Three's Company

Three's Company is based on the British sitcom Man About the House, and Broadway writer Peter Stone's first attempt to Americanize it was rejected by ABC's Fred Silverman, who felt middle America wouldn't like the concept.

M*A*S*H creator Larry Gelbart initially wanted nothing to do with the project, feeling its premise was substandard, but developed the pilot as a favor to Fred Silverman, with his son-in-law coining the title 'Three's Company'.

The show went through three different pilot versions before airing, including one produced for ABC and nearly picked up by CBS as a mid-season replacement, before ABC reclaimed it at the last minute with an entirely new cast.

Actress Denise Galik was cast as Chrissy but was dismissed just days before the final pilot taped, and Susan Lanier played the role in that version, though her portrayal was not well received.

Suzanne Somers was almost overlooked for the role of Chrissy; Fred Silverman only discovered her audition tape by chance while fast-forwarding through rejected tapes the day before production began, and she was hired and on set the very next day.

Producers considered recasting John Ritter at the last minute because they felt his clumsy portrayal made Jack seem somewhat effeminate; actors Barry Van Dyke and future director Michael Lembeck had also been considered for the role.

During season 5 contract renegotiations, Suzanne Somers demanded a raise from $30,000 to $150,000 per episode plus 10% of the show's profits; when this was refused she was reduced to appearing only in brief one-minute phone-call tag scenes shot separately from the rest of the cast.

The series was taped at two different locations over its run: Metromedia Square/ABC Television Center for seasons 1, 7 and 8, and Studio 31 at CBS Television City for seasons 2 through 6.

The opening credits sequence of the trio frolicking on a boardwalk and riding bumper cars was filmed at the Santa Monica Pier before the adjacent larger amusement park was built, while the exterior shots of the apartment building were filmed at 2912 4th Street in Santa Monica.

When Priscilla Barnes joined the cast, a new opening sequence was filmed at the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park, featuring a baby boy played by Jason Ritter, John Ritter's real-life oldest son.

Three's Company premiered mid-season in spring 1977 and became the highest-rated midseason show ever broadcast on network television at the time, defying expectations that it would be cancelled after its initial six-episode run.

In March 2001, Nick at Nite quickly edited an episode called 'The Charming Stranger' after a viewer pointed out that John Ritter's scrotum skin was briefly visible through his boxer shorts; Ritter later joked about the incident in interviews and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

The theme song was composed by Joe Raposo, known for his work on Sesame Street and The Electric Company, with lyrics written by producer Don Nicholl; in the first pilot the melody was sung with 'doo doo doo' vocalizations instead of the final lyrics.

Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt did not speak to each other for three decades after Somers' departure, finally reconciling in 2012 for Somers' web series Breaking Through; Somers had also reconciled with John Ritter just days before his death in September 2003.