most watched TV show in the country over THree's Company????????:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

most watched TV show in the country over THree's Company????????:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:Laverne and Shirley had more female viewers than TC. When L&S was the top show it has less competition than TC. TC was on the same time as MASH during the 77 season while. Laverne was competing with brand new shows that didn't last long.

Laverne and Shirley had more female viewers than TC. When L&S was the top show it has less competition than TC. TC was on the same time as MASH during the 77 season while. Laverne was competing with brand new shows that didn't last long.


This is the 78-79 season I referring to when TC was up against a Tuesday CBS Movie

This is the 78-79 season I referring to when TC was up against a Tuesday CBS Movie
The cbs movie had to have more viewers than grandpa goes to washington and paper chase which aired at the same time as happy days and laverne that season. Both of those shows were cancelled in 79.

The cbs movie had to have more viewers than grandpa goes to washington and paper chase which aired at the same time as happy days and laverne that season. Both of those shows were cancelled in 79.


So what we are discovering is L&S had weak competition:lol:

I was 8-11 years old when L&S was in its' ratings prime and back then not a lot of children my age were allowed to stay up past 9 and if they were, many were not permitted to watch a show as risqué as Three's Company--at least not where I grew up. (My mother didn't have any issue with us staying up to see it). So Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley got big ratings during "family" viewing time, but some of the grownups found TC a little too silly and slapstick so it likely lost some of the 9pm viewers.

I have L&S on DVD and love it. I never liked Three's Company.

Solomon, I can't believe you can get so cranky now that football season has started. :lol:


The simple answer regarding Laverne and Shirley is that it was a good show and remained that way longer than Three's Company. It also enjoyed a longer period of stability among the cast and viewers were familiar with the characters from when they appeared on Happy Days. Of course, both shows were also better than The Jeffersons so that helped too.


Fun fact: During the 1970s, Rob Reiner was married to Penny Marshall. When All In The Family ended its record 5 year run at the top of the ratings, guess who ended the streak? First it was Happy Days and then Laverne & Shirley. No wonder they broke up!

Solomon, I can't believe you can get so cranky now that football season has started. :lol:


The simple answer regarding Laverne and Shirley is that it was a good show and remained that way longer than Three's Company. It also enjoyed a longer period of stability among the cast and viewers were familiar with the characters from when they appeared on Happy Days. Of course, both shows were also better than The Jeffersons so that helped too.


Fun fact: During the 1970s, Rob Reiner was married to Penny Marshall. When All In The Family ended its record 5 year run at the top of the ratings, guess who ended the streak? First it was Happy Days and then Laverne & Shirley. No wonder they broke up!


Football starts in 60 days

Football starts in 60 days

Sal's in Canada. He's watching the CFL. Go Blue Bombers!

Three's Company was 2nd to 60 Minutes in 1979-80 as well. Three's Company was more controversial than Laverne, and many parents would probably let their kids watch Laverne but not Three's Company. Just a guess.

I was 8-11 years old when L&S was in its' ratings prime and back then not a lot of children my age were allowed to stay up past 9 and if they were, many were not permitted to watch a show as risqué as Three's Company--at least not where I grew up. (My mother didn't have any issue with us staying up to see it). So Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley got big ratings during "family" viewing time, but some of the grownups found TC a little too silly and slapstick so it likely lost some of the 9pm viewers.

Could that (or anything) also explain how Three's Company would have been the #1 program in the Nielsen Ratings for the 1978-79 season, but in reality, it was still beaten by Laverne & Shirley (which was already #1 in the Nielsen Ratings for the 1977-78 season) by just two tenths of a ratings point? (TC's season average for 78-79 was 30.3, compared to L&S's 30.5.)

It's important to remember that Happy Days was a mega-hit for ABC, a phenomenally popular series -- and with a lead-in that strong, the next half-hour featuring L & S retained a big portion of the HD viewership. I don't even think it matters much that the series were related -- Happy Days was a smash hit that ensured anything following a built-in audience.

