''Baby... I'm Back!'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

television series that aired on CBS in early 1978. The series stars

Demond Wilson Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor and author. He played Sanford and Son#Lamont Sanford, Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred G. Sanford, Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) on the NBC sitcom ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–1 ...

Denise Nicholas Denise Donna Nicholas (born July 12, 1944) is an American actress. Nicholas played high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series ''Room 222'' and Councilwoman Harriet DeLong on the NBC/ CBS drama series '' In the He ...

, Helen Martin and Kim Fields.

Synopsis

Raymond Ellis is a compulsive gambler who abandoned his family (wife Olivia, son Jordan and daughter Angie) and headed to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Seven years later while in California, Ray finds out that his wife plans to remarry to Colonel Wallace Dickey, and that he has been declared legally dead. This prompts him to move back to Washington, D.C., where he tries to win back Olivia by proving he is a better husband, and a better father to his kids, and to prove that he is still alive. However, he now has to contend with his mother-in-law Luzelle and Olivia's soon-to-be husband Colonel Wallace Dickey.

Production

The pilot was videotaped in September 1977. CBS picked the pilot up as a

mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after ...

, going into production at the

CBS Studio Center Radford Studio Center, alternatively CBS Studio Center, is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, United States. The lot has 18 sound stages from , of office spac ...

lot in November 1977, for airing from January to April 1978. In the book ''Funny You Should Ask: Oral Histories of Classic Sitcom Storytellers'' by Scott Lewellen, Lila Garrett created the show to address the social issue of the time of black males not being able to get jobs to provide for their families. Many had abandoned their families because of it and in this case, the lead character did abandon his family, but once he found work and got his act together, he came back, hence the name of the show. In the show, the mother had a great government job at the Pentagon and lived in a nice apartment. At the time of casting Wilson had just completed '' Sanford and Son'' and Nicholas was a hot commodity. Garrett saw the chemistry between the two. Nicholas said in a summer 1978 edition of ''

Jet Magazine ''Jet'' is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded in print by John H. Johnson in November 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, the magazine was billed as "The We ...

'' that she was surprised at the cancellation of the series despite decent ratings. Garrett stated the show was cancelled due to

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

wanting ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

'' to come back for another season and told CBS that he would create them another show in exchange for it.

Cast

as Raymond Ellis *

as Olivia Ellis * Tony Holmes as Jordan Ellis * Kim Fields as Angie Ellis * Helen Martin as Luzelle Carter * Ed Hall as Colonel Wallace Dickey

Episodes

Syndication

Reruns aired occasionally on

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0076982 1978 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings 1970s American black sitcoms 1970s American multi-camera sitcoms American English-language television shows Television shows set in Washington, D.C. Television series by MGM Television CBS sitcoms