Three\'s Company is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984.It is based on the British sitcom Man About the House.
The story revolves around three single roommates: Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers), and Jack Tripper (John Ritter), who all platonically live together in a Santa Monica, California, apartment complex owned by Stanley Roper (Norman Fell) and Helen Roper (Audra Lindley).After Fell and Lindley left the series in 1979 for their own sitcom, Don Knotts joined the cast as the roommates\' new building manager, Ralph Furley.Following Somers\'s departure in late 1980, Jenilee Harrison joined the cast as Chrissy\'s first cousin Cindy Snow, who was soon replaced by Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden.
The show, a farce, chronicles the escapades and hijinks of the trio\'s constant misunderstandings, social lives, and financial struggles.A top-ten hit from 1977 to 1983, the series has remained popular in syndication and through DVD releases.The show also spawned similar spin-offs to those that Man About the House had: The Ropers and Three\'s a Crowd, based upon George and Mildred and Robin\'s Nest, respectively.
Filming
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 using 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 the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park.During this sequence, a baby boy in overalls who approaches Janet while feeding the goats at the zoo, portrayed by Jason Ritter, John Ritter\'s oldest son.The exterior shots of the apartment building were filmed at 2912 4th Street in Santa Monica.
Of all the new sitcoms that premiered on ABC for the 1976–77 television season, only Three\'s Company and the summer premiere of What\'s Happening!! returned for a second season.
Reception
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 canceled 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.
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