Synopsis
Florist Janet Wood ( Joyce DeWitt) and secretary Chrissy Snow ( Suzanne Somers) live inCast and characters
Main
* John Ritter as Jack Tripper * Joyce DeWitt as Janet Wood * Suzanne Somers as Christmas "Chrissy" Snow (seasons 1–5) * Norman Fell as Stanley Roper (seasons 1–3; season 5, guest star) * Audra Lindley as Helen Roper (seasons 1–3; season 5, guest star) * Richard Kline as Larry Dallas (seasons 1–3, recurring; seasons 4–8, main) * Don Knotts as Ralph Furley (seasons 4–8) * Ann Wedgeworth as Lana Shields (season 4) * Jenilee Harrison as Cindy Snow (seasons 5–6) * Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden (seasons 6–8)Recurring
* Paul Ainsley as Jim, the bartender (seasons 1–4) * William Pierson as Dean Travers (seasons 1–5) * Peter Mark Richman as Reverend Snow (seasons 2–4) * Gino Conforti as Felipe Gomez (seasons 5–7) * Jordan Charney as Frank Angelino (seasons 5–8)Episodes
Background and production
Development
Famed Broadway writer Peter Stone tried to Americanize the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. He originally set the series in New York, and he envisioned the male roommate as a successful, yet underpaid, chef in a fancy French restaurant, while the two female roommates were an executive secretary and a high-fashion model. When ABC's Fred Silverman read the script, he felt that middle America would not like the concept, and he decided to pass on the script. Silverman asked Larry Gelbart, creator and producer of '' M*A*S*H'', for help with the series. At first, Gelbart wanted nothing to do with the show, feeling that its relatively simple premise made it substandard in comparison to ''M*A*S*H''. Ultimately, as a favor to Silverman, Gelbart developed a pilot episode with the help of his son-in-law, who named the series ''Three's Company''. Gelbart's adaptation closely followed the British series. Gelbart named the male roommate David Bell, an aspiring filmmaker looking for a place to live and who just happened to be a great cook. The two female roommates were portrayed by Valerie Curtin who played Jenny, an employee of the DMV, and Susanne Zenor, who played Samantha, an aspiring actress. In Gelbart's version, the series took place in an apartment building called the Hacienda Palms in Hollywood, California. It was produced by Don Taffner and Ted Bergmann. Silverman liked Gelbart's version, and ABC ordered a pilot, which was taped in early 1976. The format of the show just barely made it on to the fall 1976 ABC lineup, but the network later removed it for what network executives felt were more promising series. While ABC was considering how to re-shoot the pilot, CBS expressed an interest in the show. CBS made a firm commitment to producers Taffner and Bergmann to air the show with the Gelbart cast as a mid-season replacement in February 1977. At the last minute, ABC decided that it wanted the show after all, and made a firm commitment to air the show at mid-season with a new cast. For help in remolding the show, producers hired Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernie West, the writers who adapted the British series '' Till Death Us Do Part'' into '' All in the Family''. Their revised version of the pilot followed the British series even more closely. The male roommate changed from filmmaker David Bell to Jack Tripp (later changed to Tripper), a cooking student, similar to his British counterpart chef Robin Tripp. Aspiring actress Samantha became secretary Chrissy, portrayed by Denise Galik. Galik was dismissed a couple of days before the pilot taped, and Susan Lanier replaced her. The other female roommate, DMV employee Jenny became Janet Wood, a florist, portrayed by Joyce DeWitt. They also moved the setting of the show from North Hollywood to the beachside in Santa Monica. Nicholl, Ross, and West went on to conceive the show as an all outFilming
''Three's Company'' was recorded at two locations: the first, seventh, and eighth seasons were taped at Metromedia Square and ABC Television Center, while the second through sixth seasons were taped in Studio 31 at CBS Television City. The cast would receive the script on Monday, rehearse from Tuesday to Thursday, and then shoot on Friday. Each episode was shot two consecutive times using different audiences and a three multicamera setup. The taping was done in sequence, and there were rarely any retakes because the producers were strict. Priscilla Barnes once said, "Our bosses were very, very controlling. If my hair was too blonde, I'd get called up in the office." The scenes in the opening credits with the trio frolicking on a boardwalk and riding bumper-cars were shot at the Santa Monica Pier, prior to the construction of the adjacent larger amusement park. Producers shot a new opening sequence when Priscilla Barnes joined the show, featuring the new threesome and the other cast members riding a zoo tram and observing various animals around the park. These sequences were filmed at theCast changes
''Three's Company'' had many cast changes over its run. The first of these changes took place in the spring of 1979 with the relocation of the Ropers to their own television series, which revolved around Helen and Stanley and their neighbors in a townhouse community after Stanley had sold the apartment building; it lasted for one and a half seasons. ''Man About the House'' had similarly spun off the Ropers for the series '' George and Mildred''. Three changes took place in the fall of 1979, at the beginning of the fourth season. The first was the addition of Lana Shields, an older woman who chased Jack. She kept pursuing him but he was unappreciative of her advances. Since Ann Wedgeworth disliked her diminishing role in the series, producers dropped Lana from the show with no explanation before mid-season. The second addition that fall was the new building manager, Ralph Furley (played by Don Knotts), whose brother Bart bought the building from the Ropers. Mr. Furley pursued Lana unsuccessfully, as she unsuccessfully pursued