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Jimmy Kimmel to host TV tribute to 'All in the Family,' 'Jeffersons'

By Annie Martin
Jimmy Kimmel will present a tribute to the Norman Lear series "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" in May. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Jimmy Kimmel will present a tribute to the Norman Lear series "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" in May. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

April 19 (UPI) -- Jimmy Kimmel will honor All in the Family and The Jeffersons in a new TV special.

ABC announced in a press release Thursday the 51-year-old television personality will present a tribute to the classic Norman Lear series, Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons.

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The live, 90-minute special will air May 22 on ABC. Kimmel will co-host with Lear, with Brent Miller, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Justin Theroux as executive producers.

The tribute will recreate an original episode from both All in the Family and The Jeffersons. James Burrows will direct the special.

Deadline said Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei will play Archie and Edith Bunker in the All in the Family recreation, with Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes as George and Louise Jefferson in The Jeffersons episode.

In addition, Ellie Kemper will portray Gloria Stivic, with Will Ferrell as Tom Willis and Justina Machado as Florence Johnston.

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"The fact that a group of Oscar winners eagerly agreed to play these iconic characters is a testament to the greatness of these shows and their creator, Norman lear," Kimmel said in a statement.

Lear dismissed those who have said All in the Family and The Jeffersons "were meant for the '70s and would not work today."

"We disagree with them and are here to prove, with two great casts depicting All in the Family and The Jeffersons, the timelessness of human nature," the producer said. "I cannot wait to see what these glorious performers make in our time of these indelible characters."

All in the Family starred Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton and had a nine-season run on CBS from 1971 to 1979. Its spinoff The Jeffersons starred Isabel Sanford and Sherman Hemsley and had an 11-season run from 1975 to 1985.

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