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''Charlie's Angels'' is an American
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions. The show follows the crime-fighting adventures of three women working at a private detective agency in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, and originally starred Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Jaclyn Smith in the leading roles and John Forsythe providing the voice of their boss, the unseen Charlie Townsend, who directed the crime-fighting operations of the "Angels" over a speakerphone. There were a few casting changes: after the departure of Fawcett at the end of season 1,
Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series '' Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 ...
joined in season 2 and remained in the show till the ending. When Jackson departed at the end of season 3,
Shelley Hack Shelley Marie Hack (born July 6, 1947) is an American actress, model, producer, and political activist. She is best known as the face of Revlon's Charlie perfume from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, and for her role as Tiffany Welles in ...
joined for season 4, and she was subsequently replaced by Tanya Roberts in season 5. Despite mixed reviews from critics and a reputation for merely being " jiggle television" that emphasized the sex appeal of the female leads, ''Charlie's Angels'' was a top ten hit in the Nielsen ratings for its first two seasons. After the third season, however, the show had fallen from the top 10, and by the fifth season, from the Top 30. ''Charlie's Angels'' continues to have a
cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
and
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
following through syndication, DVD releases, and subsequent television shows. The show also spawned a
media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...
with a film series started in 2000, which is a continuation of the series story with later generations of Angels. A reboot television series was broadcast in 2011, but was canceled after seven episodes.


Development

After the success of '' Police Woman'', the first hour long drama starring a woman, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts came up with the idea for a series about three beautiful female private investigators as a breakthrough but also as an escapist television series. Producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg first considered actress Kate Jackson during the early pre-production stages of the series. She had proven popular with viewers in another police television drama, ''
The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series created by Rita Lakin that originally aired on ABC from September 11, 1972, to March 30, 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for ...
''. Jackson was initially cast as Kelly Garrett, but was more attracted to the role of Sabrina Duncan, and her request to switch roles was granted. Farrah Fawcett was next cast as Jill Munroe but, like Jackson, did not audition for a role. She was offered a part by Spelling after he had viewed her performance in the 1976 film '' Logan's Run''. Jaclyn Smith was among the hundreds of actresses who auditioned for the role of Kelly Garrett. Despite liking Smith, Spelling and Goldberg were wary about hiring her because their initial concept concerned a brunette, blonde, and red-headed woman. Smith was the only brunette who auditioned for the role and was cast only after producers liked the on-screen chemistry she shared with Jackson and Fawcett. Producer Leonard Goldberg had the initial idea, three years previously, for a show that would be a cross between ''The Avengers'' and ''Honey West'', a short-lived drama from the 1960s about a female private investigator. Goff and Roberts had first titled the series ''The Alley Cats'' in which the three females (named Allison, Lee, and Catherine) would reside in alleys and wear whips and chains. Jackson disapproved of the title and, since she was given semi-control over the development of the series, she encouraged producers to find a new title. It was Jackson who decided the three women would be called "Angels" after seeing a picture of three angels hanging in Spelling's office, and the series became known as ''Harry's Angels''. This title was changed, however, when ABC did not want to run into conflict with the series ''
Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American private detective series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was executive producer. ''Harry O'' followed the broad ...
'', and it thereby became ''Charlie's Angels''. In the initial concept of the series, the three females' boss would be a millionaire who often aided them in their assignments; however, Jackson and Spelling decided it would be more interesting to have the boss's identity remain a secret. With this, millionaire Charlie Townsend was an unseen character on the series who only spoke to the Angels via a
Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...
speakerphone. John Forsythe, who played the unseen Charlie Townsend, recorded his lines in an audio studio and was never on set. Thus, Forsythe rarely met any of his female co-stars. Some years later, he bumped into Farrah Fawcett at a tennis court, as he recalled, "I was coming off the court when she came up to me and said, 'Charlie! I finally met Charlie!'". Forsythe was offered the 'Charlie' role in a panicky late-night phone call from Spelling after the original choice, Gig Young, showed up too intoxicated to read his lines: "I didn't even take my pajamas off – I just put on my topcoat and drove over to Fox. When it was finished, Aaron Spelling said, 'That's perfect'. And I went home and went back to bed". Spelling and Goldberg decided to add actor David Doyle to the cast as John Bosley, an employee of Charlie, who would frequently aid the Angels in their assignments. Although ABC had approved of a pilot film, they were concerned about how audiences would accept three women fighting crime on their own. ABC executives brought in David Ogden Stiers as Scott Woodville, who would act as the chief backup to the Angels and Bosley's superior; he would also be depicted as the organizer of the plan, in similar fashion to Jim Phelps in '' Mission: Impossible'', a series for which Goff and Roberts had written. The 74-minute pilot film initially aired on March 21, 1976. The story focuses heavily on Kelly Garrett (a role intended for Jackson before she and Smith swapped) who poses as an heiress who returns home to gain her father's successful winery. In the end of the film the three women are caught in a bind and Scott attempts to save them, but to no avail, leaving them to solve the dilemma on their own (and with the help of allies made during the story). ABC executives were somewhat disappointed in this initial project, fearing there was more emphasis on camp than serious drama. After viewing the pilot, Spelling encouraged executives to delete Scott Woodville from the series; according to ''The Charlie's Angels Casebook'', audiences also reacted negatively to the character. Bosley was kept, made slightly less inept than depicted in the pilot, and was given many of Woodville's attributes and responsibilities. The series formally premiered on Wednesday, September 22, 1976, at 10:00pm. The pilot film received enormous ratings, but ABC – who thought this was one of the worst ideas for a TV series they had ever heard – did not believe the figures and showed the pilot again at a later date to check. The ratings were just as high, even for a repeat screening. Each episode of the series cost between $575,000 and $600,000.


