''Two's Company'' is a British television situation comedy series that ran from 1975 to 1979. Produced by

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

for the ITV Network, the programme starred

Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films a ...

and

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

Premise

Dorothy McNab (Stritch) is an American author residing in London. As she spends most of her days writing, she hires an English butler, Robert Hiller (Sinden), to help run her

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

home. Being the epitome of the English gentleman, Robert does not approve of Dorothy's lurid thriller novels or her American ways. Much of the comedy stems from the banter between the two, as they continually disagree due to their cultural differences and often try to outwit each other.

History

''Two's Company'' was created by

Bill MacIlwraith William Pirie MacIlwraith (13 April 1928 – 9 May 2016) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. Born in London, to Scottish parents, he trained as an actor at RADA and worked in repertory during the 1950s, performing around the country. With ...

, who also wrote all of the episodes. Although the first and second series were not simulcast nationally in the UK, the third and fourth series were shown in a primetime Sunday evening slot by all ITV stations. It was nominated for a BAFTA Award for "Best Comedy" programme in 1977,BAFTA Awards website (Two's Company)
/ref> and was nominated for four BAFTA Awards in 1979, including "Best Comedy", "Best Graphics" (opening credits sequence) and Stritch and Sinden were each nominated for "Best Light Entertainment Performance". Stritch and Sinden also performed the series theme song, with lyrics written by

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premier ...

and music by

Denis King Denis Andrew King (born 25 July 1939) is an English composer and singer. He is best remembered as a member of a family ensemble, The King Brothers. Early career: the King Brothers King was born in Hornchurch, Essex, England. He began his musi ...

, which played during the animated opening credits sequence where Stritch's character is portrayed as a brassy American eagle and Sinden's as a snooty British lion. After its success in the UK, the series was remade for U.S. television in 1981 as ''

The Two of Us ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' starring

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

and

Mimi Kennedy Mary Claire "Mimi" Kennedy (born September 25, 1948) is an American actress, author, and activist. Best known for her roles in television sitcoms, Kennedy co-starred in numerous short-lived sitcoms before her role as Ruth Sloan on '' Homefront'' ...

, though this version was less successful and was cancelled the following year. Additionally, the original series was rerun on A&E during the mid-1980s. Coincidentally, Stritch and Sinden died within weeks of each other in 2014, aged 89 and 90 respectively. All four series of ''Two's Company'' have been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in the UK, the US, and Australia.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (1975)

Christmas Special (1976)

Series 2 (1977)

Series 3 (1978)

Series 4 (1979)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Two's Company (Tv Series) 1970s British sitcoms 1975 British television series debuts 1979 British television series endings ITV sitcoms Television duos Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in London English-language television shows London Weekend Television shows