227
Season one title screen
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	C.J. Banks Bill Boulware
Based on	Two Twenty Seven byChristine Houston
Developed by	Jack Elinson
Starring	Marla Gibbs Hal Williams Alaina Reed Hall Jackée Harry Helen Martin Regina King Kia Goodwin Curtis Baldwin Countess Vaughn Toukie A. Smith Stoney Jackson Barry Sobel Paul Winfield
Theme music composer	Ray Colcord
Opening theme	"There's No Place Like Home", performed by Marla Gibbs
Composer	Ray Colcord
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	116(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Perry Grant (1985–1986) Dick Bensfield (1985–1987, 1988) George Burditt (1987–1988) Ron Bloomberg (1987–1988) Jack Elinson (1985–1987) Irma Kalish (1988–1990)
Producers	Richard Gurman (1985–1987) Bob Myer (1985–1986) Ronald Rubin (1987–1988) Larry Spencer (1989–1990) Roxie Wenk-Evans (1986–1989, 1990) Bob Young (1985–1986)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production companies	Embassy Television (1985–1986; season 1) Embassy Communications (1986–1987; seasons 2–3) ELP Communications (1988–1990; seasons 3–5) Columbia Pictures Television (1988–1990; seasons 3–5)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 14, 1985 (1985-09-14) – May 6, 1990 (1990-05-06)

227 is an Americansitcom television series that originally aired onNBC from September 14, 1985, to May 6, 1990. The series, created byC.J. Banks andBill Boulware, starsMarla Gibbs as Mary Jenkins, a sharp-tongued, city resident gossip and housewife. Other main characters include her husband Lester (Hal Williams), their daughter Brenda (Regina King), landlady Rose Holloway (Alaina Reed Hall), and neighbors Sandra Clark (Jackée Harry) and Pearl Shay (Helen Martin).

The series was adapted fromTwo Twenty Seven, a stage play written in 1978 byChristine Houston about the lives of women in a predominantly Black apartment building in 1950sChicago. The setting of the series, however, was changed to present-dayWashington, D.C. The show was created as a starring vehicle forMarla Gibbs, who had become famous as Florence Johnston, the maid onThe Jeffersons, and had starred in Houston's play in Los Angeles. This role was similar in nature to that of tart-tongued Florence; Gibbs's character, housewife Mary Jenkins, loved a good gossip and often spoke what she thought, with sometimes not-so-favorable results. (Gibbs was also credited as a "creative consultant" for the series.)

According to Gibbs,227 was originally offered to ABC but sold to NBC. SinceThe Jeffersons was still on the air on CBS, the new show was scheduled to begin in 1986. However, whenThe Jeffersons was unexpectedly canceled in 1985, Gibbs was free to begin, and227 went into production a year earlier than had been previously planned.

227 followed the lives of people in a middle-class apartment building, 227 Lexington Place (the numerical address from which the sitcom's name comes), in a Black neighborhood inNortheast,Washington, D.C. The show was centered around Mary Jenkins (Marla Gibbs), a nosy and tart-tongued but loving housewife. Her husband Lester Jenkins (Hal Williams) had his own construction company and their daughter Brenda (Regina King in her first television acting role) was boy-crazy yet smart and studious.

Also cast in227 was Sandra Clark (Jackée Harry), Mary's younger neighbor who constantly bickered back and forth with her about their respective views on life. While Mary was a happily married housewife with a stable lifestyle, Sandra was a stylish, loose, man-hungry, somewhat ditzy diva and a serial dater who dressed provocatively. Although their relationship was antagonistic at first, Mary and Sandra became good friends as time went on. Also living in the building was Pearl Shay (Helen Martin), a feisty but kind-hearted busybody neighbor on the first floor who was known for snooping and had a sharp sense of humor. Pearl had a grandson named Calvin Dobbs (Curtis Baldwin), whom Brenda had a crush on and would finally date later in the series' run.

Rose Lee Holloway (Alaina Reed Hall) was Mary's level-headed best friend and often the voice of reason among 227's residents. She and Mary were often seen sitting on the front stoop of the building, exchanging rumors and gossip with Pearl adding sly commentary and humor from her front window. In the premiere episode, Rose became the unexpectedlandlady of the building after the building's stingyslumlord Mr. Calloway died. Rose stayed on as landlady until the fourth season and had a daughter named Tiffany Holloway (Kia Goodwin) who was Brenda's closest friend. However, Goodwin's mother was unhappy in California, so the child actor was released from her contract. Tiffany was written out of the series after the second season,^[1] although she was mentioned occasionally.

In the first season, both Helen Martin and Curtis Baldwin, who had only been recurring stars, appeared in nearly every episode. From season 2 onward, they were upped to series regulars.

By the time taping started on the third season in 1987, Jackée Harry, who had just won anEmmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress, changed her stage name to simply Jackée, which she used until 1994. In the fourth season, an 11-year-old child prodigy named Alexandria DeWitt (Countess Vaughn) became the Jenkins' house guest. Vaughn received her role after she appeared onStar Search and declared to hostEd McMahon that her favorite show was227. However, Alexandria left during Calvin's graduation episode near the end of season four to reunite with her father, who, after completing his archaeological dig in the Amazon, had moved to London to catalogue his items.

After the fourth season, Jackée'stelevision pilot, titled "Jackée", found Sandra moving to New York City and finding work at a spa.NBC aired the episode on May 11, 1989. The pilot was rejected and Jackée left the show. However, she was a guest star in seven of the final season's episodes.

