''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 (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

for the ITV Network, the programme starred

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

and

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was an English 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'' ( ...

Premise

Dorothy McNab is an American author residing in London. As she spends most of her days writing, she hires an English butler, Robert Hiller, to help run her Chelsea 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, 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 The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Award for "Best Comedy" programme in 1977,BAFTA Awards website (Two's Company)
/ref> and was nominated for four

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 premie ...

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 mus ...

, 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'' starring

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

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. 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 ki ...

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

* *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, twos_company 1975 British television series debuts 1979 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms British English-language television shows ITV sitcoms London Weekend Television shows Television duos Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in London