m just saying it was for a 40-year friendship and sisterhood, there was tidal wave of emotion around it.”
Who is it? Cohn wouldn’t name names. But she said that if you go to her Instagram, you will get the answer. That is because you will not find any recent photos of that classmate with her since their friendship will never be the same, and for a while, they weren’t talking to the mystery castmate.
I accepted that challenge, went to Cohn’s Instagram and I am shocked by who the “greedy bitch” is. All I will say is that this Survivor didn’t do Dancing with the Stars like the other two. I thought she was the nice one. I guess not.
In 1980, Geri Jewell was cast to play Lisa Welchel’s cousin on The Facts of Life. Now, 44 years later, the two actresses are still friends, so much so that they spent Friday together.
Blair Warner wrote this about their day together, “We aren’t technically family but since we played one on TV (Cousin Geri) and we’ve known each other for almost a half a century, it sure feels like it! So good to catch up with the funny and wise and deep and talented, Geri Jewell! ”
I always say that the shows that last in syndication are the ones where the casts get along. That is why we are still watching their sitcoms.
Now, let’s talk about how great they look. It is like no time has passed.
Before Lisa Whelchel was able to talk to her roommates on The Facts of Life, she was talking for a dummy on The Mickey Mouse Club. How cute was the 14-year-old in that 1977 episode?
