I always thought Alice and Three's Company were similar in their cast changes. Alice went through three different blonde waitresses as Three's Company went through three different blonde roommates and pretty much about the same time. Alice was on 1976-1985 on CBS while Three's Company was on 1977-1984 on ABC.

Polly Holiday (Flo) (first blonde waitress) on Alice left in Spring 1980 to star in her own spin-off series Flo. It was a success during its trial season like The Ropers and then in its first full season it flopped due to a timeslot change (again like The Ropers).

Flo's replacement (second blonde waitress) Diane Ladd as Belle in 1980-1981 didn't last long much like Cindy didn't last long as their second roommate on Three's Company.

In 1981, Celia Weston joined the cast as the third and last blonde waitress Jolene and in 1981, Priscilla Barnes joined Three's Company as Terri-the last blonde roommate. Both actresses were finally a good fit to their respective series and stayed until the end of the series.

While Alice didn't have any highly publicized contract disputes like with Suzanne Somers, they did have their share of drama. Linda Lavin was said to be difficult and wanted the spotlight and drove away Polly Holiday and Diane Ladd. Many fans wondered why the Flo character didn't return to Alice after the spin-off series was cancelled and I assume it was due to Linda Lavin not wanting her back or Polly Holiday not wanting to return. Flo was the most popular of the waitresses so it would have made perfect sense to get Flo back (especially with Diane Ladd leaving), but due to the backstage feuding, it never happened.