So simply put, people like me did not change the station following Happy Days in prime time. Most of my Three's Company viewing was in syndication.

I think it's more complicated than saying Laverne & Shirley built on Happy Days' success. Ratings:

1974: Happy Days (Jan. replacement), #16
1974-75: HD #49
1975-76: HD #11; LS (Jan. replacement), #3
1976-77: HD #1; LS #2
1977-78: LS #1; HD #2
1978-79: LS #1; HD #3
1979-80: HD #17; LS out of top 30
1980-81: HD #15; LS #21
1981-82: HD #18; LS #20
1982-83: LS #25; HD #28
1983-84: HD #63

So it looks like Laverne and Shirley broke out to really high ratings first, and was probably feeding Happy Days at least as much as vice versa through 1978-79. Again, it's a little more complicated than that, because Happy Days had done it's complete makeover for 1975-76 and the Fonz was breaking out all over, so it may have been ranked 25th in September but near or at the top by the time Laverne and Shirley premiered in January.


Looks like L&S benefited from following HD and not having any competition from NBC or CBS at 8:30pm. You can see as soon as L&S moved to Thursday Nights that's when the ratings started to fall

Looks like L&S benefited from following HD and not having any competition from NBC or CBS at 8:30pm. You can see as soon as L&S moved to Thursday Nights that's when the ratings started to fall
I agree.

Looks like L&S benefited from following HD and not having any competition from NBC or CBS at 8:30pm. You can see as soon as L&S moved to Thursday Nights that's when the ratings started to fall
If The Ropers would have stayed after TC it would have had great ratings too. ABC Tuesday was great back then. People just watched one show after another.

If The Ropers would have stayed after TC it would have had great ratings too. ABC Tuesday was great back then. People just watched one show after another.


Was it ever aired directly after THree's Company? I thought I read it aired at 10pm on Tuesday nights in it;s 1st season and then in season 2 it was moved to saturdays

Was it ever aired directly after THree's Company? I thought I read it aired at 10pm on Tuesday nights in it;s 1st season and then in season 2 it was moved to saturdays
You are correct. It never aired at 9:30/8:30 central right after Three's Company. It aired on the same night in the first season but not directly after.

You are correct. It never aired at 9:30/8:30 central right after Three's Company. It aired on the same night in the first season but not directly after.


I think Soap aired in between them at 9:30pm

I think Soap aired in between them at 9:30pm
Taxi aired at 9:30 after Three's Company in 1978-79 and 1979-80. Those were the only two years of Taxi's run that it was a hit, also. Soap aired after Three's in 1977-78, I believe. 1980-81 and 1981-82 was Too Close For Comfort. Anything would have been a hit at 9:30 after Three's Company back then.

Taxi aired at 9:30 after Three's Company in 1978-79 and 1979-80. Those were the only two years of Taxi's run that it was a hit, also. Soap aired after Three's in 1977-78, I believe. 1980-81 and 1981-82 was Too Close For Comfort. Anything would have been a hit at 9:30 after Three's Company back then.


I also think I remember reading that the 3rd season of TC had ended already when the Ropers started in spring of 79

I also think I remember reading that the 3rd season of TC had ended already when the Ropers started in spring of 79
That is correct, I think. Ropers would have at least had a Third Season if it stayed on Tuesdays. Laverne really tanked in the ratings in 1979-80 when ABC tried it out on Thursdays. ABC ruined almost all their 1978-79 hits by moving them around on the schedule in 1979-80.

That is correct, I think. Ropers would have at least had a Third Season if it stayed on Tuesdays. Laverne really tanked in the ratings in 1979-80 when ABC tried it out on Thursdays. ABC ruined almost all their 1978-79 hits by moving them around on the schedule in 1979-80.
You got that right. They also ruined Mork & Mindy. Soap was moved constantly. ABC didn't handle success as well as they should have. Why would they move the Ropers to a Saturday graveyard timeslot in only it's 2nd season?

