‘All in the Family’ & ‘The Jeffersons’ Live Add Kerry Washington, Anthony Anderson & More
UPDATE (5/13/2019):
Kerry Washington has joined the cast of Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and the Jeffersons as Helen Willis, ABC announced Monday.
The actress also shared the news on Instagram with a photo of herself and Jimmy Kimmel.
Original Story (5/10/2019):
The cast of the live episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons is growing.
ABC announced Friday that Ike Barinholtz (Meathead), Sean Hayes (Mr. Lorenzo), Amber Stevens West (Jenny Willis Jefferson), Jovan Adepo (Lionel Jefferson), Anthony Anderson (Uncle Henry), Stephen Tobolowsky (Mr. Bentley), and Jackée Henry (Diane Stockwell) will be part of the live 90-minute special hosted by Norman Lear and Kimmel and directed by James Burrows.
They join previously announced cast members Woody Harrelson (Archie Bunker), Marisa Tomei (Edith Bunker), Jamie Foxx (George Jefferson), Wanda Sykes (Louise Jefferson), Ellie Kemper (Gloria Stivic), Will Ferrell (Tom Willis), and Justina Machado (Florence Johnston).
All in the Family aired from 1971 to 1979 and followed Archie Bunker, a highly opinionated, working-class family man who saw the world on his terms. He argued with his liberal son-in-law, while his wife, Edith, tried to understand his perspective.
Its success led to The Jeffersons, which aired from 1975 to 1985 and was the first television show to feature an interracial couple and one of the longest-running African-American series. George and Louise Jefferson moved to the east side and showed what it was like to be successful in a predominantly white world. It helped change conversations about race and class.
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Wednesday, May 22, 8/7c, ABC