Premise

In the initial concept, Sabrina Duncan, Jill Munroe, and Kelly Garrett have graduated from the police academy in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Despite proving their capability during training, all three have subsequently been assigned by the
Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
to be a meter maid, office worker, and crossing guard, respectively. Dissatisfied with these jobs, they are recruited to work for the Charles Townsend Agency as
private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...
s. All of this is explained in the opening credit sequence; neither the pilot film nor subsequent series ever actually depicted an "origin story" as they are seen to have been working as investigators for some time as of the start of the pilot. Their boss, Charlie Townsend, who nicknames them "Angels", is never viewed full face, but is often seen from the back, mostly in the company of beautiful women. As a former detective, Charlie made many enemies, therefore to protect the Angels, as well as his own identity, Charlie gives the Angels their assignments via a
Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...
speakerphone; he never meets them face to face (Bosley being the exception), which leads to recurring queries from the Angels as to when, or if, he will ever join them on an assignment. In season two,
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
police academy graduate Kris Munroe takes the place of her older sister, Jill, in the trio; in the fourth season, Tiffany Welles, a
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
police academy graduate, takes Sabrina's place; and in the fifth and final season, upon Tiffany's departure, Julie Rogers, a former New York model fills the void when she is granted a temporary private detective license. ''Charlie's Angels'' was generally formatted in the way of a procedural drama, much like the vast majority of other crime shows of the era. Many of the episodes follow a regular structure whereby a crime is committed, the 'Angels' are given the case details, and then they go undercover to solve the crime. Inevitably, the final scene takes place back at the Townsend office with Charlie offering his congratulations for a job well done. Most episodes have stand-alone plots and are usually not referenced in future episodes (for instance, in season 4's "Caged Angel", when Kris goes undercover at a women's prison, no mention is made of Kelly, Sabrina and Jill going undercover at a different prison in season 1's "Angels in Chains").


