Welcome Back, Kotter

Classroom comedy that launched Travolta and made remedial high school appointment TV.

Why it matters

Episode guide

95 episodes across 4 seasons — titles, air dates, and synopses.

At a glance

Gabe Kotter returns to his Brooklyn high school to teach the Sweathogs — remedial troublemakers who make education a variety act. ABC's Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979) turned Gabe Kaplan into a cool teacher brand and John Travolta's Vinnie Barbarino into a scream-magazine idol. Horshack, Epstein, and Washington completed the back-row Mount Rushmore. The theme song welcomed everyone back weekly. Class clowns became a federal case of catchphrases.

Network & studio

• ABC — broadcast network

Why watch now

Travolta before superstardom and a classroom sitcom with genuine ensemble snap. Pure 1970s ABC youth-comedy electricity.

Cultural impact

Welcome Back, Kotter made Travolta a teen idol and fixed the Sweathogs in high-school comedy lore. Up-your-nose and Barbarino impressions became playground industry. It showed network sitcoms could mint movie stars mid-run.

Creators

Gabe Kaplan · Alan Sacks

Key cast

• Gabe Kaplan as Gabe Kotter
• Marcia Strassman as Julie Kotter
• John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino
• Robert Hegyes as Juan Epstein
• Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs as Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington
• Ron Palillo as Arnold Horshack

Flash facts

• ABC sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as teacher Gabe Kotter; aired 1975–1979.
• John Travolta broke out as student Vinnie Barbarino.
• Ensemble Sweathogs included Ron Palillo (Horshack), Robert Hegyes (Epstein), and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Washington).
• Theme song 'Welcome Back' became a chart hit associated with the series.
• Set in a Brooklyn high school with Kotter teaching a remedial class he once attended.

FAQ

Back to the decade

More from the 1970s — Relevance Goes Prime Time. All shows.