Welcome Back, Kotter is an television sitcom which aired on ABC from 1975 to 1979. The show followed Mr. Kotter (played by Gabe Kaplan), a teach who returns to his high school alma mater in New York City, to teach a class of remedial students, known as the "Sweathogs". The series turned John Travolta into a teen idol, but by the third season the actors playing the high school aged Sweathogs ranged from 24 to 29, and the show was cancelled the following season.