Cast and characters


Cast changes

Over the course of its five-year run, ''Charlie's Angels'' had a series of highly publicized cast changes. The first of these took place in the spring of 1977, just after the conclusion of the first season. Fawcett turned in her resignation just before the season one finale aired on May 4, 1977. Fawcett's decision not to return for a second season triggered a lawsuit against the actress by ABC and Spelling. During the 1977 summer hiatus of the series, ABC and Fawcett entered a legal battle over her contract. At the beginning of the series, all three female leads signed five-year contracts, and the network was insistent that they live up to their commitments. Business partners Leonard Goldberg and Aaron Spelling tried to work out a deal with Fawcett and her agents. Goldberg and Spelling had arranged for her to make one film during her summer hiatuses, and her choice over subsequent television shows and miniseries. ABC even agreed to raise her salary from $5,000 to $8,000 a week, but she declined those offers. ABC reluctantly released her from her series contract in the summer of 1977. However, she was assigned to another contract with ABC, stating that since she left her contract four years early that she would return to the series later on in its run for six guest appearances. Fawcett would return as Jill Munroe on ''Charlie's Angels'' for three guest appearances in season three, and again returned for three more in season four. As Fawcett departed the series, ABC began searching for her replacement. Executives eventually noticed singer turned actress Cheryl Ladd and offered her a screen test. Initially, Ladd refused the opportunity for a screen test, but after lobbying from studio executives, she relented. Although executives noticed Ladd was inexperienced, they saw promise in her performance and signed her to a four-year contract. In an effort to keep the hype the series had with Fawcett, Ladd was written in the series as her sister, San Francisco police academy graduate Kris Munroe. Ratings dropped during the third season. Jackson began to complain about the show's diminishing script quality (she once complained: "The scripts are so light it would take a week to get to the floor if you dropped it from the ceiling") and further stated that initially the series focused on "classic detective work", but had become more of a "cop story of the week". During the third season, Jackson was offered the part of Joanna Kramer in '' Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979) with
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...
but the ''Charlie's Angels'' producers refused to reorganize the shooting schedule to allow Jackson time off to shoot the film (the part of Joanna ultimately went to Meryl Streep, who won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for her performance). Upset by this situation and her negative opinion of the scripts, Jackson became problematic, as she admitted, "I guess I did cause a few problems" and she was let go. In a statement, Spelling said: "Due to problems on the set, Kate is being dropped for the good of the show". Casting calls for Jackson's replacement began during the summer of 1979. Several up-and-coming actresses were considered for the role, including
Barbara Bach Barbara Bach, Lady Starkey (née Goldbach; August 27, 1946) is an American actress and former model. She played the Bond girl Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me (film), ''The Spy Who Loved Me''. She is married to former The Beatles, Beatles ...
, Connie Sellecca, Shari Belafonte, Judith Chapman, newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer and ''
The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...
'' model Dian Parkinson. ABC producers auditioned Revlon Charlie perfume model
Shelley Hack Shelley Marie Hack (born July 6, 1947) is an American actress, model, producer, and political activist. She is best known as the face of Revlon's Charlie perfume from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, and for her role as Tiffany Welles in ...
and cast her as Jackson's replacement. Producers at Spelling-Goldberg were quoted as saying: "We feel that Shelley Hack has exactly the talent, style, and intelligence we were looking for". Producer Spelling loved the idea of the headline "The Charlie Girl Becomes A ''Charlie's Angel''". Hack debuted in the fourth-season premiere as Tiffany Welles, who graduated "top of her class" from the
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
police academy and recruited from the
Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1854, the BPD is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. It is also the 20th largest law enforce ...
. In hiring Hack, Spelling's priority for season four was to "bring back the glamour" while ABC hoped Hack's sophisticated personality would bring an interesting new mystique and intrigue to the series. However, after an initial spike in the ratings, they began to erode, so in an attempt to revitalize declining ratings and regain popularity, ABC released Hack from her contract in February 1980. A statement later issued by Spelling-Goldberg read: "When she signed her contract for the series, Miss Hack had a personal agreement that she could review her continuation with the show at the end of her first season since series television represented an enormous change in her career and lifestyle", implying that Hack was included in the decision to exit ''Charlie's Angels''. In an interview with ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'', Hack said: "They can say I didn't work out, but it isn't true. What happened was a network war. A business decision was made. Change the timeslot or bring on some new publicity. How to get publicity? A new Angel hunt. Who is the obvious person to replace? I am—the new kid on the block". Hack later stated: "I never expected to be there more than a year and I wasn't. I did my year and I moved on". Casting calls went out for Hack's replacement. After a series of false commitments, Spelling and ABC selected model and former dance instructor Tanya Roberts, beating out Jayne Kennedy, Susie Coelho, and what Roberts skeptically called "the
ther Ther may refer to: * ''Thér.'', taxonomic author abbreviation of Irénée Thériot (1859–1947), French bryologist * Agroha Mound, archaeological site in Agroha, Hisar district, India * Therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempte ...
alleged 2,000 Angel candidates". Roberts debuted in the fifth-season premiere as Julie Rogers, a streetwise fighter and model from New York, but the season premiere episode drew mild ratings. She was pictured on the cover of ''People'' magazine and featured in an article surrounding the series. The article, titled "Is the Jiggle Up?", asked if Roberts could save ''Charlie's Angels'' from cancellation. Executive Brett Garwood said that they hoped to keep the show going for next year, but nothing was certain. Between November 1980 and June 1981, the series was broadcast in three different time slots and its ratings further declined, so ABC cancelled the show in the spring of 1981.


