# Drexell's Class

Drexell's Class is an American sitcom that aired Thursday at 8:30 on Fox as part of its 1991–92 lineup. The show was created by Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers.

## Synopsis

Drexell's Class starred Dabney Coleman as Otis Drexell, a fifth-grade teacher at fictional Grantwood Elementary School in Cedar Bluffs, Iowa. Drexell's backstory revealed that he was a corporate raider who lost a large amount of money on a failed venture, dodged his taxes, and was arrested. At his sentencing, he was offered a suspended sentence if he worked as a teacher at the understaffed school to pay off his back taxes. Drexell was a divorced man whose two daughters lived with him. The cast also included two antagonists, rival teacher Roscoe Davis (Dakin Matthews) and Principal Francine Itkin (Randy Graff), who was later succeeded by Principal Marylin Ridge (Edie McClurg).
One of Drexell's few friends at the school was P.E. teacher George (Cleavant Derricks), who shared Drexell's love of sports and beer. Most episodes revolved around Drexell's unwillingness to teach his students lessons by the book, or trying to be a good father to his daughters. On one occasion, Drexell's ex-wife made an appearance; Drexell hoped she would remarry so he could stop paying alimony.

## Cast

* Dabney Coleman as Otis Drexell
* Randy Graff as Principal Francine E. Itkin
* Dakin Matthews as Roscoe Davis
* Jason Biggs as Willie Trancas
* Heidi Zeigler as Nicole Finnigan
* Damian Cagnolatti as Kenny Sanders
* Matthew Lawrence as Walker
* A. J. Langer as Melissa Drexell
* Brittany Murphy as Brenda Drexell
* Edie McClurg as Principal Marilyn Ridge
* Cleavant Derricks as George Foster
* Phil Buckman as Slash
* Jacqueline Donnelly as Bernadette
* Matthew Slowik as Lionel

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
| 1 | "Otis' Last Day" | Matthew Diamond | Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers | September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19) | 8G03 |
| 2 | "Air Drexell" | Matthew Diamond | Phil Kellard & Tom Moore | September 26, 1991 (1991-09-26) | 8G02 |
| 3 | "Misery Loves Drexell" | Matthew Diamond | Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers | October 3, 1991 (1991-10-03) | 8G04 |
| 4 | "Love Walked Right In and Swept Mr. Drexell Away" | Matthew Diamond | Dennis Klein | October 10, 1991 (1991-10-10) | 8G05 |
| 5 | "Convictions" | Matthew Diamond | Ralph Farquhar | October 17, 1991 (1991-10-17) | 8G01 |
| 6 | "Viva Lost Wages" | Matthew Diamond | Phil Kellard & Tom Moore & Ralph Farquhar | October 24, 1991 (1991-10-24) | 8G07 |
| 7 | "Best Halloween Ever" | Matthew Diamond | Wayne Kline | October 31, 1991 (1991-10-31) | 8G06 |
| 8 | "Driving Drexell Crazy" | Matthew Diamond | Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers | November 7, 1991 (1991-11-07) | 8G08 |
| 9 | "Down and Out at the Out 'n In" | Matthew Diamond | Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers | November 14, 1991 (1991-11-14) | 8G10 |
| 10 | "The Best Thanksgiving Ever" | Matthew Diamond | Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers | November 21, 1991 (1991-11-21) | 8G09 |
| 11 | "Bully for Otis" | Matthew Diamond | Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers | December 5, 1991 (1991-12-05) | 8G11 |
| 12 | "Silent Night, Holy Smokes" | Matthew Diamond | Bill Boulware | December 12, 1991 (1991-12-12) | 8G12 |
| 13 | "My Own Private Iowa" | Matthew Diamond | Eric Brand & Robert Kurtz | January 16, 1992 (1992-01-16) | 8G13 |
| 14 | "Beauty and the Beast" | Dick Martin | Bill Boulware | January 23, 1992 (1992-01-23) | 8G14 |
| 15 | "Ashes to Ashes" | Matthew Diamond | George Zateslo | February 6, 1992 (1992-02-06) | 8G17 |
| 16 | "Till Death Do You Part" | Gino Tanasescu | George Zatelso | February 13, 1992 (1992-02-13) | 8G15 |
| 17 | "Cruisin'" | Matthew Diamond | Bill Boulware | February 20, 1992 (1992-02-20) | 8G18 |
| 18 | "The Resentments" | Matthew Diamond | Wayne Kline | March 5, 1992 (1992-03-05) | 8G16 |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Title of work | Recipient |
| 1991 | Young Artist Awards | Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series | – |
| 1991 | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Actor Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series | Michael Oliver |
| 1991 | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Actor Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series | Brandon Quintin Adams |

## In popular culture

* The Simpsons made light of the show's cancellation in their 1992 "Treehouse of Horror III" episode with a "graveyard of cancelled shows". A tombstone of Drexell's Class is featured alongside tombstones of Fish Police, Capitol Critters, and Family Dog.
* An early episode of the show had a montage of historically accurate flags, from the Red Ensign of Colonial America and showing how the American flag changed, with the current 50-star flag marked "1991" followed by the flag of Japan marked "2000". This had been criticized by Asian-American groups and the Veterans of Foreign Wars who considered that to be a joke in poor taste.