The BEST episodes of The Facts of Life

Every episode of The Facts of Life ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Facts of Life!

Charlotte Rae stars as a dietician and house mother at a private girls' boarding school, watching over students Blair, Tootie, Natalie and Jo.

Last Updated: 3/26/2024Network: NBCStatus: Ended
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The Christmas Show
star
8.57
7 votes

#1 - The Christmas Show

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/21/1983

The holidays bring joy to the girls when they all plan on going home for Christmas but when Jo's mother temporarily moves to Miami, Jo is stuck in Peekskill.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Writer: Jerry Mayer
Watch Now:Amazon
Out of the Fire...
star
8.45
11 votes

#2 - Out of the Fire...

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/14/1985

After returning from their summer vacation, the girls discover that Edna's Edibles has burned down. This leads the girls to discuss rebuilding and opening up a new business.

Directors: John Bowab
Writer: Paul Haggis
Watch Now:Amazon
The Last Drive-In
star
8.44
9 votes

#3 - The Last Drive-In

Season 6 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/13/1985

The local drive-in theatre is closing and the girls decide to pay it one last visit on the final night it's open. However, chaos reigns when people begin to loot the theatre and Blair gets into a cat fight.

Directors: John Bowab
Watch Now:Amazon
With a Little Help From My Friends
star
8.44
9 votes

#4 - With a Little Help From My Friends

Season 6 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/30/1985

Blair is concerned when she discovers her date is doing cocaine.

Directors: John Bowab
Watch Now:Amazon
Christmas in the Big House
star
8.43
14 votes

#5 - Christmas in the Big House

Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/19/1984

For the Christmas season, Blair and some of her snobby friends plan on putting on a Christmas show at a home for boys. Her Christmas spirit quickly changes when she discovers that the home for boys is really a home for convicts.

Directors: John Bowab
Writer: Jerry Mayer
Watch Now:Amazon
A Death in the Family
star
8.42
12 votes

#6 - A Death in the Family

Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/1/1984

The girls are shaken by the sudden death of Natalie's father and wonder how to ease her pain.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
Next Door
star
8.40
10 votes

#7 - Next Door

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/4/1984

A young boy enters Edna's Edibles and Tootie befriends him and learns that he lives next door. She also learns that his mother works all day and leaves him home alone and tells him never to leave their apartment and when a gas leak is detected on the block the young boy won't budge.

Directors: Linda Day
Watch Now:Amazon
Small but Dangerous
star
8.33
9 votes

#8 - Small but Dangerous

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/16/1983

Streetwise Kelly alleges that the vandalism of Edna's Edibles was the work of a local gang, but Jo decides to investigate.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
Let's Party!
star
8.30
10 votes

#9 - Let's Party!

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/9/1983

Tootie is excited about the impending visit of her brother Marshall, however is stay becomes one of fear when he invites the girls to a college party where beer is being served. After the party, a drunk Marshall, insisting that he isn't drunk, offers to drive Blair, Natalie and Tootie home. However, their trip home is interrupted by an accident.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Writer: Jerry Mayer
Watch Now:Amazon
Brave New World (1)
star
8.30
10 votes

#10 - Brave New World (1)

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/21/1983

Jo and Blair have a hard time adjusting to college.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
Cruisin'
star
8.30
10 votes

#11 - Cruisin'

Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/1984

On a dateless Saturday night, the girls cruise downtown Peekskill in hopes of finding Mr. Right. However, a string of bizarre events leads the girls to hideout in their car at a closed gas station.