Reception


Critical reception

''Charlie's Angels'' became known as " Jiggle TV". Jiggle TV was also called " Tits &
Ass Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (albu ...
Television" or "T&A" for short and in the 1970s the amount of sex on television increased, as did its ratings,Censoring Sex: A Historical Journey Through American Media. John E. Semonche, Rowman & Littlefield, 15 Aug 2007 creating social controversies and consequences, by critics who believed that the TV series had no intelligence or substance. These characterizations stemmed from the fact that the lead actresses frequently dressed scantily or provocatively as part of their undercover characters (including roller derby girl, beauty pageant contestant, maid, female prisoner, or just bikini-clad), and the belief that their clothing was a means of attracting viewers. "Jiggle TV" is seen as trashy and escapist entertainment.Television Everywhere: How Hollywood Can Take Back the Internet and Turn Digital Dimes Into Dollars. Andrei Jezierski. i2 Partners LLC, 12 Oct 2010 Farrah Fawcett once attributed the TV show's success to this fact: "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra". Contrariwise on ''TV Tales'', Cheryl Ladd said "I'm just saying, personally, I wore a bra"; Shelley Hack stated: "I don't jiggle much, so I didn't have anything to worry about"; and Jaclyn Smith said, "Jiggle TV. I thought it was ridiculous". Reflecting on the 1970s female-driven drama, Jaclyn Smith, who was the only 'Angel' to star on all five seasons, states how ''Charlie's Angels'' changed her – and TV audiences across America: "It was ground-breaking. It was about three emotionally and financially independent women. We shot at beautiful locations with fancy fast cars, and they cared about each other, so there was a heart to the show. Critics said that as actresses we were sexually exploited, but it was a nursery rhyme. We were in a bathing suit at the beach, and if there was a hint of a love scene, it was so proper. I think the producers were smart. They wanted to bring in that younger audience and did want families to watch together". Smith adds: "Each of our characters had their own unique personality, yet the show was all very cohesive - it just worked. We really were all good friends and that showed on the screen". Ladd believed the TV series was "inspirational" to women despite the critics calling it a "jiggle show". She noted, "there hadn't been a show like this on the air iththree powerful women who had the latest hairdos, wore the coolest clothes and could walk around in a bikini. We were very inspirational to a lot of young women. Young women would write us and say, 'I want to be like you. I want to be a cop when I grow up and taking chances to be something else other than the acceptable school teacher or secretary'". In reference to the show being called "Jiggle TV", Ladd said: "Which made me laugh, I never went braless, and I was married and the mother of a 2-year-old. The 'Angels' were grown-up Girl Scouts. We never slept with anyone; my most 'Aaron Spelling' moment was wrestling an alligator. With the feminist movement, we were kind of half-heroes, half-goats". Hack said: "Of course it's fluff, but high-grade fluff. You don't compare Agatha Christie to Tolstoy". Additionally, referring to the Revlon Charlie commercials and ''Charlie's Angels'', she stated on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...
'': "I was lucky. There were two things I was in that were about making women feel a little more empowered". Kate Jackson has stated that she believes the first season of ''Charlie's Angels'' was the TV show's high point, and it was the most fun for herself, Smith, and Fawcett: "When you think about ''Charlie's Angels'', you think about three specific people". Jackson added: "I don't know what the connection that the three of us have is, but it is there, and it is something extremely special. I think that is the reason the show worked". ''Time'' magazine called ''Charlie's Angels'' an "aesthetically ridiculous, commercially brilliant brainstorm surfing blithely atop the
Zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' (; ; capitalized in German) is an invisible agent, force, or daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. The term is usually associated with Georg W. F ...
's seventh wave".
Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia ( ; born April 2, 1947) is an American academic, social critic and Feminism, feminist. Paglia was a professor at the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1984 until ...
, an American academic and social critic, said that ''Charlie's Angels'' was an "effervescent action-adventure showing smart, bold women working side by side in fruitful collaboration".


Public reception

''Charlie's Angels'' proved to be a runaway hit in the 1976–1977 season in its first of five time slots, Wednesdays at 10:00pm, where it followed ''
Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...
''. Facing little competition from CBS and NBC, ''Charlie's Angels'' finished fifth in
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
in the spring of 1977 with an average 26.0 rating. The three lead actresses were suddenly propelled to stardom, with Kate Jackson later commenting that the first few months were like being in the eye of a storm. Farrah Fawcett became hugely popular and was branded a phenomenon. However, the situation off screen was not as rewarding. The long working hours on set, combined with numerous calls for photo shoots, wardrobe fittings, and promotional interviews, took their toll on the trio. Jackson was especially unhappy as she felt the quality of scripts was declining and the format was now more "cop story of the week" rather than classy undercover drama, which had been the intention with the pilot film. With season two, the series moved up an hour to the Wednesday 9:00pm time slot, where it stayed for three years. During that time, the series competed with such popular shows as '' One Day at a Time'', ''
The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...
'' (on CBS), and ''
Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...
'' (on NBC). The transition from Fawcett to
Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series '' Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 ...
in the second season proved to be popular with viewers. While viewership dipped marginally in the second season, the series still remained in the top five for the 1977–78 season, placing fourth in the ratings, tying with ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' and ''
All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
''. In the third season, viewership stabilized, but the series began losing traction as it ranked twelfth behind newcomers ''
Mork & Mindy ''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', " My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extrater ...
'', ''
The Ropers ''The Ropers'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 15, 1980. It is a Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Three's Company'' and loosely based on the British sitcom ''Geo ...
'', and ''
Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
'' (all on ABC) for the 1978–79 season. With Jackson's departure and
Shelley Hack Shelley Marie Hack (born July 6, 1947) is an American actress, model, producer, and political activist. She is best known as the face of Revlon's Charlie perfume from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, and for her role as Tiffany Welles in ...
entering the cast, the show's fourth season saw some ratings erosion as it ranked twentieth for the 1979–80 season, tying with ''
Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...
''. The fifth season saw the final cast change with Tanya Roberts. The final season was plagued by the
1980 actors strike The 1980 actors strike was a labor strike held in July–October 1980 by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), two labor unions representing actors in the American film industry. T ...
, causing a delayed premier date. In addition, the series was shuffled around with three different time slots: Sundays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 8:00pm, and finally Wednesdays at 8:00pm, where it remained for the remainder of its run. Despite generally receiving mild competition from its rival networks on these time slots, ''Charlie's Angels'' placed fifty-ninth out of sixty-five shows for the 1980–81 season. ABC thereby canceled the series after five seasons and 115 episodes.


