| Checking In | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Mike Milligan Jay Moriarty |
| Directed by | Jack Shea |
| Starring | Marla Gibbs Patrick Collins Larry Linville Liz Torres Ruth Brown Robert Costanzo Jordan Gibbs |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | T.A.T. Communications Company Ragamuffin Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | April 9 – April 30, 1981 |
| Related | |
| The Jeffersons | |
Checking In is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of The Jeffersons that aired for four episodes on CBS from April 9 to April 30, 1981.
In the seventh-season final episode of The Jeffersons, "Florence's New Job", the Jeffersons' maid, Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs), accepted a job to become the executive housekeeper at the fictional St. Frederick Hotel in New York City. The series follows Florence's misadventures at the hotel with her co-workers: Lyle Block, her stuffy manager; Elena Beltran, her assistant; Earl Bellamy, the inept house detective; Hank Sabatino, the lewd handyman; Betty, the floor supervisor; Dennis, the bellboy; and Mr. Claymore, the hotel owner.[1]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Boo Who?" | Jack Shea | Howard Bendetson & Bob Bendetson | April 9, 1981 | |
| Florence and Elena suspect that a ghost is roaming the building, and Florence decides to spend the night alone in a room to prove that it's not haunted. | |||||
| 2 | "Block's Party" | Jack Shea | Bob Schiller & Bob Weiskopf | April 16, 1981 | |
| Lyle throws a party at the hotel, but his high school rival (now a pro football coach) and his team decide to crash it. | |||||
| 3 | "Whose Side Are You On?" | Jack Shea | Michael G. Moye | April 23, 1981 | |
| Florence is caught between Lyle and Elena when they have an argument, but she won't take anyone's side. | |||||
| 4 | "Florence and the Salesman" | Jack Shea | Lesa Kite, Cindy Begel, Howard Bendetson & Bob Bendetson | April 30, 1981 | |
| Florence misunderstands and thinks an elderly salesman is coming on to her, but he's really trying to make a sales pitch. | |||||
Checking In premiered on CBS on April 9, 1981, and lasted for only four episodes in the Thursday, 8:00 p.m. ET timeslot. Faced with low ratings, the series was cancelled, and the final episode aired on April 30, 1981. Gibbs then returned to her regular role on The Jeffersons and it was explained that the St. Frederick Hotel had burned down.
Checking In was the first All in the Family spin-off series that was not successful, unlike The Jeffersons, Maude and Maude spin-off Good Times. Other failed spin-off attempts were Gloria in the 1982-1983 season and 704 Hauser in 1994.
The third episode, "Whose Side Are You On?", was added as a bonus feature on The Jeffersons: The Complete Series 33-disc DVD set issued by Shout! Factory.
