We could debate all day about which television era was the greatest.
Some will probably point to the 50s and early 60s, while others will swear up and down that
the 70s were the enchilada supreme, but regardless of what you're opinion might be, it's undeniable
that there are some series that seem to stand the test of time a lot better than others.
On the flip side of the coin, many classic shows would never be greenlit today.
The times have certainly changed.
Still, some of the most problematic series from yesteryear have a distinct nostalgic
quality and continue to enjoy a degree o popularity in reruns and occasionally even reboots.
Three's Company is one classic sitcom that helped lay the groundwork for modern shows
in the genre.
That being said, it probably wouldn't fare too well if it debuted in 2022.
The series premiered on ABC in 1978 and ran for eight seasons before coming to an end
in 1984.
While it felt fresh at the time, in reality, it wasn't all that original.
In fact, it was based upon a popular British sitcom called Man About the House.
Its premise was pretty simple.
Two beautiful female 20-somethings played by Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers and one
klutzy guy played by John Ritter lived platonically in an apartment in Santa Monica while pretending
Ritter's character, Jack was gay to keep their nosey landlords at bay.
The series leaned heavily into slapstick and innuendo – and ended up becoming a big hit
with critics and audiences alike.
From 1977 to 1983, Three's Company was a top ten hit.
And just like Man About The House, it spawned a couple of spin-off series, Three's a Crowd
and the Ropers.
So, it's worth asking.
If Three's Company was so popular, what brought about its end?
Its Premise Is Wildly Outdated
Like we already touched on, Three's Company was all about three friends who wanted to
save money by living together in a pricey Santa Monican apartment complex.
You had the two ladies, Janet and Chrissy, and then you had Jack.
Apparently, the idea of two women living together with a man was super scandalous to their landlords,
the Ropers.
So, they resorted to pretending that Jack was gay to pull a fast one over on them.
On the one hand, the series' plot could be seen as pretty progressive.
After all, being an openly gay man in 1976 wasn't very common, but the notion that the
Ropers wouldn't allow roommates of the opposite sex to cohabitate was pretty backward.
Beyond that, the majority of the shows running gags and sexual innuendos probably wouldn't
sit well with contemporary viewers.
John Ritter Stole The Show
It wasn't that long into the show's run before it became a massive hit with audiences and
became a pop culture sensation.
In a blink of an eye, the sitcom's trio of stars, who were all still pretty early in
their respective careers, were transformed into superstars.
John had previously been on The Waltons for a few years and had guest-starred on pretty
much all of the Mary Tyler Moore shows.
He had also starred in 1971s The Barefoot Executive.
So, even if he wasn't well-known by name, he was still a face that people were already
at least somewhat familiar with.
While the three roommates were without a doubt the focus of the series, it was Ritter's performance
that really ended up stealing the show.
He had a gift for physical comedy and quickly became one of the show's biggest draws.
On top of that, the show didn't mind pushing the envelope a bit with its witty sexual innuendo,
and Jack was normally at the center of these jokes.
Unfortunately, Ritter's popularity ended up becoming a source of on-set tension.
Suzanne Somers Wanted To Be The Star
Prior to appearing in Three's Company, Suzanne Somers enjoyed minor roles in several films.
Probably the biggest role she had previously was playing a mysterious blond who enchants
Richard Dreyfus in George Lucas' 1973 film American Graffiti.
On TV, she had made appearances in shows like Starsky & Hutch and The Rockford Files.
Despite the success that she had achieved already, Somers was someone who desperately
wanted to be a bigger star.
She had started out in life quite poor, and later on, she became a single mother.
So, once she started pursuing her acting career, she threw every last bit of herself into it.
She didn't just want to pop up on the radar for a few years, making the rounds on the
television guest-star circuit.
She wanted to be a full-fledged celebrity.
When Somers found out that there was a substantial pay gap between her and her male co-star Ritter,
she was livid.