Nielsen ratings / broadcast history

The ''Charlie's Angels'' seventy four minute pilot film that aired on March 21, 1976, received enormous ratings, but ABC network — who thought this was one of the worst ideas for a TV series they had ever heard — did not believe the figures and showed it again a week later to check. At the time of Spelling pitching the pilot of ''Charlie's Angels'' to the network, ABC executive Michael Eisner told Spelling that his pitch had to be "one of the worst ideas I've ever heard", and ABC executive Barry Diller claimed no one would ever watch it. Despite the ABC network's disbelief in the project, the repeat ratings were just as high.


Awards and nominations

Golden Globes (1977) * Best Television Series - Drama, ''Charlie's Angels'' (Nominated) * Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama, Farrah Fawcett-Majors (Nominated) * Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama, Kate Jackson (Nominated) Golden Globes (1978) * Best Television Series - Drama (Nominated) * Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama, Kate Jackson (Nominated) Golden Globes (1979) * Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama, Kate Jackson (Nominated) Golden Globes (1980) * Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Television Series, David Doyle (Nominated) Photoplay Awards (1979) * Favorite TV Program (Nominated) Primetime Emmy Awards (1977) * Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Kate Jackson (Nominated) * Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, David Doyle (Nominated) * Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing for a Series (Nominated) Primetime Emmy Awards (1978) * Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Kate Jackson (Nominated) People's Choice Awards (1977) * Favorite Overall New TV Program (Winner) * Favorite Female Performer in a New TV Program, Farrah Fawcett-Majors (Winner) American Cinema Editors, USA (1978) * Best Edited Episode from a Television Series (Nominated) TV Land Awards (2003) * Favorite "Heard-But-Not-Seen" Character, John Forsythe (Winner) * Most Amazing Cast Crossover, ''Charlie's Angels'' and ''The Love Boat'' (Winner) TV Land Awards (2004) * Favorite "Fan"-tastic Phenomenon, Farrah Fawcett (Winner) * Most Memorable Mane, Farrah Fawcett (Winner) * Favorite "Heard-But-Not-Seen" Character, John Forsythe (Nominated) TV Land Awards (2007) * Favorite "Heard-But-Not-Seen" Character, John Forsythe (Winner) * TV Theme Song You Most Want for Your Ring Tone (Nominated) TV Land Awards (2010) * Pop Culture Award, ''Charlie's Angels'' (Winner) Online Film & Television Association (2015) * OFTA TV Hall of Fame, Television Program, ''Charlie's Angels'' (Winner)


Notable guest stars

''Charlie's Angels'' played host to a number of well-known faces during its five seasons. Some of those individuals were long-established stars of film and television; others would find considerable fame and recognition many years ''after'' appearing in the program. Notable appearances of celebrities (whether famous then or later) include those of:


Home media

In 1997, episodes were released on Columbia TriStar Home Video Screen Gems VHS during a wave of 1970s nostalgia VHS releases.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
released all five seasons of ''Charlie's Angels'' on DVD in region one over the span of ten years, with the fifth and final season released as a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Amazon.com & WBShop.com and only in the U.S. Additionally, seasons 1–3 have been released on DVD in regions 2 and 4. Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including ''Charlie's Angels'' in 2013. They subsequently re-released the first season on DVD on January 21, 2014. Mill Creek re-released ''Charlie's Angels: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1 on September 6, 2016. The twenty disc set contains all 110 episodes of the series. Mill Creek released the entire series on Blu-ray for the first time in fall 2019. Plays on Region 2 Blu-ray ''Note: Episode count is based on the format in which episodes originally aired. Two hour episodes are counted as one episode''.


Episodes


Attempted spin-off

ABC attempted to create a spin-off of ''Charlie's Angels'' in 1980 called ''Toni's Boys''. The backdoor pilot aired near the end of season four, simply titled "Toni's Boys" (season 4, episode 23). The episode starred Barbara Stanwyck as Antonia "Toni" Blake, a wealthy widow socialite and friend of Charlie's who ran a detective agency she inherited from her late husband. The agency was staffed by three handsome male detectives — Cotton Harper ( Stephen Shortridge), Bob Sorensen ( Bob Seagren), and Matt Parrish (Bruce Bauer) — who took direction from Toni, and solved crimes in a manner similar to the Angels. The show was not picked up as a regular series for the following season.