In the show's final season,Toukie Smith andBarry Sobel are promoted to the main cast after appearing in the last season whileStoney Jackson andPaul Winfield joined the cast in an effort to stop the show's declining ratings. In the end, the cast additions proved fruitless and227 ended its run in the spring of 1990.

• Mary Jenkins (portrayed byMarla Gibbs) - A housewife who lives at 227 Lexington Place.

• Lester Jenkins (portrayed byHal Williams) - The patriarch of the Jenkins family. He is the proprietor of a construction company.

• Rose Lee Holloway (portrayed byAlaina Reed Hall) - The level-headed best friend of Mary. She and Mary would sit on the stoop and spread gossip to each other. Rose becomes the landlady of 227 Lexington Place after the stingyslumlord Mr. Calloway died. She loses this job in season five when Julian c. Barlow comes into view and succeeds her as the new landlord.

• Sandra Clark (portrayed byJackée Harry) - A younger neighbor of the Jenkins family who Mary often bickers with.

• Pearl Shay (portrayed byHelen Martin) - A feisty old lady and busybody whose apartment window is near 227 Lexington Place's stoop. Whenever Mary and Rose are on the stoop talking about something, Pearl would often make commentary about the subject. Pearl Shay was the only character to appear in all 116 episodes of the show, appearing in the backdoor pilot "Jackée" as a guest star. Mary Jenkins, Lester Jenkins, and Rose Lee Holloway were absent in the "Jackée" pilot.^[2]

• Brenda Jenkins (portrayed byRegina King) - The boy-crazy daughter of Mary and Lester.

• Tiffany Holloway (portrayed by Kia Goodwin) - The daughter of Rose and close friend of Brenda. As mentioned above, her character was dropped after season two and is occasionally mentioned.

• Calvin Dobbs (portrayed by Curtis Baldwin) - The grandson of Pearl. He would later become Brenda's boyfriend in the series.

• Alexandra DeWitt (portrayed byCountess Vaughn) - An 11-year-old prodigy that stays with the Jenkins as a house-guest during season 4.

• Eva Rawley (portrayed byToukie Smith) - Anartist who moves into 227 Lexington Place at the end of season four where she becomes the building manager. By season five, she loses the building manager job when Julian c. Barlow comes into view. Eva would later get a job at an art gallery.

• Dylan McMillan (portrayed byBarry Sobel) - Ahistory teacher at Waverly High School who lives at 227 Lexington Place ever since his debut in season four.

• Travis Filmore (portrayed byStoney Jackson) - The owner of a limousine service that becomes Dylan's roommate in season five.

• Julian c. Barlow (portrayed byPaul Winfield) - A snide and wealthy man who becomes the landlord of 227 Lexington Place after it was purchased. He resides in a penthouse that was built at the top of 227 Lexington Place. Julian mentions that the "c" that begins his middle name was lower-cased by his mother to make it sound humble. Despite his personality, Julian has occasionally helped out his tenants with different situations.

• Ray (portrayed byReynaldo Rey) - Amail carrier who has 227 Lexington Place on his route.

• Cora (portrayed by Eve Smith) - An elderly resident of 227 Lexington Place.

• Emma Johnson (portrayed byLynn Hamilton) - A Sunday school teacher.

• Warren Merriwether (portrayed byKevin Peter Hall) - A talldetective who dates Rose.

With the exception ofThe Cosby Show andA Different World,227 achieved higher ratings than other sitcoms airing at the time with a predominantlyAfrican-American cast during the first two seasons of its original run on NBC.^[4]

• 1985–1986: #20 (18.80 rating)
• 1986–1987: #14 (18.90 rating)
• 1987–1988: #27 (16.44 rating)
• 1988–1989: #35 (14.47 rating)
• 1989–1990: #60 (11.53 rating)

NBC aired daytime reruns of227 from September 1989 to July 1990. The show went intosyndication in the fall of 1990. It has previously aired on cable'sBET,TV One,TV Land,Centric,UP (formerly GMC),Encore Black,OWN andLogo andThe Grio.

In January 2017, the series began airing on digital subchannelAntenna TV, which continued until September 2021, when it began airing on sister networkRewind TV upon its launch.^[10] It moved back to Antenna on May 26, 2025, currently airing weeknights at 4am ET and Sundays from 3 to 5pm ET.^[11] Rewind will also bring the show back to their lineup while staying on Antenna, airing it weeknights at 7pm ET and Saturdays from 6am to 8am ET.^[12]

The show is owned and distributed bySony Pictures Television.

InCanada,227 is available online, broadcast, and on demand byCTV.

The series became available to stream onAmazon Prime Video on July 15, 2021^[13][14] and onHulu on May 23, 2022.^[15][16]

On September 28, 2004,Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released the complete first season of227 onDVD in Region 1.

On February 7, 2017, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the first season on DVD in Region 1.^[17]

• 227 atIMDb
• 227 atepguides.com

• 1985 American television series debuts
• 1990 American television series endings
• 1980s American black sitcoms
• 1990s American black sitcoms
• American English-language television shows
• Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series
• American television series about families
• Television series based on plays
• Television series by Sony Pictures Television
• Television shows set in Washington, D.C.
• NBC sitcoms
• 1980s American multi-camera sitcoms
• 1990s American multi-camera sitcoms

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from March 2025