''Drexell's Class'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that aired Thursday at 8:30 on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

as part of its 1991–92 lineup. The show was created by

Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers Andrew John Nicholls (born 14 July 1957) and Darrell Vickers (born 17 July 1957) are an English-born Canadian writing team. They were head writers of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' from 1988 to 1992. Both their families moved inde ...

Synopsis

''Drexell's Class'' starred

Dabney Coleman Dabney Wharton Coleman (born January 3, 1932) is an American actor. Coleman's best known films include ''9 to 5'' (1980), '' On Golden Pond'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), '' WarGames'' (1983), '' Cloak & Dagger'' (1984), ''The Beverly Hillbillies ...

as Otis Drexell, a fifth-grade teacher at fictional Grantwood Elementary School in Cedar Bluffs, Iowa. Drexell's backstory revealed that he was a

corporate raider A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

who lost a large amount of money on a failed venture, dodged his taxes, and was arrested. At his sentencing, he was offered a suspended sentence if he worked as a teacher at the understaffed school to pay off his back taxes. Drexell was a divorced man whose two daughters lived with him. The cast also included two antagonists, rival teacher Roscoe Davis (Dakin Matthews) and Principal Francine Itkin (

Randy Graff Randy Lynn Graff (born May 23, 1955) is an American actress and singer. Career Graff was born in Brooklyn, New York City and is a graduate of Wagner College. She is a cousin of actors Todd Graff and Ilene Graff. Graff has been in feature films ...

), who was later succeeded by Principal Marylin Ridge (

Edie McClurg Edith Marie McClurg (born July 23, 1945) is an American actress and comedian. She has played supporting roles in the films ''Carrie'' (1976), ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), and ''Elvira: Mistress of the Dark'' (1988), and bit parts in ' ...

). One of Drexell's few friends at the school was P.E. teacher George (Cleavant Derricks), who shared Drexell's love of sports and

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

. Most episodes revolved around Drexell's unwillingness to teach his students lessons by the book, or trying to be a good father to his daughters. On one occasion, Drexell's ex-wife made an appearance; Drexell hoped she would remarry so he could stop paying

alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial sup ...

Cast

as Otis Drexell *

as Principal Francine E. Itkin *

Dakin Matthews Melvin Richard "Dakin" Matthews (born November 7, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatrical scholar. Best known as Herb Kelcher in ''My Two Dads'' (1987–1989), Hanlin Charleston in ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) ...

as Roscoe Davis *

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Jim Levenstein in the '' American Pie'' comedy film series and Larry Bloom in the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black''. He als ...

as Willie Trancas * Heidi Zeigler as Nicole Finnigan *Damian Cagnolatti as Kenny Sanders *

Matthew Lawrence Matthew William Lawrence (born February 11, 1980) is an American actor and singer, known for his roles in ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ''Boy Meets World''. Lawrence also starred in the series '' Brotherly Love'' with his real-life brothers Joey and An ...

as Walker *

A. J. Langer Allison Joy Courtenay (née Langer, born May 22, 1974) commonly known as A. J. Langer, is a retired American actress andsince 2015the Countess of Devon. She is most known for playing Caroline Larkin in season 2 of Baywatch and as Rayanne Graff o ...

as Melissa Drexell *

Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...

as Brenda Drexell *

as Principal Marilyn Ridge * Cleavant Derricks as George Foster *

Phil Buckman Philip Bradley Buckman (born November 18, 1969) is an American musician and actor. He was the bassist for the rock band Filter from 2010 to 2013, and was the bassist for Fuel from 2015 to 2021. Early life Originally from Queens, New York, Phil ...

as Slash *Jacqueline Donnelly as Bernadette *Matthew Slowik as Lionel

Episodes

Awards and nominations

In popular culture

*''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' made light of the show's cancellation in their 1992 "

Treehouse of Horror III "Treehouse of Horror III" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1992. The third annual ''Treehouse of Horro ...

" episode with a "graveyard of cancelled shows". A tombstone of ''Drexell's Class'' is featured alongside tombstones of '' Fish Police'', ''

Capitol Critters ''Capitol Critters'' is an American animated sitcom about the lives of mice, rats and roaches who reside in the basement and walls of the White House in Washington, D.C. The series was produced by Steven Bochco Productions and Hanna-Barbera in ...

'', and '' Family Dog''.

References

*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

External links

* * {{Epguides, id=DrexellsClass 1990s American school television series 1990s American sitcoms 1990s American workplace comedy television series 1991 American television series debuts 1992 American television series endings Elementary school television series English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Television series about educators Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows set in Iowa