Jack. Unlike Lana, Mr. Furley remained until the end of the series. Third, Richard Kline as Larry Dallas, previously in a recurring role, was upgraded to a full cast member. Season five (1980–1981) marked the beginning of contract re-negotiations and sparked friction on the set. Somers demanded a substantial increase in salary, from $30,000 to $150,000 per episode plus 10% of the show's profits. John Ritter, as the show's top-billed actor, was making $150,000 per episode at the time. When Somers' demands were not met, Somers went on a strike of sorts. Executives believed that a complete loss of Somers could damage the program's popularity, so a compromise was reached. Somers, who was still under contract, continued to appear in the series, but only in the one-minute closing tag scene of a handful of episodes. Somers' scenes were taped on separate days from the show's regular taping; she did not appear on set with any of the show's other cast members. According to Somers, an off- hiatus contract with CBS as well as tension between her and producer Michael Ross led to her being fired, and her dismissal was on the personal level as she states that Ted Harbert confirms this. According to the story within the show, her character had returned to her hometown of Fresno to care for her ailing mother, and was only seen when she telephoned her former roommates and they recounted that week's adventures to her. This arrangement continued for one season. Somers' contract was not renewed and Chrissy's place in the apartment was taken by her clumsy cousin Cindy Snow (Jenilee Harrison). Another replacement, Terri Alden (played by Priscilla Barnes), a clever, sometimes sassy nurse, joined the cast in the sixth season (1981–82). In the script, Cindy was to move to college to fulfill her dream of becoming a veterinarian and would continue to visit throughout the sixth season. The show ended with the departure of all cast members except Ritter. Janet gets married and starts a new life, and Terri moves to Hawaii. Ritter moved on to the spin-off '' Three's a Crowd'' (syndicated as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package), itself based upon the ''Man About the House'' spin-off, '' Robin's Nest''. After three decades of not speaking to each other, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt finally reconciled and reunited for Somers' web series ''Breaking Through'', which aired February 2, 2012. Previously, Somers reconciled with Ritter just days before his death from aortic dissection on September 11, 2003. They had even discussed her making a cameo appearance on Ritter's new show, '' 8 Simple Rules''.Music
The theme song was composed by Joe Raposo (known for composing for the children's television shows '' Sesame Street'' and '' The Electric Company''), and sung by Ray Charles (not to be confused with the R&B musician of the same name) and Julia Rinker. In the first pilot the melody was sung with a series of "doo doo doo" vocalizations rather than the final lyrics.Themes
Humor in the show was based on farce, often relying on innuendo and misunderstanding, as well as physical comedy to punctuate the hare-brained schemes the characters would invariably conjure up to get themselves out of situations and dilemmas. Running jokes were frequently based on Jack's (supposed) sexual orientation, Mr. Roper's lack of sexual desire, and Chrissy's blonde moments. Conflict in the show came from the dysfunctional marriage of the Ropers, Janet's intolerance for a roommate romance, and later on, Jack's friendship with Larry and Larry's abuse thereof. Of all the characters, only Jack, Janet, and Larry appeared in all eight seasons of the series. Jack is the only character to appear in every episode; Janet appears in all but one episode (season 3's "Stanley's Hotline").Release
Home media
Anchor Bay Entertainment has released all eight seasons of ''Three's Company'' on DVD in Region 1. These are the original, unedited and uncut network television broadcast versions and not the edited versions which have been broadcast in syndication since the Fall of 1982. Some episodes include commentary as a bonus feature. Also, the season 2 set includes the first of the two unaired pilots as a bonus feature, while the season 3 set contains the other. Anchor Bay released a complete series set on August 19, 2014. The set was subsequently re-released on February 13, 2018, this time by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. On December 22, 2023, Visual Entertainment Inc. released the Official 40th Anniversary Collection of the series that also includes spin-offs ''The Ropers'' and ''Three's a Crowd''.Syndication
ABC aired back-to-back repeats of ''Three's Company'' duringReception
''Three's Company'' premiered in the spring, in the middle of the 1976–77 season. In the 1960s and 1970s, midseason television programs were often cancelled after their original six-episode run in the spring. Network observers did not believe that ''Three's Company'' would go anywhere after its first six episodes. They were proven wrong when it raked in record ratings, breaking barriers at the time as the highest-rated midseason show ever broadcast on network television. ABC gladly renewed the show for a formal television season, giving it a permanent primetime spot during the 1977–78 television season. Ratings continued to climb throughout the years. The first episode, "A Man About the House", reached No. 28 for the week. The first episode to hit the No. 1 spot was February 14, 1978, when "Will the Real Jack Tripper..." was aired. The most-watched episode aired on March 13, 1979. It was titled "An Anniversary Surprise", and it centered around Stanley Roper selling the apartment, and the Ropers moving out. Immediately after the episode was the series premiere of the spinoff, ''The Ropers''.TV movie
In May 2003, NBC aired a two-hour television movie entitled '' Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company'', aFilm adaptation
In 2016,Legacy
Notes
References
External links