Baby, I'm Back

Baby, I'm Back was a CBS network sitcom created by Lila Garrett & Mort Lachman which aired from January 30, 1978 to April 24, 1978, lasting for one season & 13 episodes.

Plot
The series was about a man named Raymond Ellis, a compulsive gambler who abandoned his family (wife Olivia, son Jordan and daughter Angie) and headed to California.

Seven years later while in California, Ray finds out that his wife plans to remarry to Colonel Wallace Dickey and that he has been declared legally dead which prompts him to return to Washington, D.C. to win back his family and prove that he's still alive; however, Ray now has to contend with his mother-in-law, Luzelle and Olivia's soon-to-be husband, Colonel Wallace Dickey.

Cast

 * Demond Wilson as Raymond Ellis
 * Denise Nicholas as Olivia Ellis
 * Tony Holmes as Jordan Ellis
 * Kim Fields as Angie Ellis
 * Helen Martin as Luzelle Carter
 * Ed Hall as Colonel Wallace Dickey

Production
The pilot for "Baby, I'm Back" was videotaped in September of 1977 and CBS picked it up as a mid-season replacement, going into production at the CBS Studio Center lot in November of 1977.

According to Scott Lewellen's book, "Funny You Should Ask: Oral Histories of Classic Sitcom Storytellers," Lila Garrett created the show to address the social issue of the time of black males not being able to get jobs to provide for their families.

Many had abandoned their families because of it and in this case, the lead character did abandon his family, but once he found work and got his act together, he came back, hence the name of the show. In the show, the mother had a great government job at the Pentagon and lived in a nice apartment.

With the casting as Demond Wilson just completed "Sanford and Son" and Denise Nicholas was a hot commodity at the time, Garrett saw the chemistry. Nicholas said in a summer 1978 edition of Jet Magazine that she was surprised at the cancellation of the series despite decent ratings.

Garrett stated that the show was cancelled due to Norman Lear wanting "Good Times" to come back for another season and told CBS that he would create them another show in exchange for it.