She had been under the impression that she would be the stand-out star of the show, but
Ritter's charisma and magnetism proved to draw in more viewers than the sitcom's producers
had anticipated.
Somers was being paid $30,000 per episode, while Ritter was getting 150 grand.
When her contract ran out at the end of the sixth season, she demanded a raise.
When the network brass refused, they also ended up firing her.
What Killed Three's Company
While you might assume that losing one-third of a trio of main cast members on a show that's
literally called Three's Company would bring the series to a crashing halt, it actually
fared quite well without Somers.
Actress Jenilee Harrison was called in to serve as a semi-replacement, playing Cindy,
Chrissy's cousin.
Really there is no single reason why Three's Company's cord was ultimately pulled.
Its end was brought about by a multitude of factors.
During its final season, Ritter won a Golden Globe and an Emmy while the show as a whole
was awarded a People's Choice Award.
Fans of the show will even point to several episodes from the eighth season that they
consider to be among the show's best.
One major issue, though, that became increasingly evident was it began to feel like the writers
had started to run out of material.
Beyond that, other television trends were beginning to impact Three's Company's viewership.
In 1983, The A-Team premiered on NBC and started dominating its time slot.
That show's often credited with knocking off popular shows like The Jeffersons and Happy
Days.
And then you had Laverne and Shirley, which beat out Three's Company that year as well.
The writing seemed to be on the wall – the sitcom itself was dying.
The Scene That Took Three's Company Off The Air
ABC decided to ax Three's Company at the end of its eighth season, but they weren't quite
ready to move on completely.
Seeing a lot of potential in John Ritter's vibrant energy and physical comedy, they decided
to give him his very own spin-off show, Three's a Crowd.
The final episode of Three's Company, Friends and Lovers: Part 2, was essentially a bridge
that would lead into this new series.
Three's a Crowd was about Jack Tripper, his girlfriend Vicky Bradford, and her meddling
father, James, forced to live with each other.
In Friends and Lovers: Part 2, Vicky suggests that she and Jack should live together.
While at first, he was a bit reluctant to do so, being the old-school kind of guy that
he was, he eventually agrees to it so that he wouldn't risk losing her.
The following week, Larry and Furely help the trio move out of the apartment.
Terri goes off to catch a flight to Hawaii, where she plans on continuing her career as
a nurse, while Janet sets out to live with her new husband.
Once Jack and Vicky are settled into their new apartment, they propose a toast to celebrate
things before heading off to the bedroom.
As they begin kissing, James enters their bedroom and proceeds to announce that he just
purchased the entire building, including Jack's Bistro and, most importantly, their apartment,
thus making him their new landlord.
Three's a Crowd Fell Flat
While some spin-off sitcoms, like Frasier, The Jeffersons, and Archie Bunker's Place
end up being hugely successful, Three's A Crowd was not.
While Ritter continued to be the center of the show, he wasn't backed up by the right
ensemble.
The cast of Three's Company had tremendous chemistry even after a few change-ups to its
line-up.
There's a Crowd should have attempted to bring in a few of the characters from Three's Company,
but instead, it felt like all of those characters were killed off.
Fans of Three's Company rejected Vicki from the start.
It wasn't that Mary Cadorette wasn't a decent actress, but audiences never really warmed
up to her character.
Then there was Vicki's dad, James Bradford.
No one wanted to see him all of the time.
At least on Three's Company, Mr. Roper and Mr. Furly only showed up on occasion.
James, however, was always there lurking and just being an all-around buzz kill.
After just one season consisting of 22 episodes, ABC decided that enough was enough and canceled
Three's a Crowd.
Well, that about wraps things up.
But that just means now it's your turn to let your voice be heard.
Do you think that Three's Company should have gone on for another several season or do you
think that ended right about when it should have?
And what's your take on Three's a Crowd?
Where you a fan or do you think it was pretty much a disaster?
Let us know in the comments.
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