Crossovers

The character Dan Tanna (played by Robert Urich) from the detective series '' Vega$'' appeared in the episode "Angels in Vegas" a week before the ''Vega$'' season one debut. The crossover was simply used to reintroduce the Dan Tanna character and to promote ''Vega$'' as an ongoing series. In the episode "Love Boat Angels", the angels went on another popular Aaron Spelling show, ''
The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'', and met the crew. Gavin MacLeod,
Bernie Kopell Bernard Morton Kopell (born June 21, 1933) is an American character actor known for his roles as Siegfried in ''Get Smart'' from 1966 to 1969 and as Dr. Adam Bricker ("Doc") on ''The Love Boat'' from 1977 to 1986. Early life Kopell was born in B ...
, Fred Grandy, Ted Lange, and Lauren Tewes guest starred as their ''The Love Boat'' characters. The episode aired on September 12, 1979, as the fourth-season premiere and the debut episode of Shelley Hack as Tiffany Welles. The episode placed number one in the Nielson ratings for the week. Although technically not crossovers, the cast made some notable appearances together. In 1976, Jackson, Smith, and Fawcett appeared as themselves on ''The Captain & Tennille Show''. In the fall of 1977, Jackson, Smith, and Ladd appeared as themselves in the first episode of the Spelling-produced comedy series, '' The San Pedro Beach Bums''.


Syndication

The show was first syndicated on local stations such as
KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...
in Los Angeles and WNEW in New York in September 1981, and later on TNT,
TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...
, Cloo, ION,
Cozi TV Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1950s to the 2000s. The network originat ...
,
MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television progra ...
and
getTV Get (Great Entertainment Television, stylized as get. since 2023, and formerly stylized as getTV) is an American Digital subchannel#Commercial networks, digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television#Sony Pictures Tel ...
. , all five seasons can be purchased in the USA on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
and
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
. , the series is still available for syndication to local television stations in the United States. , the show has aired in the U.S. on digital broadcast television networks Cozi TV and getTV and the streaming services Crackle, IMDb TV,
The Roku Channel The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the UK. The service was launched in 2017, and is owned and operated by Roku, Inc. It is the most popular free ad-supported streaming televisio ...
and
Tubi Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...
.


Other versions

The series spawned a franchise with a film series which is a continuation of the story with new generations of Angels. It has also inspired many remakes and reinterpretations throughout the years and in different countries. It has also been featured in various other media.


Film series

The ''Charlie's Angels'' 1976 original television series inspired Flower Films production company's two films, '' Charlie's Angels'' (2000) and '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), with John Forsythe returning as Charlie. Whereas most movie remakes of 1970s TV shows, like '' Starsky and Hutch'', are actually remakes, the ''Charlie's Angels'' films are set in a different time and thus closer to a film revival. The mythology goes that whenever an Angel leaves, she is replaced so there are always three. The second film had more nods to the TV series than the first film, with Jaclyn Smith making a brief cameo as Kelly Garrett. ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000) is an American action comedy film based on the ''Charlie's Angels'' 1976 original television series. Unlike the original series, which had dramatic elements, the film featured more comical elements than were seen in the series. The film was directed by McG, adapted by screenwriters Ryan Rowe,
Ed Solomon Edward James Solomon (born September 15, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He wrote the screenplays to ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' (1989), ''Men in Black (1997 film), Men in Black'' (1997), and ''Now You See Me (film), Now You See Me'' ( ...
, and
John August John August (born August 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is known for writing the films '' Go'' (1999), '' Charlie's Angels'' (2000), '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), '' Big Fish'' (2003), '' ...
.
Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. Prolific in both comedy and drama, Cameron Diaz filmography, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Her output of romantic comedies in the late 1990s a ...
,
Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...
, and
Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...
star as three women working in a private detective agency in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...
plays Bosley and John Forsythe reprised his role as the unseen Charlie's voice from the original series. Making
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s are Tom Green (who was dating Barrymore at the time of production) and
LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...
. A
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
, entitled ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), was directed by McG and written by John August and Cormac and Marianne Wibberley. In an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
, Diaz, Barrymore, and Liu return as the angels Natalie, Dylan, and Alex, respectively. It sees
Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentricity (behavior), eccentric Character actor, character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in ''Back to ...
and Matt LeBlanc returning, as well as featuring
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...
,
Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
,
Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...
, Shia LaBeouf, Robert Patrick, Justin Theroux, Luke Wilson,
John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...
, and
Rodrigo Santoro Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro (; born 22 August 1975) is a Brazilian actor. He is known in Brazil for his appearance on local telenovelas and internationally for his portrayal of Persian King Xerxes I of Persia, Xerxes in the film ''300 (film), ...
, with Jaclyn Smith reprising her role as Kelly Garrett, and Bernie Mac as Bosley's brother. This was John Forsythe's final film appearance before his retirement and his death in 2010. The film opened in the United States on June 27, 2003, and was number one at the box office for that weekend, also making a worldwide total of $259.2 million. Elizabeth Banks wrote and directed a new film of the franchise, starring Kristen Stewart,
Naomi Scott Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Her accolades include an Astra Film Award and a Teen Choice Award, in addition to nominations for two Saturn Awards. After featuring on the Disney Channel series '' Life Bites' ...
and Ella Balinska as the leading trio of the fighting team, and Banks also star as Bosley, with the film featuring multiple characters named Bosley. It was later revealed that the new movie would not be a reboot or a remake of the franchise but rather a continuation that incorporated the events of the original TV series and the McG-directed 2000s films.


