Particularly in the age of streaming, it’s hard to imagine another show living a life like the one that “Three’s Company” did throughout the late ’70s and early ’80s. Spanning eight seasons and more than 170 episodes, it’s the kind of run that relatively few scripted TV shows can ever claim, but especially now. It also made absolute stars of its cast, perhaps most notably Suzanne Somers, who recently passed away at the age of 76. She played the lovable Chrissy Snow alongside John Ritter’s Jack Tripper and Joyce DeWitt’s Janet Wood. But it turns out that Somers’ life-changing casting happened essentially by accident.
Former President of ABC Entertainment Fred Silverman, speaking in an archival interview shared by the FoundationINTERVIEWS YouTube channel, discussed his lengthy career in television. When the subject of “Three’s Company” came up, the executive explained that he “was very involved in the casting of Suzanne Somers.” It turns out that casting the part of Chrissy proved remarkably difficult and, at the 11th hour, Silverman had to step in personally to solve the problem:
“We did three pilots […] the Chrissy character still wasn’t right. We got to the day before we were starting production of the series, we didn’t have a Chrissy. I got so desperate, I took all of the audition tapes. I was just kind of fast-forwarding and, all of a sudden, it went by Suzanne Somers, who I hadn’t seen, but I recognized her from an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show’ and I said, ‘Back that up.’ I backed it up and she was great. She was great and we passed on her.”
Particularly in the age of streaming, it’s hard to imagine another show living a life like the one that “Three’s Company” did throughout the late ’70s and early ’80s. Spanning eight seasons and more than 170 episodes, it’s the kind of run that relatively few scripted TV shows can ever claim, but especially now. It also made absolute stars of its cast, perhaps most notably Suzanne Somers, who recently passed away at the age of 76. She played the lovable Chrissy Snow alongside John Ritter’s Jack Tripper and Joyce DeWitt’s Janet Wood. But it turns out that Somers’ life-changing casting happened essentially by accident.
Former President of ABC Entertainment Fred Silverman, speaking in an archival interview shared by the FoundationINTERVIEWS YouTube channel, discussed his lengthy career in television. When the subject of “Three’s Company” came up, the executive explained that he “was very involved in the casting of Suzanne Somers.” It turns out that casting the part of Chrissy proved remarkably difficult and, at the 11th hour, Silverman had to step in personally to solve the problem:
“We did three pilots […] the Chrissy character still wasn’t right. We got to the day before we were starting production of the series, we didn’t have a Chrissy. I got so desperate, I took all of the audition tapes. I was just kind of fast-forwarding and, all of a sudden, it went by Suzanne Somers, who I hadn’t seen, but I recognized her from an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show’ and I said, ‘Back that up.’ I backed it up and she was great. She was great and we passed on her.”
Indeed, someone else at some point had passed on Somers when she initially auditioned. Once Silverman saw this tape, however, things came full circle for the actor in a hurry.
An icon is born
“I said, ‘I don’t understand. This girl could play that part. Why was she passed on?'” Silverman explained. “I couldn’t get a straight answer. We got her in that day and she was on the set tomorrow. And she was terrific in that part. And that was an accident because she should never have gotten the part.” Had Silverman not become so desperate and, had he not caught that bit of tape at just the right moment, this bit of TV history could have been written very differently. Or perhaps not at all, as Somers as Chrissy was a big part of the show’s tremendous success.
The term “overnight success” gets thrown around, but what happened to Suzanne Somers after she got the role in “Three’s Company” could accurately be described as such. She became a pop culture sensation. Unfortunately, Chrissy’s role was cut short when Somers requested a pay raise on par with what Ritter was making in the fifth season. Chrissy was replaced by her cousin, Cindy Snow, played by Jenilee Harrison. That was that. Speaking in 2022 on “The Infomercials That Sold Us,” Somers reflected on her time as Chrissy on the show and, largely, still had positive things to say about it:
“I will forever be grateful for ‘Three’s Company.’ What an opportunity to create a character who was so beloved. I would morph into her, and I missed doing her. That was the biggest thing for me when I got over the shock, the hurt, and the anger.”
For those looking to revisit the classic series, “Three’s Company” is currently available to watch for free on Pluto TV’s dedicated channel for the show.
