Ahead of ABC’s live event Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes, a television comedy icon has signed on to join the already star-studded cast. Jon Stewart has joined The Facts of Life in an unknown role.
Stewart is joining Jennifer Aniston, Kathryn Hahn, Gabrielle Union and more in the Facts of Life segment of the hour-and-a-half-long episode that will see the series taped in front of a live audience. While Aniston, Hahn, and Union, as well as Allison Tolman and Ann Dowd, will play Blair, Jo, Tootie, Natalie and Mrs. Garrett, respectively, there is no word on who Stewart will portray.
It’s possible that Jon Stewart could play George Brunett, played by George Clooney in the original series in the late ‘80s. The handyman-turned-roadie was a main character in Season 7 but was dropped after Season 8. It would make sense for Stewart to play George, since he could be fit for the role. Plus there aren’t any other big characters that haven’t been taken that he could play.
Even though Facts of Life is essentially being temporarily rebooted for a live special celebrating the series, along with Diff’rent Strokes, is it possible that Jon Stewart could instead be playing a whole new character created just for the special? It’s unlikely, especially since the series is such a classic. It’s likely that whoever Stewart is playing is a memorable one from the original series, and it will be interesting to see just who.
ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience specials began in 2019 and feature A-list casting for live recreations of sitcom episodes that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. The broadcasts are hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and two specials have aired so far. Those two broadcasts included episodes from The Jeffersons, All in the Family and Good Times. The two airings drew in a combined 22.1 million total viewers in delayed viewing, reaching 36 million total viewers across linear and digital platforms.
We may not hear who Jon Stewart will be playing, or what episode will be recreated, until cameras are rolling. Though I’m sure whoever he is playing will be a beloved character. If it's not George Clooney's George Burnett, maybe Clooney could make a short cameo and blast viewers back to his past before he even joined ER? We can always hope!
Don’t miss Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes airing on Tuesday, December 7 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC! In the meantime, catch him on The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+. If you're ready to start planning ahead for the new year, take a look at our 2022 winter and spring premiere schedule for your upcoming viewing options.