Writer: Paul Haggis
Watch Now:Amazon
Taking a Chance on Love (2)
star
8.29
7 votes

#12 - Taking a Chance on Love (2)

Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/7/1984

Jo and Sam's relationship grows more serious despite the fact that he has a young son from a previous marriage.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
The Chain Letter
star
8.22
9 votes

#13 - The Chain Letter

Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/28/1983

While Mrs. Garrett frets over an inspection by the Board of Health, the girls get involved with a chain letter and ignore their responsibilities.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
Talk, Talk, Talk
star
8.22
9 votes

#14 - Talk, Talk, Talk

Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/28/1984

While working at the campus radio station, Jo finds herself needing to fill 5 hours of air time. Things start off on a bad note, when she can't find a key to the record cabinet, which leads, Natalie, Tootie, Blair and Mrs. Garrett to come to her rescue.

Directors: John Bowab
Watch Now:Amazon
Graduation (1)
star
8.20
10 votes

#15 - Graduation (1)

Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/4/1983

Blair and Jo share a common feeling of disdain toward their graduation from Eastland.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
The Halloween Show
star
8.20
10 votes

#16 - The Halloween Show

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/1983

A strange man tells the girls that years ago a murder occurred in the shop. Later, when the girls see Mrs. Garret with a knife they assume that she's possessed by the murderer's spirit and is out to get them.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Writer: Jerry Mayer
Watch Now:Amazon
Seems Like Old Times
star
8.20
10 votes

#17 - Seems Like Old Times

Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/21/1984

Jo is surprised when her ex-boyfriend, Eddie, who just got out of the Navy, makes a surprise visit. However, Jo isn't the only one who's in for a surprise when Tootie discovers a shocking secret that Eddie's been keeping.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
A Royal Pain
star
8.18
11 votes

#18 - A Royal Pain

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/5/1983

A new student arrives at Eastland claiming to be a royal princess. All seems to go okay, but then Tootie catches her with a boy. Since it is against the rules to have an uninvited guest, Tootie starts to become suspicious.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Writer: Jerry Mayer
Watch Now:Amazon
The Second Time Around
star
8.14
7 votes

#19 - The Second Time Around

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/14/1983

Jo begins seeing sparks between her divorced parents and immediately hopes they get back together. However, her hopes quickly become dashed when she learns that her father is planning to marry another woman.

Watch Now:Amazon
What Price Glory?
star
8.11
9 votes

#20 - What Price Glory?

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/19/1983

Tootie's new boyfriend, Jeff, is the star football player on the football team at Eastland. However, she learns a startling secret that he's been keeping, he's illiterate. She now must decide whether or not to encourage his behavior of having other kids do his work for him.

Writer: Alan Spencer
Watch Now:Amazon
Advanced Placement
star
8.11
9 votes

#21 - Advanced Placement

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/2/1983

Natalie is allowed to enroll in a college course at Langley College and she quickly gets an overblown ego which quickly threatens her friendships with Blair, Jo and Tootie. Things get even worse when she learns that if she can keep her grade point average up she will be allowed to graduate early and enroll at Langley in the fall.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:Amazon
Me and Eleanor
star
8.11
9 votes

#22 - Me and Eleanor

Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/2/1985

A no-win situation: Tootie asks Natalie for an honest opinion of her dreadful one-woman play about Eleanor Roosevelt.

Directors: John Bowab
Writer: Paul Haggis
Watch Now:Amazon
Two Guys From Appleton
star
8.11
9 votes

#23 - Two Guys From Appleton

Season 6 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/23/1985

Mrs. Garrett receives a visit from the high-school sweetheart she ran out on, and she's swept off her feet all over again.

Directors: John Bowab
Writer: Paul Haggis
Watch Now:Amazon
Sisters
star
8.11
9 votes

#24 - Sisters

Season 6 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/20/1985

During an alumni weekend at Langley, Blair's mother and Jo's father bond which leads to Blair and Jo's fears of becoming sisters.

Watch Now:Amazon
The Americanization of Miko
star
8.10
10 votes

#25 - The Americanization of Miko

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/20/1982

The strict father of new Japanese student Miko comes down hard on her for sneaking out to see a rock concert and causing $400 in damage with Jo's motorcycle.

Directors: Asaad Kelada
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV