Movie connections for
"Diff'rent Strokes" (1978) More at IMDbPro »

Followed by

After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped (2000) (TV)

Edited into

"I Love the '80s" (2002)
Tupac: Resurrection (2003)

Spin off

"Hello, Larry" (1979)
"The Facts of Life" (1979)

Referenced in

"Saturday Night Live: Walter Matthau (#4.7)" (1978)
 -  Title on Fred Silverman's TV schedule board
"Saturday Night Live: Michael Palin/James Taylor (#4.18)" (1979)
 -  Referenced by Fred Silverman
"Silver Spoons: The Great Computer Caper (#1.7)" (1982)
 -  Arnold Jackson crosses over onto this series.
Night of 100 Stars II (1985) (TV)
 -  Part of the "TV Stars" segment
"Amazing Stories: Remote Control Man (#1.10)" (1985)
 -  Walter uses the remote control to turn his son into Arnold Jackson.
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Jungle Goddess (#3.3)" (1990)
 -  The show was mentioned once.
"Saturday Night Live: Michael J. Fox/Black Crowes (#16.15)" (1991)
 -  Referenced on America's Most Wanted: Former Child Actors
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Stranded in Space (#4.5)" (1991)
 -  "Cards of the cast"
"The Ben Stiller Show: With Garry Shandling (#1.9)" (1992)
 -  Mentioned by Bruce Springsteen (Ben Stiller) while giving a haircut to Gary Coleman
"Saturday Night Live: Jeff Goldblum/Aerosmith (#19.3)" (1993)
 -  Mentioned in Christopher Walken's psychic friends network
Clerks. (1994)
 -  Dante speaks Lyrics from the theme song for Different Strokes
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teen-Age Crime Wave (#6.22)" (1994)
 -  "A Documentry about the likes of Todd Bridges and Dana Plato"
"Married with Children: How Green Was My Apple (#8.16)" (1994)
 -  Gary Coleman guest stars and is asked by Kelly if he wasn't on this show.
"The Critic: Marathon Mensch (#1.8)" (1994)
 -  Duke says he thought he was buying the rights to "Diff'rent Strokes" when he bought the rights to "Webster"
"Married with Children: Shoeway to Heaven (#9.1)" (1994)
 -  Mentioned by name
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Red Zone Cuba (#7.19)" (1994)
 -  Tom: "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
"Saturday Night Live: David Schwimmer/Natalie Merchant (#21.3)" (1995)
 -  Referenced during the monologue
"Married with Children: The Two That Got Away (#10.9)" (1995)
 -  Lucky: "I get in the commercial, you get the money, I end up sharing a jail cell with the cast of 'Diffr'ent Strokes'."
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Undead (#9.6)" (1997)
 -  Mike: What you talkin' 'bout Willis?
Dirty Work (1998)
"E! True Hollywood Story: Diff'rent Strokes" (1998)
 -  Tackles about the star of the tv series.
Advice from a Caterpillar (1999)
"Mystery Science Theater 3000: Future War (#11.4)" (1999)
 -  A character in the film says "Willis," after which Crow adds, "What you talkin' 'bout?"
"Futurama: When Aliens Attack (#2.3)" (1999)
 -  The "What you talkin' 'bout" line is quoted as a reference.
"E! True Hollywood Story: The Facts of Life Girls" (1999)
 -  Mentioned as being a spin-off of this series
"The Simpsons: Grift of the Magi (#11.9)" (1999)
 -  Several references to elements of this show abound due to its guest star's involvement with it.
"Freaks and Geeks: Carded and Discarded (#1.7)" (2000)
 -  The bouncer talk about how funny the show is
"Freaks and Geeks: The Diary (#1.10)" (2000)
 -  Theme heard on Frederick's TV.
Building Bridges (2000)
"Family Guy: Running Mates (#2.10)" (2000)
 -  theme song heard
"Family Guy: Fore, Father (#2.21)" (2000)
 -  Peter asks Cleveland Jr. to call him Mr. Drummond
"King of the Hill: Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story (#5.20)" (2001)
 -  When the high schoolers mention "that kid on that old TV show," it is this show they mean.
"The Brak Show: Time Machine (#1.3)" (2001)
 -  The opening sequence is called "Diff'rent Braks."
The Slim Shady Show (2001) (V)
 -  Mentioned in dialogue.
"Family Guy: Peter Griffin: Husband, Father... Brother? (#3.14)" (2001)
 -  While trying to convince the Quahog African American League that he is black, Peter references the experiences of black characters in the Jeffersons, Good Times, The Facts of Life, and Different Strokes to show that he was with them.
Snow Dogs (2002)
Undercover Brother (2002)
Ken Park (2002)
 -  Tate mentions "Diff'rent Strokes".
Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
 -  Pauly calls Todd Bridges "Willis"
Northfork (2003)
 -  When the man in the black hat is talking to his son, Willis, he says "What are you talking about, Willis."
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Retarded Animal Babies (2003) (V)
 -  David Hasselhoff calls Hamster "Gary Coleman," and Hamster replies with, "Whatcho talkin' 'bout?" like how Gary Coleman's character says it in Diff'rent Strokes.
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
 -  dialogue
Sammy Case Superstar (2004) (V)
 -  "Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Willis?" said
"Chappelle's Show: (#2.3)" (2004)
 -  Dave sings the theme song
Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Mork & Mindy' (2005) (TV)
 -  Title is seen on Frank's scheduling board
"Robot Chicken: Atta Toy (#1.13)" (2005)
 -  Conrad Bain and this show are mentioned
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
 -  Jay yells "Aim high, Willis" as the angry customer leaves.
Homestarrunner.com: Everything Else, Volume 1 (2005) (V)
 -  In "Teen Girl Squad Issue 8", one of The Ugly One's drums reads "Mr. Drummond", a reference to Philip Drummond, a character on the show
"South Park: Cartoon Wars: Part 2 (#10.4)" (2006)
 -  Gary Coleman says "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
Fifty Pills (2006)
 -  mentioned several times
"Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Challenge of the Superfriends (#4.1)" (2006)
 -  One of Mac's attempted catch phrases is, "Whatcha talkin' 'bout?", spoken by Arnold Jackson
"Chappelle's Show: (#3.2)" (2006)
 -  Chappelle as Gary Coleman says 'What'chu talkin' bout, bitch?"
Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Diff'rent Strokes' (2006) (TV)
 -  This bioptic is a behinds-the-scenes of this TV series.
"Robot Chicken: Donkey Punch (#2.19)" (2006)
 -  Gary Coleman meets costar Conrad Bain
"My Name Is Earl: Buried Treasure (#2.13)" (2007)
 -  Randy talks about what would've happened if they'd kidnap "Webster from Diff'rent Strokes".
"Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates Eggs (#2.11)" (2007)
 -  the narrator says "Whatchu talkin' about, Monk?" in imitation of Arnold Jackson
Kickin It Old Skool (2007)
 -  "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
"It Takes Two: (#2.6)" (2007)
 -  Grant Denyer says "Watchoo talkin' about?" during his introduction.
"TV Land Confidential: Oddballs & Original Characters (#2.1)" (2007)
 -  still picture
Oliver Twink (2007) (V)
 -  "What you talkin' bout', Mr. Bumble?"
"How I Met Your Mother: The Fight (#4.10)" (2008)
 -  Mentioned by Barney; part of faking the conversation by just saying titles of sitcoms
"The Office: Prince Family Paper (#5.12)" (2009)
 -  Michael says, "What you talkin' 'bout, Wallace?"
The Hangover (2009)
 -  Mr. Chow says "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" This is a famous line from Different Strokes.