''Behind the Camera''

In 2004, a television film entitled '' Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels'' aired on NBC; it was based on the book ''Charlie's Angels Casebook'', by Jack Condon and David Hofstede.


Reboot

Four women (including future star Tea Leoni) were selected to be in a show called ''Angels '88'', which was to serve as an updated version of the show. The show was later named ''Angels '89'' after production delays, but the project was abandoned before notice was taken. In November 2009, ABC began to make a television revival of '' Charlie's Angels'', with Josh Friedman handling both writing and executive producing duties, and Drew Barrymore and Leonard Goldberg sharing co-production duties. Developed by
Alfred Gough Alfred Gough ( ; born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer, writer, director, showrunner and creator. He is the developer of The WB/The CW's Superman-prequel television series ''Smallville (TV series), Smallville''. Alongside lo ...
and Miles Millar for ABC, the reboot series premiered by the network on September 22, 2011. ABC canceled the reboot series after one month on October 14, due to low ratings and concluding on November 10, with seven episodes (the eighth and last one was unaired in the US).


International versions

From 1998 to 1999,
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
and
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
produced a show called ''Ángeles''. The weekly hour format did not catch on with Hispanic viewers, who are accustomed to watching ''
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...
s'' nightly, and the series was soon canceled. In 2002, a German version of ''Charlie's Angels'', ''Wilde Engel'', was produced by the German channel RTL. The show was known as ''Anges de choc'' in French-speaking countries, and as ''Three Wild Angels'' in English-speaking ones. In 2005, the Taiwanese version of ''Charlie's Angels'' titled ''Asian Charlie's Angels'' (幻影天使), originally produced for AXN Taiwan in 2001, was aired in the United States by ImaginAsian.


Subsequent Angels

* Natalie Cook, played by
Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. Prolific in both comedy and drama, Cameron Diaz filmography, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Her output of romantic comedies in the late 1990s a ...
in '' Charlie's Angels'' (2000) & '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003) * Dylan Sanders, played by
Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...
in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000) & ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' * Alex Munday, played by
Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...
in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000) & ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' * Madison Lee, played by
Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
in ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003)A character in the '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' movie with "
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
" involving her being a former Angel
* Sabina Wilson, played by Kristen Stewart in '' Charlie's Angels'' (2019) * Elena Houghlin, played by
Naomi Scott Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Her accolades include an Astra Film Award and a Teen Choice Award, in addition to nominations for two Saturn Awards. After featuring on the Disney Channel series '' Life Bites' ...
in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2019) * Jane Kano, played by Ella Balinska in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2019) * Rebekah, played by Elizabeth Banks in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2019)A character in the '' Charlie's Angels'' 2019 film with "
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
" involving her being a former Angel
* Ingrid, played by Hannah Hoekstra in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2019) *
Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver and model. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win ...
, Ronda Rousey,
Laverne Cox Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBTQ advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series '' Orange Is the New Black'', becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a ...
,
Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...
, Lili Reinhart, Aly Raisman, Chloe Kim and Huda Kattan, are all appeared in cameos as the Angels in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2019)


Reboot Angels

* Kate Prince, played by
Annie Ilonzeh Annette Ngozi Ilonzeh (born August 23, 1983) is an American actress. From 2010 to 2011, she played Maya Ward on the ABC daytime soap opera ''General Hospital'', and later starred as Kate Prince in the short-lived ABC reboot of '' Charlie's Ange ...
in '' Charlie's Angels'' (2011) * Abby Simpson, played by Rachael Taylor in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2011) * Eve French, played by Minka Kelly and young Eve, played by Taylor Blackwell in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2011) * Gloria Martinez, played by
Nadine Velazquez Nadine E. Velázquez (born November 20, 1978) is an American actress and model known for her roles as Catalina Aruca on ''My Name Is Earl'' and Sofia Ruxin on ''The League''. She has also appeared in films such as ''Blast (2004 film), Blast'' (2 ...
and young Gloria, played by Anahi Article in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2011) * Zoe Sinclair / Oswald, played by Peyton List in ''Charlie's Angels'' (2011)


