(September 16, 1984-May 27, 1988)
Originally aired on NBC
Soleil Moon Frye as Penelope 'Punky' Brewster
George Gaynes as Henry Warnimont
Cherie Johnson as Cherie Johnson
Ami Foster as Margeaux Kramer
Susie Garrett as Betty Johnson
T.K. Carter as Mike Fulton
Brandon as Brandon the Wonder Dog
Premise: A girl, abandoned by her mother, moves in with a crusty photographer
Set in Chicago

Brandon Tartikoff had a childhood obsession with an older girl called 'Punky,' hence the name of the show.
Of course, the dog that always latched to Punky was named after Tartikoff.
It sounds creepy when a little girl moves in with a single old guy.
It is famed for Cherie Johnson's watershed role as Cherie Johnson.
Before there was 'Girl Power,' there was 'Punky Power.'
It was basically a white version of 'Webster' and 'Diff'rent Strokes.'
It was yet another 1980's NBC children's show that spread the joy of the 'Just Say No' campaign.
One episode had the ridiculous premise of Cherie being locked in a refrigerator.
Like many NBC sitcoms of the 1980's, it spawned an animated spin-off.
In the last episode, the cast held a wedding for Brandon the dog.
It ran on NBC for two years, took a one-year hiatus, and then ran on first-run syndication for another two years.

It had to deal with NFL games running overtime on the Sunday night show, forcing the producers to create 15-minute episodes.
The real Punky (Peyton Rutledge) made an appearance on an episode.
An episode where Punky was saddened by the Challenger explosion helped many kids deal with the tragedy.
Some credit Punky's fashion sense for bringing hip hop culture to white people.
Kids got to submit their artwork that was shown as the show went to commercial.

Credit: Hoxy

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• Comedy Series
• Entertainment Weekly's 50 Pop Culture Moments the Rocked Fashion [1983-2008] (Ranked: 39)
• Hoxy's Profiles [Series 3]
• Look at Me and My Pet
• Look at My Hair in Pig Tails/Braids
• Look at My Headband
• Look at My Tongue
• NBC TV Series
• Profiles 17501-17750 (Ranked: 17734)
• TV Series Originating in Syndication
• TV Series Set in Chicago
• TV Series that Inspired a Cartoon
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