Featured in

Child Stars: Their Story (2000) (TV)
The 100 Greatest TV Characters (2001) (TV)
NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002) (TV)
"I Love the '80s" (2002)
TV's Illest Minority Moments Presented by Ego Trip (2004) (TV)
 -  clips
Fifty Pills (2006)
 -  while watching TV, the theme song is heard
"20 to 1: Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (#6.6)" (2008)
 -  Clips shown in a segment on Gary Coleman.
"The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-06-30)" (2008)
 -  Various clips from from this show were featured during the repeat segment with Garry Coleman.

Spoofed in

"Family Matters: False Arrest (#1.10)" (1989)
 -  "The Buddy Goodrich Show" (seen in the first act) is a spoof of the long-running situation comedy. Here, a rich black man (Goodrich) adopts two poor white orphans.
Stay Tuned (1992)
"That's My Bush!: An Aborted Dinner Date (#1.1)" (2001)
 -  "What you talkin' about Larry?!" said in the style of the "What you talkin' about Willis?!" catchphrase.
Childstar (2004)
 -  the show he works on is very much like this show and they make numerous references to Gary Coleman
"Robot Chicken: Junk in the Trunk (#1.1)" (2005)
 -  a sketch with 'bloopers' from the show
"Robot Chicken: Badunkadunk (#1.10)" (2005)
 -  The hulk appears on the show
"Family Guy: Road to Rupert (#5.9)" (2007)
 -  Peter's 80's television montage spoofs opening scenes various sitcoms, including this one.
Midgets Vs. Mascots (2009)
 -  Gary Coleman joke

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