Unofficial Angels

* Connie Bonnet (1988–1989), played by Claire Yarlett, in ''Angels '89'' * Pam Ryan (1988–1989), played by Karen Kopins, in ''Angels '89'' * Trisha Lawrence (1988–1989), played by Sandra Canning, in ''Angels '89'' * Bernie Colter (1988–1989), played by Téa Leoni, in ''Angels '89'' * Adriana Vega (1998–1999), played by Patricia Manterola, ''Ángeles'' * Elena Sanchez (1998–1999), played by Sandra Vida, ''Ángeles'' * Gina Navarro (1998–1999), played by Cole Pitman, ''Ángeles'' * Christina "Chris" Rabe (2002–2003), played by Birgit Stauber, ''Wilde Engel'' * Franziska Borgardt (2002–2003), played by Susann Uplegger, ''Wilde Engel'' * Lena Heitmann (2002–2003), played by Eva Habermann, ''Wilde Engel'' * Betty (2004), played by Qu Ying, ''Asian Charlie's Angels'' * Cindy (2004), played by Kelly Lin, ''Asian Charlie's Angels'' * Annabelle (2004), played by Annie Wu, ''Asian Charlie's Angels'' * Angie (2004), played by Christy Chung, ''Asian Charlie's Angels'' * Rebecca (2005), played by Vanessa Petruo, ''Wilde Engel'' * Ida (2005), played by Tanja Wenzel, ''Wilde Engel'' * Aiko (2005), played by Zora Holt, ''Wilde Engel'' * In ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003),
Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
and
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986), also known as the Olsen twins, are American fashion designers and former actresses. Mary-Kate Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Ashley made their acting debut as infants playing Mi ...
appear as future Angels but only in Dylan Sanders' imagination.


Collectible items

During the TV show's run,
Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...
Industries produced an extensive range of ''Charlie's Angels'' merchandise, which was distributed in the US, the UK, and other international markets. A numerous variety of collectible items were produced, including two versions of dolls, board games, numerous posters, several sets of trading cards, notebooks, a lunchbox and thermos set, a ''Charlie's Angels'' toy van, children's beauty products and even record albums. Author Sherrie A. Inness, in the text 'Disco Divas: Women and Popular Culture in the 1970s' writes that "Charlie's Angels merchandise was big business, Hasbro spent over $2.5 million to advertise its Charlie's Angels dolls". In the UK, as was common with many popular US programs of the era, a series of tie-in hardcover annuals were published by World International Publishing Ltd, containing stories, comics, photos, puzzles and features on the stars. There are four ''Charlie's Angels'' annuals in total. Although it was not connected to the show, a 1976 poster of Farrah Fawcett sporting a red bathing suit became the biggest selling poster in history with 12 million copies sold. This poster also helped the burgeoning popularity of the series. The red swimsuit that helped make Farrah Fawcett a 1970s icon became part of the Smithsonian's collection in 2011. The picture has been immortalized as a Black Label Barbie Collection doll and the legendary red bathing suit has been donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The designer of that swimsuit is Norma Kamali.


Comics

Two British
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
versions were produced. The first appeared in the Polystyle publication ''Target'' in April 1978, drawn by John Canning. ''Target'' was a sister title to the long-running '' TV Comic'' aimed at older children and featuring TV action and crime shows of the day. Proving unpopular, it folded in August and merged back into ''TV Comic'' where Canning's Angels strip continued until October 1979. The second strip was printed in Junior TV Times ''
Look-in ''Look-in'' was a children's magazine centred on ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior '' TVTimes''". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994.Angus Allan and drawn by Jim Baikie and Bill Titcombe. In June 2018, a six-issue limited comic book series based on the television series was launched by Dynamite Entertainment. A crossover comic book series with ''Charlie's Angels'' and ''
The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...
'', titled ''Charlie's Angels vs. the Bionic Woman'' was released on July 3, 2019.


See also

* '' The Doll Squad'', a film about another group of shapely female operatives * '' Cagney & Lacey'' * '' Sto Para Pente'', a Greek TV series * '' She Spies''


References


External links

* * {{Charlies Angels Charlie's Angels (franchise) 1970s American crime drama television series 1980s American crime drama television series 1970s American mystery television series 1980s American mystery television series 1970s American police procedural television series 1980s American police procedural television series 1976 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings American action adventure television series American television series revived after cancellation American detective television series Television series about the Los Angeles Police Department Fictional female spies Fictional martial artists Fictional private investigators Fictional trios Superhero trios American English-language television shows Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Spelling Television Television shows set in Los Angeles Television shows set in California Television shows adapted into comics Television shows adapted into films Television shows adapted into video games American Broadcasting Company crime dramas