Three's Company

An American sitcom about three young adults who share an apartment in Santa Monica, California. Its comedy centers on misunderstandings and the roommates’ attempts to keep their unconventional arrangement secret from their landlords.

Farce: A comedy built on improbable situations, mistaken identities, and rapidly escalating confusion. The roommates’ cover stories and misunderstandings make farce the series’ central comic form.
Man About the House: A British sitcom, broadcast from 1973 to 1976, about two women and a man sharing a flat. Three's Company adapts this British series’ central premise and many of its story patterns.
John Ritter: An American actor best known for playing Jack Tripper on Three's Company. Ritter’s physical comedy and timing defined the show’s central performance.
The Ropers: An American sitcom spin-off centered on Stanley and Helen Roper, characters from Three's Company. The landlords’ popularity led to a separate series after their departure from the original sitcom.
Three's Company pilot: The 1976 pilot episode that introduced Jack, Janet, Chrissy, and their shared-apartment arrangement. The pilot establishes the premise and the deception that powers the early series.
Misunderstanding: A failure to interpret another person’s words or actions correctly. Many episodes turn innocent remarks or encounters into complications for the roommates.
Don Nicholl: A British television writer and producer who co-created Man About the House. Nicholl co-created the source sitcom on which Three's Company was based.
Joyce DeWitt: An American actress who played Janet Wood on Three's Company. DeWitt portrayed one of the roommates and remained with the series throughout its run.
Three's a Crowd: An American sitcom following Jack Tripper after he leaves the shared apartment in Three's Company. This spin-off continued Jack’s story with a new living arrangement and cast.
Come and Knock on Our Door: The theme song for Three's Company, performed by Ray Charles and Julia Rinker. Its lyrics and melody frame the apartment as an inviting home for the sitcom’s comic ensemble.

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Bottle episodeRelated: Its recurring apartment set shows how sitcoms make contained production a routine format.