In 1977 the US sitcom Three’s Company aired for the first time on this day. The show ran for eight seasons and made stars of John Ritter, Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt.
The show followed two flatmates who break with convention by sharing with a male flatmate. When florist Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and secretary Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) farewell their friend who is getting married, they need to find a third person to help cover the rent.
After a big going‑away party for their friend, they discover Jack Tripper asleep in their bathtub and decide he can move into the vacant room. The only problem is landlord Stanley Roper won’t allow mixed‑sex tenants to share, so they tell him that Jack is homosexual, which makes him ease his strict rules. Pretty quickly, Stanley’s wife Helen works out that Jack is really a ladies’ man, but agrees to keep the secret.
The sitcom is probably quite cringe‑worthy to watch today, but it was one small step toward the acceptance of queer people being depicted on US television – even if it was just someone pretending to be gay.
The series was based on the British show Man About the House, created by writers Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. It made its debut in 1973 and six series were produced in just three years.
In the UK version, Richard O’Sullivan played single man Robin Tripp, while Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett were flatmates Chrissy and Jo. Yootha Joyce played Mildred Roper and Brian Murphy played George Roper.
Both the US and UK series had multiple spin‑offs. The UK series George and Mildred followed the adventures of landlords the Ropers after they moved to an upmarket housing estate. It ran for five seasons and also spawned a feature film. Filming on a sixth and final season was cancelled due to the unexpected death of one of its stars.
In 1980, just after filming wrapped on the George and Mildred feature film, Yootha Joyce was admitted to hospital where she suffered liver failure. The world later learned that she had struggled with depression and alcohol addiction, partly out of a fear of being typecast in the role of Mildred Roper. Her co‑star Brian Murphy was at her bedside when she died. He went on to have a long career, appearing in Last of the Summer Wine and The Catherine Tate Show. Brian Murphy died at the age of 92 in early 2025.
The second spin‑off from the British series was Robin’s Nest, which followed Richard O’Sullivan’s character as he got married and set up his own restaurant. It ran for six series from 1977 until 1981.
In the US, Three’s Company had longevity but several cast changes over its run. Suzanne Somers left the series after its fourth season over a pay dispute when she discovered Ritter was making $150,000 per episode to her $30,000. A series of characters filled the space left by Somers over the remaining seasons.
In the US, the Ropers also got their own show – The Ropers. It ran for two seasons from 1979 until 1980. The character of Jack Tripper also got his own show, Three’s a Crowd, based on the UK spin‑off Robin’s Nest — it was axed after just one season.