You got that right. They also ruined Mork & Mindy. Soap was moved constantly. ABC didn't handle success as well as they should have. Why would they move the Ropers to a Saturday graveyard timeslot in only it's 2nd season?
They just took their success for granted and assumed the audience would follow their top ten shows to whatever night they put them on. Big gambles and none of them paid off.

They just took their success for granted and assumed the audience would follow their top ten shows to whatever night they put them on. Big gambles and none of them paid off.


I can see how it old be easy to think that since all shows were top ten

I can see how it old be easy to think that since all shows were top ten
Yeah but they were all timeslot hits. Three's Company probably would have tanked in the ratings if it were moved like Angie, Ropers, Laverne, and More were. Though I'm sure Three's would have retained more viewers than those shows did.

That's easy to solve: Laverne and Shirley was way better than Three's Company lol.

I was 8-11 years old when L&S was in its' ratings prime and back then not a lot of children my age were allowed to stay up past 9 and if they were, many were not permitted to watch a show as risqué as Three's Company--at least not where I grew up. (My mother didn't have any issue with us staying up to see it). So Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley got big ratings during "family" viewing time, but some of the grownups found TC a little

too silly and slapstick so it likely lost some of the 9pm viewers.

L&S hugely benefited from having HD as a lead in, but it quickly gained fame in it's own right. The female buddy/slapstick comedy hadn't been done successfully since I<3L and TLS went off the air, and L&S were considered to be a retroey breath of fresh air.

I have to chuckle with 3C being "too risque", even though two of my friends weren't allowed to watch it as kids. My straight-laced, Southern Baptist Mom loved 3C, but she drew the line with my watching "Soap" due to the gay character. I had to sneak to watch Soap, LOL!

I think Solomon's helmet is too tight - there wasn't any mystery here; Fred Silverman was just spinning the wheel to see which shows he was going to screw up and switch time slots on

I think Solomon's helmet is too tight - there wasn't any mystery here; Fred Silverman was just spinning the wheel to see which shows he was going to screw up and switch time slots on
Fred Silverman wasn't responsible for ABC's mistakes of 1979-80. That would be Tony Thomopulous. I know I spelled his last name wrong so I apologize for that. Fred was at NBC starting in 1978.

I prefer Laverne and Shirley to Three's Company, although Happy Days is better than both shows.

I agree but after Ron Howard left the show, well it changed and wasn't that good anymore.

Having watched Three's Company in recent years on Antenna TV, I'm surprised it lasted just as long as Laverne and Shirley (both eight seasons).

Even though L&S had a lot of slapstick reminiscent of Lucy and Ethel, at least there was some variety with the plots. 90% of 3'sC revolved around someone overhearing an innocent tidbit, then assuming the worst. The rest of the episode involves the eavesdropper being mad at Jack for no reason.

TC's must have been more popular than L&S by a certain point, because I remember the controversy with TC more clearly than what happened behind the scenes with L&S.

There was an issue with Cindy Williams (maybe being fired?) because she was pregnant in RL.

When Suzanne Somers was fired that was major news. When Ron Howard left Happy Days that was major news. But by the time Cindy Williams left L&S and it was in the tabloids, I wasn't paying that much attention. I obviously by then stopped watching L&S for some reason.

TC's must have been more popular than L&S by a certain point, because I remember the controversy with TC more clearly than what happened behind the scenes with L&S.

There was an issue with Cindy Williams (maybe being fired?) because she was pregnant in RL.

When Suzanne Somers was fired that was major news. When Ron Howard left Happy Days that was major news. But by the time Cindy Williams left L&S and it was in the tabloids, I wasn't paying that much attention. I obviously by then stopped watching L&S for some reason.
By the 1979-80 season TC was more popular and would be for the rest of the time L & S was on the air.

Laverne and Shirley was a funny show. Three's Company was a dopey show with a good looking star with big ..... :blush:

Laverne and Shirley was a funny show. Three's Company was a dopey show with a good looking star with big ..... :blush:


It was a female show unlike

Happy days
Mork and Mindy
Three's Company